<p>Will the streak end at five?</p>
<p>Unless Nadal becomes totally unraveled during the rain delay, I’d say yes.</p>
<p>Agree. Borg lies in the wings, always a class act. Federer wise to take net but Nadal has A game passing shots today.</p>
<p>What a match! Will it end tonight?</p>
<p>no federer will win</p>
<p>Rarely watch tennis, but turned it on earlier today while cleaning. Still going on at 9 pm their time. Their stamina is amazing.</p>
<p>Wow. These guys are both class acts. Awesome match.
Can’t believe I feel bad for Federer - I usually root for the underdog. But they both worked so hard…it’s such a same that someone has to lose!</p>
<p>True. Good sports, and Nadal a very gracious winner.</p>
<p>John McEnroe is so right. This was one of the greatest matches ever.</p>
<p>Amazing match. We had to leave at the rain delay. Taped it (and the two following programs, thank g*d). Came home and were glued to it. </p>
<p>SO evenly matched. SO much stamina, so much heart, so much determination. And so much skill.</p>
<p>I’ve never been a Federer fan; am almost always an underdog fan. So I’m happy at the outcome. But really learned to respect and like Federer for his play and his grace afterward.</p>
<p>What an INCREDIBLE match. I was sort of rooting for Nadal but by the end I hated either of them to lose. I have been a hard core tennis fan since I was ten years old and have seen a lot of grand slam matches in my time, both live and on TV and I can rarely remember such a display. The emotional roller coaster ride aspect of it reminded me of the classic Borg vs. McEnroe matches in the eighties where I hated to see either of those guys lose, too.</p>
<p>Best. Match. Ever. </p>
<p>They both handled themselves in such a sportsman-like way both during play and afterward. If only all athletes behaved so well.</p>
<p>Best match I’ve ever watched…handsdown!</p>
<p>S2 was cheering for RF, I was cheering for Rafa…but in the end you have to applaud both players. Awesome, nailbiting match.</p>
<p>These last two weeks have been crazy in this Spanish/American family.
Hubbyis still flying after Euro 2008 and now Rafa! One of our children lives in Madrid, and the other plays(but not football) for TU, nominated for an ESPY this week for Best Play.</p>
<p>As for me, I’m a die hard Cub fan.</p>
<p>gloworm</p>
<p>I’ve always been a Federer fan as he’s a holdout in the more classical style instead of fully embracing the modern game using windshield wiper strokes, extreme western grips and the two-handed backhand. Federer is actually somewhat of a cross between the classical and modern games. For old-timers like me, seeing the classical game in modern tennis is nostalgic. Of course many of us old-timers have been making the migration towards at least a semi-western and the ultrapowerful racquets that technology has brought us.</p>
<p>One thing that I noticed is that Nadal had both knees taped. I’ve suffered from chondromalacia in the past and he might have the same problem. As mentioned during the match, the biggest problems with this kind of injury would come from hard courts. Grass and clay provide some measure of give and are generally much easier on the legs (outside of slipping while playing on grass).</p>
<p>While on the subject of Wimbledon, it was also nice to see a few US Winners at Wimbledon with the long draught in mens singles. Venus Williams won the ladies singles and the Williams sisters won the ladies doubles. Bob Bryan was on the winning team for the mixed doubles beating a team that included his brother.</p>
<p>I have been watching tennis since 1979 (when I was 6 years old!). This is definitely one of the top 3 matches I have ever seen played on grass. The other two were the 1980 final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe and the 1992 final between Andre Agassi and Goran Ivanisevic. In short, this sort of game takes place only once ever 10-15 years. One for the ages!</p>
<p>Yes, BC, it was a joy watching the sisters. I look forward to watching them in the U.S. Open as well.</p>
<p>I’m a Laver/Rosewall/Hoad/Gonzales-era player/fan. I have to wonder how hard these players today could hit if they were using wooden racquets. McEnroe advocated returning to wooden racquets a while back in order to slow things down and make for better rallies.</p>
<p>It’s clear to me that the top players from my era couldn’t stay on the court with these guys today. Have you ever seen films of any of the old '50s-'60s matches? They seem to be in semi-slow motion.</p>
<p>Hey BC - I used to run and also suffered from chondromalacia (wore those same bands under my knees like Nadal). Stopped running and took up yoga and the knee is fine now (considering running again - but NOT on hard surfaces).
Can’t picture Nadal doing yoga. Federer, though, is amazingly flexible - remember how he went to his knees and put his back on the ground after a win couple of years ago? Wow. Impressive.
The sisters were great - although I thought Serena was bit too pouty after the loss. Venus is always gracious.</p>
<p>Actually it seemed more old school in terms of the points played (more French Open-like) than some of the Wimbledon’s with big servers where these guys are one dimensional and the points play very quickly. All adding to the interest of the match yesterday.</p>
<p>And I’d take Nadal’s Babolot over my old Pancho wooden racquet in a heartbeat…</p>