With Federer winning the US Open, Blutterfly Anuja relives her Wimbledon 2008 moments and transports us to Centre Court with her.
Wimbledon has a new king - Rafael Nadal. The match was a grueling 4 hours 48 minutes duel between my hero, defending champion for 5 consecutive years, Roger Federer and Nadal. The previous night I dreamt of Freddy creating history by lifting the Wimbledon trophy for the sixth time. The dream was so vivid that I opened my eyes to darkness and immediately closed it, imagining myself being on the centre court cheering out for Freddy.
Coming back to the excitement of the game, though Rafa’s performance throughout the tournament was magnificent, I never thought he would lift the trophy. I felt Federer would continue to reign the grass court. Unfortunately, one of them was in a better form than the other. Freddy might have been himself amazed by Rafa’s dominance in the first two sets. This was the time I thought Freddy would lose. His first serves were weak but the rains proved to be bliss and he fought back gracefully to take the game to the fifth set.
Meanwhile, my house had turned into a battle field. The atmosphere was tensed with me in Freddy’s camp and my sister and dad in Rafa’s. No one was allowed to make noise or even walk in front of the television. Each camp would rejoice with their respective side’s win. Even my ‘usually not so interested in tennis’ mom got caught in the madness and frenzy and started enjoying it as much as we were.
Then came the second bout of rains. It temporarily doused our excitement until the game resumed back after half an hour. In the midst of the audience were one time arch-rivals Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Watching the finest athletes ever produced by tennis was like icing on the cake. Being an avid tennis fan since childhood, I have always been a great fan of Borg, McEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, Navratilova and Steffi Graff. Over the years this list has become longer. As a kid I would always make it a point to never miss a single match of theirs which was packed with excitement, energy, passion and true spirit of sportsmanship.
When the game resumed after the rain break, I wa
s skeptical who would win till the last ball of the game. The last set was so nail biting that I almost fell off my bed when Freddy missed the shot and hit the net. But I was also proud of Rafa! A brilliant performer, a true fighter and finally an achiever. A third time face-off with Freddy, he thoroughly deserved every bit of his victory. Being a 22 year old he displayed an outstanding attitude, footwork and composed emotions, unlike the former players who in their early stages showed aggression. On the other hand Roger has grown out to be a mature and competitive player, one who knows to control his emotional side. He is one player who has tremendous potential and truly No. 1. Just one loss does not make him a lesser performer.
Tennis has been, was, and will always remain my best sport. I had once an ambition to be a tennis player. I know it’s not too late and I will one day accomplish my dream.So what if I don’t play against the world’s best. But there is a chance whomsoever I play against could be tomorrow’s world no.1!
Wimbledon has a new king - Rafael Nadal. The match was a grueling 4 hours 48 minutes duel between my hero, defending champion for 5 consecutive years, Roger Federer and Nadal. The previous night I dreamt of Freddy creating history by lifting the Wimbledon trophy for the sixth time. The dream was so vivid that I opened my eyes to darkness and immediately closed it, imagining myself being on the centre court cheering out for Freddy.
Coming back to the excitement of the game, though Rafa’s performance throughout the tournament was magnificent, I never thought he would lift the trophy. I felt Federer would continue to reign the grass court. Unfortunately, one of them was in a better form than the other. Freddy might have been himself amazed by Rafa’s dominance in the first two sets. This was the time I thought Freddy would lose. His first serves were weak but the rains proved to be bliss and he fought back gracefully to take the game to the fifth set.
Meanwhile, my house had turned into a battle field. The atmosphere was tensed with me in Freddy’s camp and my sister and dad in Rafa’s. No one was allowed to make noise or even walk in front of the television. Each camp would rejoice with their respective side’s win. Even my ‘usually not so interested in tennis’ mom got caught in the madness and frenzy and started enjoying it as much as we were.
Then came the second bout of rains. It temporarily doused our excitement until the game resumed back after half an hour. In the midst of the audience were one time arch-rivals Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Watching the finest athletes ever produced by tennis was like icing on the cake. Being an avid tennis fan since childhood, I have always been a great fan of Borg, McEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, Navratilova and Steffi Graff. Over the years this list has become longer. As a kid I would always make it a point to never miss a single match of theirs which was packed with excitement, energy, passion and true spirit of sportsmanship.
When the game resumed after the rain break, I wa
s skeptical who would win till the last ball of the game. The last set was so nail biting that I almost fell off my bed when Freddy missed the shot and hit the net. But I was also proud of Rafa! A brilliant performer, a true fighter and finally an achiever. A third time face-off with Freddy, he thoroughly deserved every bit of his victory. Being a 22 year old he displayed an outstanding attitude, footwork and composed emotions, unlike the former players who in their early stages showed aggression. On the other hand Roger has grown out to be a mature and competitive player, one who knows to control his emotional side. He is one player who has tremendous potential and truly No. 1. Just one loss does not make him a lesser performer.Tennis has been, was, and will always remain my best sport. I had once an ambition to be a tennis player. I know it’s not too late and I will one day accomplish my dream.So what if I don’t play against the world’s best. But there is a chance whomsoever I play against could be tomorrow’s world no.1!
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