Wimbledon wrap up

Wimbledon ended yesterday (7/6), and it almost didn't.

It was a great two weeks of tennis, almost rain delay free, punctuated by one of the greatest matches I had ever seen. Yes, the Rafa vs Federer match that sets all kinds of duration record and had Federer won, would've set all sorts of other record too. In the end, the younger Rafa prevailed in 5 super tight sets. The match had gone through 2 rain delays, lasted almost 7 hours into 9:15 pm. If either one insisted on leaving the court, we might have to determine the champ on Monday. Actual match time was 4:48 which is a Wimbledon Finals record.

Rafa was up two sets quickly on 2 loose games by Fed. The King looks flustered and I genuinely start to worry about him. Then came the rain delay when Fed was leading 5-4. he came back and won the next two sets in tie-breakers flashing his usual brilliance, except he couldn't convert on many of the break chances that Rafa gave him during those two sets. The futility on break chances continues for Fed into 5th set, they both held serve until the end where Rafa muscled his way to a 9-7 win the the 5th. I felt horrible for R Fed as this is his house, it is his crown to lose at Wimbledon, just as Roland Garros is Rafa's house and he defended his fort beautifully just last month (beating R Fed 1-3-Love). Rafa not only come into Fed's house and beat him, he might even take over his #1 ranking sometime this summer, since Fed has a lot of points to defend and Rafa can only improve on his tepid Hard court season last year.

Does this mark the end of Fed's reign? I don't think so, but i do think his unbelievable dominance that was exhibited last 4-5 years is coming to an end. He wont win 2-3 slams a year, but still has 3-4 slams left in him. He WILL be one of the greatest player ever played, whether he passed Sampras' slam record or not. He will be the most gracious champion ever and i am glad i lived in an era when he played. Rafa was a precious star for our era too. Hard to find a young man so intense, yet so humble and classy in handling himself. Well done, Federer and Nadal family!


Honorable mention for Zheng Jie, who became the story of the tournament when she broke through he bracket as a wild card and went all the way to final four before succumbing to Serena in 2 tough sets. She also announced that she is donating most of her prize money to earthquake relief fun in Cheng Du, her hometown. Chinese Tennis association was so touched, they adjusted the ratio they are taking from Zheng to maximize her winnings. Way to go Zheng Jie!