Tennis clash of the titans

I’m not a big fan of tennis.It seems boring to me, especially nowadays with space-age rackets that eliminate much of the scintillating serve-and-volleying that I would find exciting.Federer-Nadal III changed all that. With Sunday’s epic Wimbledon final won by 22-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal over 26-year-old (How is that possible?!?) Swiss Roger Federer causing ESPN’s tennis pundits to gush endlessly, I will be watching any time these two giants take the court again.Here’s an analogy I’ll steal from my dad, who has forgotten more about sports than I’ll ever know. Federer is like Muhammad Ali in his prime. Ali the social activist changed the world in that arena too, but for now we’re just talking about Ali the fighter.Federer and Ali are both so good and so talented that they make you forget how difficult and physically taxing their sports are. Watch some old tape of Ali dancing around people. Just watch his feet.Then watch Federer moving around the court like a gazelle in an open plain. The cross-court backhand winners he places with pinpoint precision are impossible.Now think about Ali-Frazier I, II and III (the first two in Madison Square Garden and the third in Manila, Philippines). No matter how many times Ali would dance around Frazier and pepper him with body blows, Frazier would keep coming, keep mauling the quicker Ali.Nadal, who is the most physically impressive tennis player I’ve ever seen (though I’m not a fan of the capri pants) fights for every point like a rabid dog. Instead of wilting in the fifth set against Federer like he did in last year’s Wimbledon final, Nadal fought back again and again for the five-set victory.If I’m the ATP president, I’m doing everything short of rigging tournaments to make sure these two guys play as often as possible. They’re making tennis relevant again, one epic match at a time. 

One Response to “Tennis clash of the titans”

  1. Anonymous

    Greatest match of all time.

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