Monday Net Post

By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan

Last Week's Tournament**

Wimbledon (ATP & WTA - Grass - Wimbledon, England)

• Gentlemen's Singles Final: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7.
  - Gentlemen's Singles Semifinal: Roger Federer def. Marat Safin 6-3, 7-6, 6-4.
  - Gentlemen's Singles Semifinal: Rafael Nadal def. Rainer Schuettler 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
• Gentlemen's Singles Bracket

• Ladies' Singles Final: Venus Williams def. Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4.
  - Ladies' Singles Semifinal: Serena Williams def. Jie Zheng 6-2, 7-6.
  - Ladies' Singles Semifinal: Venus Williams def. Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6.
• Ladies' Singles Bracket

• Gentlemen's Doubles Final: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Jonas Bjorkman/Kevin Ullyett 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3.
  - Gentlemen's Doubles Semifinal: Jonas Bjorkman/Kevin Ullyett def. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
  - Gentlemen's Doubles Semifinal: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes 7-6, 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6.
• Gentlemen's Doubles Bracket

• Ladies' Doubles Final: Serena Williams/Venus Williams def. Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2.
  - Ladies' Doubles Semifinal: Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur def. Cara Black/Liezel Huber 6-3, 6-3.
  - Ladies' Doubles Semifinal: Serena Williams/Venus Williams def. Nathalie Dechy/Casey Dellacqua 6-3, 6-3.
• Ladies' Doubles Bracket

By the Letter

T...ake a look at Nike's newest commercial, featuring Roger Federer.
E...arthquake victims in the Sichuan province of China will receive all of Jie Zheng's prize money, after the Wimbledon semifinalist announced that she will donate her earnings from the fortnight.
N...ever: a word that figured into a conversation with Justine Henin this week. She was quoted as saying, "I can never say for sure that I'll never be back because I hate to say never." Draw your own conclusions.
N...adal is taking a much-needed and well-deserved break from tennis this week, after withdrawing from this week's Mercedes Cup, a clay tournament.
I...nterview with Andrea Jaeger revealed that she lost the 1983 Wimbledon final to Martina Navratilova on purpose.
S...andra Klemenschits, who was diagnosed with abdominal cancer last year, will return to the WTA Tour next week. The Gastien Ladies tournament, held in Sandra's home country of Austria, offered her a wild card on Friday.
W...omen's court scheduling became a hot topic at Wimbledon, and Larry Scott of the WTA was "disapointed" with how it all unfolded.
O...lympic Tennis Event acceptances were announced this week for both men and women; singles and doubles.
R...ead about all of Federer and Nadal's matches with this rivalry recap from the ATP.
L...aura Robson, the Junior Girl's champion at Wimbledon, could be looking at a huge payday for her efforts (by the way, she's British).
D...oubles partners 99% of the time, Bob and Mike Bryan played against one another in the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles final. Bob and partner Samantha Stosur prevailed, winning 7-5, 6-4 over brother Mike and Katarina Srebotnik.

McGrogan's Heroes

ATP - Rafael Nadal

[See Beyond the Bracket.]

WTA - Venus Williams

Facing windy conditions and a determined sister across the net, Venus Williams withstood both forces and won her fifth Wimbledon title. She still needs four more Rosewater Dishes to equal Martina Navratilova’s record of nine, but who’s to say that’s out of reach?

After a slow start, Venus eventually got into a groove and played her best tennis when it counted – she went 4 for 7 on break points, while sister Serena was only 2 for 13. After the 7-5, 6-4 win, Venus’ celebration was understandably muted because the win came at Serena’s expense. “You know, I'm definitely more in tune with my sister's feelings because one of us has to win and one of us has to lose,” said Venus. “Of course the celebration isn't as exciting because my sister just lost.”

Serena would not go home empty-handed, however. The sisters won the ladies’ doubles title just hours after their singles match, defeating the top team of Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur 6-2, 6-2. It was quite a day for the Williams family, no matter how you look at it.

The No. 1 ranking in women's tennis isn't very secure at the moment, so Venus has an opportunity to reclaim the top spot. She'll likely have to best last year's semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open to do. It remains to be seen whether Venus can keep up her strong play away from Wimbledon, her home away from home, but she's definitely one of the top favorites heading into Flushing Meadows.

Tennis Theatre

Look at the draws for this week's four ATP tournaments.  Notice something missing?  Nikolay Davydenko isn't playing in any of them!  Crazy stuff - Nick is a master of the minor events (not to mention he was eliminated from Wimbledon a while ago).

