what an epic!!

what more can one say?The july 6th wimbledon final between Roger Federer&Rafael Nadal was one for the ages.Awe inspiring and timeless,it is arguably the greatest final played on the lawns of the all england club.some now say,it heralds a change of guard in mens tennis,after 6 long years,a new king will be crowned.

This may be true,Roger federers form has not been top notch this season,and for his lofty standards 2008 has been a poor year.only one tournament victory at Estoril,and that too via an injury default to his opponent.People say now doubt his ability,because for the past 6 years he has been so very dominant,a few more losses are magnified and taken apart.such is is the irony;the public expect him to win every single match,they forget even he is human.

what of the demolition at Roland Garros final,tis a mauling i admit,but that is mainly due to his opponent,Rafa Nadal has been so dominant on clay,that if for one year;if roger did not come up against nadal in the final,not many would doubt his chances.but with the Wimbledon crown Rafa Nadal is now the uncrowned world no 1.

Back to the final,down 2 sets Roger looked down and out for the count,but then with the rain break,he came out a new man having found his heart again,winning the next 2 sets on tie breaks and producing some of the most unbeliveable shots with his opponent on match point.This is the sign of a champion.he almost made the impossible seem possible.

But then again,on the other side of the net was the muscleman from Mallorca,Rafa Nada's pure strength won him the title in the end.but his mental strenth is a thing to behold,to lose 2 championship points with a double fault on his own serve,and then through the sheer magic that is Roger Federer.Even though he would have undoubtedly felt hollow inside,he didn't lose heart,the rocky marciano of tennis kept coming back,that speaks volumes of his grit and level headedness.that is also the sign to a true champion!

All this said,Roger Federer is still the U.S Open champion and it would be most unwise to write him off as a relic of a bygone age.all great champions face a slump,after all Tiger Woods went 3 years without a major title.same goes for Roger!