Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

Forty-eight hours later and I’m still in awe over Sunday. A 10-hour plane flight, with time to absorb nearly a dozen London newspapers along with nearly a hundred messages, many from those who would be classified as “casual” fans, has lent to the aura of this match as “the best ever.”

Now I hear today that SI will feature the match on its cover. When Pete Sampras won his record 13th Slam and 7th Wimbledon, we came home to see a muscled and tattooed Jason Giambi on the SI cover. Sampras was appalled. And now we know that tennis fell victim to the BALCO scam.

This was pure.

This was cojones grande, the only way to describe Rafa doing what he could not 12 months earlier, find a way to win the third set from Federer.

This was a champion falling in “brutal gladiatorial combat…but tumbling with valour” in the stirring words of London Daily Mail writer Paul Hayward. And how fine is that description.

In 24 hours back home, there is a talk-show buzz and coffee shop chat about this match that I have not witnessed in many years.

These two made tennis relevant. Now can it sustain what these two have created?

More from the Wimbledon cache:

* The disappointment over early exits by Andy Roddick and James Blake certainly went away. Stories always emerge; be it Andy Murray’s next step towards the top echelon, Marat Safin (up 35 places to 40), Rainer Schuettler (up 55 to 39) and Arnaud Clement (up 73 to 72) all made themselves relevant again, the two-week siege and double wins for the Sisters, Britain’s obsession over 14-year-old junior champ Laura Robson and her marvelously refreshing attitude over new fame, and the continuing presence of so many former champions at the AELTC.

* The roof can’t arrive fast enough. Sunday’s final ended about 10 minutes before a nightmare encounter would have occurred. The Club, understandably, wanted play to continue until 9:30-9:45 p.m.. They, like everyone, wanted a result. The money and disruption for Monday play, perhaps as little as two games, would have been wasteful. Yet, there was a point at which the players would have said, understandably, that a Championship, particularly from a match so superior, couldn’t be decided in darkness. Thankfully, we were spared the moment. A match for the ages had a proper ending in the dusk of Centre Court.

And traditionalists need not weep. Centre Court will still be open. Remember that grass needs light. The roof will only close once it rains, a 12-minute process. Thus, the courts will be still be covered for a short period. The benefit of the roof will be to guarantee play after a short stoppage and thus never again the drama of Sunday night.

* Major consensus in London was that the Williams Sisters success was due in part to the weakness of the WTA Tour. This is a debate for another time but the perception must be countered by the Tour.

* Start perhaps with Aggie Radwanska, the most impressive of the game’s young women. She has a Martina Hingis-like presence on the court that adds conviction to less-than-punishing shots. She simply doesn’t beat herself. Her lack of serve may hinder the hopes of a Wimbledon title, but the women’s game needs a player like Aggie to rise.

After all, this week’s rankings still feature Patty Schnyder, a career fourth-round player with one Slam semi to her credit, at 13 in the world. Lindsay Davenport won one round at Wimbledon and rose to 23. Tough to explain that to the sporting public.

* While we’re on that point, Serena passed Venus on the computer (reason 5,742 why I hate the concept). But my colleague, SI’s Jon Wertheim, poses a terrific question: has Venus’ career eclipsed Serena’s?

* Now we move to the hard courts and wonder whether Donald Young, John Isner (both of whom fell and are close to being out of the top 100) and Sam Querrey can make a move. Can Bethanie Mattek continue her momentum from the spring/summer and make a Robby Ginepri-like charge through the summer?

And can Rafa play well in the States, particularly the Open? Will his knees, the ones that Uncle Toni admits are so tender that the family wants Rafa to play LESS on the hard stuff, allow him to show New York his greatness?

And does Roger, whose performance at Wimbledon showed he is certainly not done, feel a little pressure to win Slams sooner rather than later?

I’m shocked by the relative restraint of the London papers today. Andy Murray is the Final Eight for the first time at Wimbledon and he got there in high style, a comeback from two sets down to take out Richard Gasquet. Centre Court was a wall of sound in the fifth set as Murray beat his foe and the fading light. Yet Tuesday dawns without an overabundance of fawning from the devoted press.

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Murray deserves credit. I left the grounds with Murray down two sets. Walking through the crowd watching on “Henman Hill”, there was a natural and palapble level of disappontment, the kind that in England is usually accompanied by a tall pint of Pimm’s. So imagine my surprise when I turned on my hotel TV to see Murray rallying in the third. And then the reports started arriving from folks still on Centre Court, phrases like “You can’t believe the atmosphere,” “The crowd is going crazy,” and “Murray is going to win this!”
 
The game that advanced Murray, that may elevate him into the ranks of the top players, was the 10th game of the third set. Gasquet had finally broken Murray for a 5-4 lead and came out to serve for the match. Murray quickly struck to 0-40 but Gasquet saved the first two break points. Then, though, the Frenchman double-faulted, Murray was still alive and the reversal had begun.
 
By the fifth set, Centre Court was engulfed in a roar, Murray was charging and Gasquet, who recall rallied in a similar manner to stun Andy Roddick last year, was asking the chair to halt play. No stay from the governor. And just past 9 in the evening, Murray ran to the court with a flex of the bicep that we hope is never to be repeated. But he gets his “muscle match” with Nadal Wednesday.
 
The Sisters were terrific Monday. On court, they both handled their assignment with relative ease. Only a brief bobble by Venus when trying to win the last game slowed her progress. Serena easily handled Bethanie Mattek. Both moved well on the grass, looked confident and appear destined for Saturday.
 
More impressive, though, was how they handled the scheduling. Six Wimbledon titles between them and they were assigned to Court 2, seating capacity 2,130. It was not a decision worthy of champions. And the expected questions were there for both Serena and Venus. With the door opened multiple times for them to criticize the AELTC, neither took the bait. All Serena admitted to was some “surprise.” I have come to expect such class from Venus; Serena’s poise in the moment is newer and quite refreshing.
 
On Tuesday, Venus draws Tamarine Tanasugarn, age 31, on Court 1 while Serena gets a Centre Court match with Aggie Radwanska, a talented 19-year-old. Different types of opponents but similar in that neither should slow the Sisters Express.
 
It’s still remarkably dry at Wimbledon; the grass has dried and the courts are browning on the edge. Some rain is predicted for early Wednesday, but it’s one day only as we march through one of the driest Wimbledons in recent history.
 
Also on Tuesday, the Bryans receive a Centre Court match, following Serena in the men’s doubles. The Sisters, after their singles wins, advanced to the quarters in doubles with an easy win over the Spanish duo of Ruano Pascual and Medina Garrigues. And, top-ranked junior Melanie Oudin, No. 1 seed here, won her first round match Monday.