ON RARE OCCASIONS IN THE WORLD OF sport an event will be of such high drama it transcends athletics and provides lessons about life itself. No, I’m not referring to Alex Rodriguez’s wife’s filing for divorce. I’m talking about this past weekend’s 2008 Wimbledon tennis championships.
For years tennis has been in a slump. Ever since Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras retired, I lost interest. I even stopped playing but somehow their retirements got all the coverage. Well, I couldn’t have picked a better time to check back in. Although I’m still glassy-eyed from staring at the TV for seven hours, the excitement of the finals was well worth it. At least until I get the results of my next eye exam.
Saturday was the women’s final. Venus Williams beat younger sister Serena in straight sets, though it was very competitive and perhaps the best I’ve ever seen them play each other. Serena, who of late has dominated her older sister, pouted and seemed to be a poor loser. “Poor”of course, being a relative term in their case, since the sisters’worth is in the hundreds of million dollars.
We should like the Williams sisters but they haven’t made it easy. Their personal story is nothing short of remarkable. Richard Williams, their eccentric father, taught the girls on public courts in a dangerous section of Compton(Dangerous enough gang members stood guard). That is not exactly the typical path to Wimbledon.
Success in tennis has almost always started at a country club. I remember going to a women’s tournament in Manhattan Beach where I saw Zena Garrison, also black, win her match.Afterwards I overheard a socialite comment to her friend, “You know she learned her tennis on public courts!” as though synonymous with “backwoods.” Her friend’s didn’t think it was possible. I had the urge to strangle them both on the spot but thought better of it.
Richard Williams kept the girls out of virtually all junior tournaments, again unheard of. By the time they turned pro they already seemed to have an “us against the world” attitude. Their popularity hasn’t been remotely commensurate with their phenomenal success (16 Grand Slam titles). Today women’s professional tennis seems like all of Russia versus the Williams sisters. Older and more mature, hopefully their popularity will increase in the years of play they have remaining.
But it was on Sunday at Wimbledon where historic drama unfolded.The men’s title match featured Roger Federer, the stoic 26-year-old Swiss five-time defending champion against Rafael Nadal the emotional 22 year-old Spaniard,four-time French Open winner (Too bad these two guys haven’t had much success).
This marked their third straight Wimbledon final. In ‘06 Nadal lost in four sets, in ‘07 in five. Apparently three is the charm. And what a charm. The normally reserved English tennis fans were more like a soccer crowd. Afterwards, a near tearful John McEnroe said it was the best match he’d ever seen. As an announcer, Mac is not only quite good, he’s totally sane. How did that happen?
In seeking his 6th straight title, Federer was attempting a feat not accomplished in 100 years. And if Nadal won, he’d accomplish something not done in 28 years — winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. The stage was set at the cathedral of the sport and, remarkably, the quality of play exceeded the hype.
Nadal won the first two sets and appeared to be close to victory when there was a rain delay. Even the weather was dramatic. Federer proceeded to win the next two sets in tiebreak-ers, but not before fighting off a match point. As the fifth and deciding set began, it now appeared Nadal might succumb when there was another rain delay.
The match lasted 4 hours and 58 minutes — a record. I was rooting for Nadal all the way but then something odd happened. At the 4 hour and 57 minute mark, as I witnessed the gallant champion Federer about to lose, I hoped he’d somehow win.
The life lessons from the match included courage, heart and grace. It was near darkness when Nadal finally won at 9-7 in the fifth set. He raced up to greet his family in the box seats. In the stands, clapping among the loudest, was Federer’s father. Apparently class in that family is genetic.
The Wimbledon finals were nothing short of inspiring.I’m even thinking of resuming the game again, which I can assure you will not be pretty. Maybe the Federer-Nadal rivalry will revive enthusiasm in tennis again. If it does it’ll certainly beat interest in how much of A-Rod’s half billion his wife gets.
If he isn’t on the tennis court trying to remember which end of the racket to use, JACK
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 11, 2008. Read the original PDF.