I was excited to see Federer and Nadal play on New Year's Day. They each had different opponents and the idea was for them to meet in the championship round the next day.
For hosting the top two players in the world, the stadium was surprisingly small. A seat at the very top was still easy to see everything. The matches were "best of 3."
Federer played first. He exhibited absolutely zero energy. He won the first set in a tie-breaker and lost the second set in a tie-breaker. In the third set he gave up and his serve was broken a couple of times.The event paid $250,000 to the winner and Federer gave everyone the impression that $250,000 was small peanuts and not worth working for.
As night set in Nadal's match began...
Nadal scrambled and worked hard. The effort you see here is more than Federer put into his entire match. Not surprisingly, Nadal won in two sets.Going into this I had tremendous respect for Federer. Given his grand slam record he is arguably the best tennis player that's ever lived... It's too bad that guy didn't show up.
Just a comment here, Steve, not being argumentative. I have a problem with statements like "best ever" or "best who ever played." How do we know that? We can't see the future nor can we predict it. Do I think Michael Jordan is the best basketball player to ever play the game? No. Do I think he was the best to play during the years he played? Yes. My position is that all games change over time. Thus, skills are continually changing and adapting to those changes. Therefore, I would posit, no one will ever be the 'best' overall. The 'best' they can ever hope to be is the 'best' during the time period in which they performed. Fair argument?
ReplyDeleteSaying he is "arguably the best who ever played" is not something I made up. Many others who follow tennis closely have made the comment. It's clearly a debatable topic. The guy I saw on Friday was not the best on the court, let alone best in the world or for all time.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't suggesting you made it up. Many have said the same about Michael Jordan. I was merely commenting on the statement itself. And I think my point is valid.
ReplyDelete