Magnificent
James Forsyth 10:24pm
I’m not much of a tennis fan but even I was gripped by the men’s final. Every time you thought it was going to end, the player on the brink of defeat seemed to find another gear. Astonishingly, despite how long the match went on—it was the longest final in the tournament’s history—the quality of play never dropped. After this final and Euro 2008, the rest of the sporting summer has a lot to live up to.
PS I do, though, have to agree with Clive’s gripe about the commentary.
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Comments
Sally
July 6th, 2008 10:44pmSpain are doing good this year! Euro 2008 and now Nadal.
Carol-Ann
July 6th, 2008 10:46pmBoth sexy men. Great final and brilliant tennis. Very good commentary from Andrew Castle and Tim Henman as well.
June Mc
July 6th, 2008 10:47pmWell done Nadal! Absolutely thrilling final.
Boyce
July 6th, 2008 11:53pmI thought the commentary was dreadful. I turned the sound off and put some music on after a couple of sets because I didn't want to hear "You'll never see a better forehand shot than that" again.
I could watch Nadal all day though.
oldtimer
July 7th, 2008 8:48amA great match - and how convenient of the weather to delay the start so that it was also possible to see Hamilton win in outstanding style at Silverstone F1 GP.
Tim
July 7th, 2008 9:26amAlso a non tennis fan I found this match utterly compelling. Unlike the BBC interviews immediately afterward which completely flattened the sense of occasion.
Frank Pulley
July 7th, 2008 11:55amI thought the hyperbole from the commentary box yesterday was puerile. It was obvious from the beginning of the match that Federer was not really up for it; Nadal had plenty of chances to take him before he did, but let them slip. There were far too many unforced errors throughout the match by both contestants, which is why it was 'the longest ever match' (?) no doubt. There were a few good shots but in general nothing consistently powerful. In fact we could have been watching women's tennis during some of the longer exchanges - Martina could have whopped either of them - far too much baseline stuff from both ends and limited variety and nuancing in general. I remember far batter performances and matches from Drobny, Rosewall, Hoad, Laver, McKinley, Emerson, Sanatana, Newcombe, Borg, Nastase, Connors, McEnroe, Becker, Sampras and, indeed, both Federer and Nadal themselves on their better days. I'll bet Federer is kicking himself for getting rogered by Raphael and not beating Borg's record for consecutive Wimbledon wins. There is a Swiss cow with a bell round it's neck all bedecked for a big occasion with swollen udders and nowhere to go, too. She must be really pissed off with Roger and bullshit spurting from Henman at al. The matador won, but the bull seemed to be sedated. Did someone nobble the water cooler?
Mooooo, Roger!