More thoughts on the Maestro's incredible win

Roger looking dapper in his tux with the trophy

 As the great victory has continued to marinate in my mind over the last 24 hours, here are some of my additional thoughts since yesterday's post.

I realized I hadn't even mentioned Roger's level of play in my excitement of what his accomplishment means in so many different realms.  But along with the 17, 7 and 1 that everyone is talking about (and what about 75 titles?), another amazing feat that stood out to me is that in my opinion he is starting to look much more like the Federer of old.  There have been quite a few times in these last couple years that he really did look as if he was losing a step compared to the other guys, and that his game was dropping, even if just a small degree.  However, over the last nine months there has been so much encouragement with the titles he has won and his obvious motivation to continue winning.  In this tournament we have seen some of the amazing mastery in the early rounds, then those couple scary rounds, and now these last couple matches looking just amazing.  Yesterday the way he was able to raise his game after the slow start and then play some absolutely beautiful, and may I say genius tennis that we had become accustomed to in times past.  The beauty of his game when he is playing his best is just astounding, gliding, almost dancing around the court.  I remember one rally where they must have done five cross court forehands each back and forth, and each of his forehands was different in one way or another, one a high looping one, another with his wrist laid way back, another fired hard.  It's just amazing his variety with just one shot.  And his overhead smashes were beautiful, not to mention the touch on his drop shots, or the short angled forehands barely across the net.  My husband, who was gone for the match and just watched highlights, on one of those short angled forehand winners, said "What was that?!"  That about says it with much of what he was doing.  Incredible!!

What do the next few months hold?  Could this be what he needed to get him back not just to winning the smaller tournaments, but to winning even more grand slams again?  Though I'm not necessarily expecting it, I could see him come back and winning both the Olympic gold and the U.S. Open.  I know, probably dreaming, as the other guys are going to have much to say about that.  But I do think now that he has experienced this victory again, that he might not be stopping at 17!  Is it possible for him to reach 20?

On another note, how could anyone but the most hard hearted not feel for Andy Murray as he was giving his tearful speech.  Even though, of course, I didn't want him to win, I still can't help but feel bad for him.  He played the best he ever has in a major final and yet it still just wasn't enough.  Surely he must have felt he had a chance, especially after winning the first set and having break points in the second set.  It must have been heart rending to once again come up the runner up, only this time being in front of his home crowd.  You could tell Roger felt for him too.  I do believe Andy will win one eventually.  

Here is a fun video of all the press responsibilities Roger has after these wins.  He seems to be in a pretty good mood though, as would be expected!

One last thing, for today anyway.  I thought the following was an exceptionally well written article with good quotes from Roger, so instead of me trying to repeat some of this I will just let you read it from the link below:

Sportsillustrated.cnn.com 

Roger and fortune cookie success!

Oh, such sweet victory!  How do I even go about  expressing the emotions of what has taken place today?  There are so many amazing things that happened with this win - 7th Wimbledon, 17th major title, and #1 in the world once again to break the record.  Which is the best?  They are all so incredible at a month from 31 years old!  People were so in awe of Rafael Nadal winning his 7th French Open.  Well, Roger has equaled it with 7 Wimbledons.  And he has shown, by most people's estimation I'm sure, that he is the GOAT.  I'm just in awe of what he has been able to accomplish.

I have to share my story that happened earlier in the week, though.  My husband and I went for Chinese food on the 4th of July and I got a fortune cookie.  Before I opened it I told myself that this was going to tell me if Roger was going to win or not.  Here is what it said:

In case you can't read the small print it says "Your lucky number for the week is seven."  Wow - I couldn't believe it!  Now I'm not one to believe in fortune cookies.  In fact, prayer is something I rely on very much.  But I think sometimes God has a sense of humor and just wanted to reassure me.  Not that I didn't have my moments of tension, because I certainly did, especially in that 2nd set, but I also felt kind of a calm certainty that he was going to come through.  I thought that was pretty amazing, and that fortune will definitely stay on my Federbear!

