Next Gen Journal

By Nate Balmert, Sports Editor

It was all anyone could ask for in a Wimbledon final. But like all other good things, the longest fifth set in Wimbledon history came to an end. American tennis fans found someone to root for on the fifth of July at England’s Grand Slam tennis tournament. The British tennis fans at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club started rooting for a different Andy, with their beloved fellow Brit Andy Murray losing to Andy Roddick. Wimbledon this year had an interesting storyline, but many feared a dull match.  Instead, it was the most exciting in years.  At the beginning of the tournament, with defending champion Rafael Nadal out with a knee injury, everyone thought Roger Federer would coast to victory on a wave of momentum after his French Open conquest. But Federer had to work for this one. He had to toil for over four hours, in fact. All the Americans that got up early, and even some who slept in, were able to see the gritty American Roddick compete against the nearly flawless Roger Federer in a five-set classic. On the fifth of July, it would have been a great belated birthday present to America:  one of their own prevailing at a Grand Slam for the first time since Roddick finished 2003 ranked number one in the world ahead of Federer on the heels of his US Open conquest.

With Pete Sampras on hand, the match was set up for some magic. Roddick broke at 6-5 in the first set to take a surprising  one set lead. But Federer proved as solid and unfaltering as Swiss gold. In defeat, Roddick can only say “what if” about the four set points he had in the second set tiebreak. A 2 set lead might have told a different story.

Roddick’s serve clearly unsettled Federer with a variety of serves placed all over the box, sometimes for aces, but often jamming him and making Federer work for every return. Federer was notable to break Roddick until Roddick visibly ran out of gas at 15-14 in the 5th set. Federer, meanwhile turned in the servic performance of his life, with an astounding 50 aces. Federer was one of the few players to be able to beat Roddick soundly in the aces and winners catergories.

One may ask how did Roddick, with a 2-18 record against Federer look so evenly matched to the seemingly unconquerable Roger Federer. First, his serve was amazing, making an astounding 70% percent of his first serves. And on these first serves he won 83% of the points. It may have been a tennis match, but the lack of service breaks made the match seem more like an epic pitchers’ duel. Second, Roddick is a lot more fit than he has been in the past, thanks to Coach Larry Stefanki. He was able to play defense a lot better than in the past. And most importantly, Roddick added a much improved down-the-line backhand shot to his repetoire.

No one really wanted to see Federer and Nadal battle it out for the third year in a row, right? It would have been an interesting storyline, with Federer going for his 15^th title as the underdog at the All England Club for the first time in many years, and with Nadal now defending his title. But who could root against Andy Roddick? No one really considered him a contender going in, but with “Rafa” out, his path to the semi- finals was clear, with only a resurgent Lleyton Hewitt standing in Roddick’s way to his matchup with the crowd favorite Andy Murray in the semis. Roddick, one could argue, was one point in the second set tiebreak from an official resurgence, one point from a commanding lead and a chance for a long awaited second Grand Slam trophy.

But like Rocco Mediate before him, he fell short. Just like in last years classic golf  U.S. Open, the favorite came storming back (okay, Federer’s ACL was intact, but still) after an initial setback. The thrilling chase for glory fought the heart-wrenching underdog story. The competition went into “overtime.” During Wimbledon, there are no tiebreakers in the fifth set. Players must continue until someone wins by two. And in this case the underdog lost. Again.

Roddick has a lot to be proud of. The only fitting result for such an epic, and closely fought, match would be a tie. Unfortunately, there are no ties in tennis; there is only one first place trophy . Short of victory, Roddick must be proud of his result. How can he not? Many people thought he was fading, with young guns Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal appearing to be iotas ahead of the old vet. But Roddick has proven that maybe he can play with the best of the crowd at the top of the rankings. His experience in these pressure matches has proved invaluable. King Roger, a player made for grass, hungry for his 6^th Wimbledon title in 7 years and his fifteenth career Grand Slam title, got in the way. His “oppressive” skills put the kibosh on Andy Roddick’s mini revolution in the world of tennis. The Independence Day holiday reminds us that we Americans despise oppressive institutions, in this case tennis’s “King of Grass.”  Roddick deserves our support now. He has shown that he definitely deserves a place in tennis immortality, at least for being the lovable Rocco that brings out the best in Tiger, and the resurgence that just wasn’t meant to be. But Roddick will be back. It’s the American spirit.