That was an awesome match! Roddick has nothing to be ashamed of, both how he played and how gracious he was afterwards. Federer showed great empathy for Roddick during the McEnroe interview. Last year's final was the best ever, but I won't forget this one either.
At least those are in great enough quantity to donate to a country. http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=7892382 The single jacket, though, will probably go in a dumpster. The poor little sweatshop kid's work gets thrown away.
Wow, what a match. I was pulling for Roddick towards the end. I think he is a very gracious and humble guy as evidenced by his words afterwords. Sometimes not everyone gets his dry humor.
Thanks for the recap, kaleido. I'll try to watch some of it sometime. What did Roddick do with the volley? Hit it into the net... out wide? BTW, what do you think about the Knuble signing? He's old and slow but also a gritty, hard-working player that makes his living around the net. The Caps could use a player like that.
I also don't think this match was overall as good as last year's final, and agree that styles make fights. It wasn't so much that this final was just a serving match; it wasn't, at least not entirely. Unlike in years past, Roddick's improved backhand made the rallies that did happen less than foregone conclusions. Rather, it was just that Roddick's overpowering style, even off the ground, meant the points were generally much shorter, contained less artistry, and thus less entertaining overall. I see your point, but disagree. The "championship gear" is not made for the championship team itself, but made to sell to the hometown's gullible fans, who'll wear it around for three months then wake up one day feeling stupid, and give it to Goodwill. I doubt very seriously Nike is releasing a version of the "15" patch, or the gold outlay jacket w/ the "15" patch already on it, for home retail. And if they did, virtually no one would buy it, because everyone knows that they themselves did not win 15 grand slam titles. The appropriate analogy for this individual sports achievement would be, rather than some PR flack handing him a hand-lettered sign the moment before this picture, was taken and then Chamberlain immediately tossing the cardboard aside, if Wilt Chamberlain instead had his posse design it (in gold lettering) before the game, so he could parade around a "100" sticker on the back of his Warriors jersey that night & for the rest of the season. It just doesn't sit well. A great mark in individual sports was achieved today at centre court; no amount of filigree will or should ever be needed to make others aware of it.
It was a high backhand volley, a difficult shot for recreational players, but one he should have handled. Federer was forced out of position, but recovering. Roddick shanked it, badly wide. About 6:40 in (poor quality), <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KVVaKB_0noc&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KVVaKB_0noc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I thought he did sound a little pissed that Roger said that. He also makes a face when they cut back to him for a second.
I sincerely doubt that Federer intentionally told his "posse" (as you call it) to design and embroider a gold "15" on the back of his track jacket. More than likely, Nike made it for him before the tournament and he obliged them by wearing it. Was it tacky and contrived? Sure. Could he have refused? Possibly, but I'm not too sure how much say he has in the matter. If Nike decided to pay me millions of dollars to wear some clothing, short of it being downright offensive to everyone, I'd wear it...no matter how dowdy it may look.
I stayed up till 3.55am pulling for Roddick to win. I wanted to go to sleep when he lost the second set, but decided to stay on... I didn't regret it though. I have never ever rooted for Roddick before yet he has won me over this Wimbledon. Classy, tactical and improving even when he is already 26. Plus his maturity. All great qualities. I guess sometimes you just can't fight with destiny. And the destiny of the tennis god aka Roger Federer was too much for Andy in the end. Played hard for 4 hours and lost it in the last 3 minutes, a tragic end. Roger served 50 aces in this match. It is just... crazy.
However, last year Fed wasn't playing his best tennis. He only got about 50 percent of his first serves in.