There are so many quotes I could put of what Roger has said after the match which I haven't even had a chance to read or hear yet, but I'll go with this one:  "I feel better here [at Wimbledon] than anywhere else. I don't know why. It's a unique and special place"  That it is.  And can you imagine the confidence going into the Olympics now?  Imagine the sweetness of adding Olympic gold to what he has achieved.  Another sweet joy to dream of in the next few weeks while Roger takes a much deserved vacation.


I will end it with a couple sweet pictures of his precious girls, who got to come into the players box for the award ceremony.

Williams sisters double delight

What a day it was for Serena Williams!  Whether you are a Serena fan or not, there is a very human element that has to be taken into account here.  With all that she has been through in the past two years since her last Wimbledon title with the freak cut by glass on her foot, which took so long to heal, and then the tremendous scare with the pulmonary embolism in which she feared for her life, to come back and win Wimbledon for her 14th major title is just an incredible story.  Though part of me was definitely cheering for Aga Radwanska, who I have come to really like, I couldn't help but shed a few tears myself at Serena's joy as she appreciated this incredible blessing in her life.

The first set I felt some feelings of definite disappointment and dread for Aga as she struggled so hard to get just one game on the board.  It was with relief and then excitement that I saw her really start to turn things around and make it a match.  While it was obvious Serena was tightening up as the possibility of the title became more of a probability, you could tell Radwanska was also feeling much more comfortable and able to employ more of the crafty play she is known for.  It was great to see her pull out that second set, to make this first grand slam final more of a pleasant memory to look back on, unlike similar ones by, say Vera Zvonerava, which were basically blow-outs.  But in the end Serena was able to bring her power game once again and take home her 5th Wimbledon title, tying her sister Venus.

Speaking of Venus, her sister hasn't been the only one to have health issues.  As everyone knows, Venus was diagnosed with Sjoegren's syndrome last year.  Having rheumatoid arthritis myself, which has similarities to that disease, I can sympathize with what she has had to work through and I applaud her for her tremendous effort and determination.  Though she lost early in singles, she did get her ranking up high enough to reach her goal of playing in the Olympics in three weeks.  I also have to give huge kudos to Serena.  Due to all the rain she has had to play an incredible amount of tennis the last several days trying to catch up with all the doubles matches missed.  She could have pulled out of the doubles and saved herself for the singles.  However, she stuck with it and she had the joy and satisfaction of also getting to see her sister win a Wimbledon title.  Sisterly love to a great degree, I would say.  The hug and obvious happiness they shared at the end was inspiring.

I am waiting with bated breath for tomorrow's men's singles final.  Should be an amazing match with the highest emotion on both sides.  History in the making no matter what the result (though there is only one result that I am looking for).  Hopefully looking forward to doing my happiest post to date tomorrow afternoon.

Joy and Ecstasy!

Can a Federer fan feel more joy than what I am feeling right now?  Roger Federer into his 8th Wimbledon final with a chance to take his 7th title.  Oh the rapture when that last Djokovic return hit the net and Roger raised in his arms in victory.  The feelings of heart pounding, sweaty palms, changing emotions between ecstasy and dread followed me through the match.  But in the end the GOAT was able to pull it off against a somewhat uncomfortable looking Novak Djokovic.

The fact that Roger will go back to #1 in the world with a win on Sunday would be such an amazing feat at a month from his 31st birthday.  For those like me who have been frustrated with those who have not exactly written him off, but at least implied he is being far surpassed by the two who have held rank over him for the last year or more, it would be a particularly sweet victory, almost an "I told you so."  What a way to cement his legacy.

I have seen quite a few reactions before this match that if Roger could beat Novak, it would be almost an automatic win for him in the final.  Not so fast, though!  Andy Murray would have amazing crowd support, and an equally amazing determination to not lose one more final, this time at his home tournament (of course, amazing pressure at the same time!).  And don't forget it was Jo Wilfred Tsonga who beat Roger here last year.  When he gets on a roll we know what can happen!