We're going to keep Davydenko in our hearts and minds though.  Below is a clip from his win at the Miami Masters earlier this year.  It's the only Grand Slam or Masters Series event in 2008 that hasn't been won by Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, and was one of the last times Nadal lost anywhere:

This Week's Tournaments

• TV Schedule

Allianz Suisse Open (ATP - Clay - Gstaad, Switzerland)

• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket
• Website

Catella Swedish Open (ATP - Clay - Bastad, Sweden)

• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket
• Website

Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (ATP - Grass - Newport, Rhode Island)

• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket
• Website

Mercedes Cup (ATP - Clay - Stuttgart, Germany)

• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket
• Website

Gaz de France Grand Prix (WTA - Clay - Budapest, Hungary)

• Singles & Doubles Bracket
• Website

Internazionali Femminili di Palermo (WTA - Clay - Palermo, Italy)

• Singles & Doubles Bracket
• Website

Beyond the Bracket

"The Match"

The quality of tennis on Sunday was so astronomically high that no one deserved to lose. And there would have been no loser - for one more day at least - had the fifth set tiebreaker remained level for just a few more minutes. But thankfully for all involved, there was a resolution before darkness completely infiltrated the gates of the All England Club yesterday. Even the defeated Roger Federer agreed. "It would have been brutal for fans, for media, for us, for everybody to come back tomorrow," he said afterwards.

Federer's loss to Rafael Nadal as the French Open was brutal. This Wimbledon defeat, by contrast, was stinging. You only had to see Roger's post-match chat with John McEnroe for the proof - he could barely get through Mac's questions before being overcome with emotion.

As difficult as the match was for Federer and his fans to take, Nadal and his supporters were simply jubilant after its conclusion. Facing this opponent on this court was a test of the highest order for Rafa. He ultimately succeeded in a career-defining match that will forever remain in the annals of tennis.

The McEnroe/Bjorn Borg 1980 Wimbledon final took place before I was born, and I didn't watch tennis in the 1990s as intently as I do now. For me, this match - The Match - is the greatest tennis match I've ever watched. It had everything: a heightened importance from the start, gripping drama throughout, and a display of unmistakably great tennis. We even saw Federer, who possesses one of the greatest forehands of all time, whiff on his favorite shot. As the match progressed, I came to expect the unexpected.

But this was more than just a match - it was an experience. Thanks to multiple rain delays (troubling at the time, but meaningful in retrospect), this early-morning final turned into a day-long odyssey. My only hope is that, since memorable matches of the future will inevitably be compared to this classic, that fans won't be disappointed if the drama can't be equalled. Considering all of the circumstances and history involved, this may have been a once in a lifetime moment.

Federer and Nadal were keenly aware of this significance as well - I can't ever recall seeing a match where both players so visibly wanted the win. It was more evident on Federer's face later in the proceedings, but it showed in his game throughout all four hours and 48 minutes of play. Roger dipped into his champion's reserves often, when survival was the only option left.

In the third set, Federer faced triple break point at 3-3. In my notebook, I wrote "THE GAME" to denote that this series of points will determine how the rest of this match plays out. If Roger could somehow recover to win the game - which he did - this match was headed in a new direction (which is also what happened). If Nadal broke there, I'm positive the match would have ended in straight sets.

More Federer magic happened in the fourth set tiebreaker. The moment everyone will remember here is when Federer struck a backhand pass down the line to save a championship point. But coming back from 5-2 down - with Nadal serving twice - was Federer's best work. Once in the fifth set, Federer invoked memories of the 2007 Wimbledon final when he saved break points early on at 15-40. Roger was serving great, dictating play with his forehand, and showing the patience that is absolutely necessary against Nadal. For the first time in hours, I thought the match was going to go Federer's way.

It didn't. And it's not because of what Roger did or didn't do, but because of how his opponent played.

You know how Nike occasionally stitches a bull onto Nadal's sneakers? It's very emblematic of his relentless fight when playing. (Expect Nadal's own personal clothing line to be coming out soon too.) Rafa dealt with a rain delay in the third set that seemed to help Federer. He dealt with losing two championship points in the fourth set. And he dealt with mounting pressure in the fifth set after Federer clawed all the way back. In spite of all this, Nadal's shot making and mental strength somehow remained at their peak.

I remember watching Nadal play for the first time in the 2004 Davis Cup final against the United States. I definitely thought he was something special then. Years later, I thought he would - eventually - become the next No. 1 player in the world. But I don't think I ever expected Nadal to perform the way he did yesterday. That mystique was previously reserved for Federer, and Federer alone. Nadal has it now.

Nadal has something else too - the unofficial title of best tennis player in the world. In spite of what the rankings presently say, Rafa has overtaken Roger at the top of the mountain. Federer held on as long as he could - through a difficult start to 2008, to the massacre at Roland Garros, and through rain delays, tiebreakers and championship points yesterday at Wimbledon. But the Spanish bull is relentless.

There's only one Roger Federer, and there's only one Rafael Nadal. But today, Nadal is the one who is the best tennis player in the world.

if...

you disagree that this was the best match of all time, which match is on top of your list?
you don't think that Nadal is the best player in the world, why do you think that is so?