It looks to be an amazing day of tennis on Sunday.  Until then those who are Federer fans can bask in the glow of victory and dream of the title two days from now!

Another royal performance + Fed girls sighting

The likes of Prince William, Kate, Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf, and Rod Laver were treated to a special display today as Roger Federer put on another masterclass performance, beating Youzhny 6-1 6-2 6-2 and improving to a 14-0 head to head record against him, not to mention gaining entry into his 32nd major semifinal.  The numbers are just staggering as to what this man has achieved!

While my hopes for a 7th Wimbledon crown went way downhill two days ago with Roger's medical timeout for back injury and his obvious difficulty with movement around the court and serving abilities, today I am starting to feel some renewed hope.  Along with his normal beautiful shots we have gotten used to, I was very impressed today with his defensive skills and his ability to turn defense into offense.  There were several times he looked completely out of a point, but he was able to turn it around and end up hitting a winner out of nowhere.  Very encouraging as we think ahead to his match on Friday against Novak Djokovic.  Roger really seems to raise his game when royalty is in the house.  Can someone please invite the Queen to Friday's match?!!!


And as a special treat, Myla and Charlene were somewhere in the vicinity for Daddy's match, along with the lucky ladies who get the privilege of watching out for Roger and Mirka's little princesses.

And here's a You Tube link of them at the match.  So sweet!

What to think?

Federer fans were in for another unexpected surprise today.  After having watched him come back from two sets down last week in what could have been his earliest exit in a major in many years, his fans felt incredible relief when he pulled it out.  I think we were all expecting and longing for an easy match today.  What everyone was unprepared for was a back injury of some type or another that started to bother him early in the first set.  The scary part was when he not only called the trainer, but actually went off court to receive treatment.  It was obvious watching him serve, move tentatively around court, and hit his forehands with less authority, that he was struggling.  Somehow, though, he managed to pull off the first set in a pretty easy tiebreak, along with a 2nd set that he cruised through.  He was starting to look better as the pain medication was most likely kicking in.  I was unprepared though for the 3rd set loss, and when he got broken in the 1st game of the 4th I started having unpleasant daydreams of last year's Tsonga match.  Once he managed to break back he seemed to take more control of the match again and managed to pull off a victory.


What does this mean going forward, though?  Here's what he had to say in  his press conference regarding his back:  ''Honestly I'm not too worried,'' he said. ''I've had bad backs over the years. They go as quick as they came. But, of course, I have to keep an eye on it now. Two good nights' sleeps, and I'll be 100 percent on Wednesday. I'm pretty convinced, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pull out the match the way I did today.''  While I'm happy to hear his positivity, though, I'm not so sure.  While I think he will be able to get through his quarterfinal match again Youzhny, who he has never lost to, my optimism of his taking his 17th grand slam trophy just went down tremendously.  After watching how well Djokovic was playing today, Roger would need to be at his best to beat him.  While he may be feeling better, will he be able to be at the level necessary to beat the current #1?  Feeling some serious disappointment about this new development.


If you would like to hear more of what he had to say in his press conference, here is a transcript of it:


press conference


It was too bad they were only able to get three of the men's matches completed today.  Definitely a disadvantage for those who will have to play three days in a row.  Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tomorrow.


In women's news, they were thankfully able to complete all of the Round of 16 today.  Surprisingly Maria Sharapova went out in straight sets to Sabine Lisicki, meaning she will lose her #1 ranking, while Serena was able to hang on in a tight three setter.  The biggest match in the quarterfinals, in my opinion, will be Serena vs. Petra Kvitova.  Wow, that one could certainly go either way!

Roger Federer interview

In the few minutes that I had on this non-tennis middle Sunday I thought about trying to come up with a summary blog, but life got in the way and I took advantage of getting to do some other things before the excitement starts up again.  

But I thought I could at least put up this interview of Roger Federer with Sue Barker from the BBC, which I thought was enjoyable, for those who haven't had the opportunity to see it:

Sue Barker interviews Roger