Tennis at
Wimbledon is not always perfect. The unfamiliar grass court
surface can wreak havoc with a player’s grip and
groundstrokes, while its restrained atmosphere of etiquette
and tradition may add to the already enormous pressure of
competing for the grandest title the sport has to offer.
These factors
can lead to great matches but also to tense, unfit affairs.
Nonetheless, there are some years at Wimbledon where the
tennis itself almost becomes secondary, transcended by the
nature of events unfolding across its lawns. Tennis leaves
behind the multi-million dollar corporate machine it has
become and revisits a time when winning was not only about
skill, but also characterized professional honor and the
validation of a champion’s heart. This fantastical sense of
time travel embodies the very essence of Wimbledon as we
know it, and the 2006 Championships were just such an event.
The first day
of play was a near washout, plagued by rain and offering a
slow start to the drama that was destined to unfold. Perhaps
the tennis gods knew what the tennis public was soon to
discover: two living legends of the game, Andre Agassi and
Martina Navratilova, both announced that they were
contesting their final Wimbledon. The pair of iconic
champions found validation on the green lawns of the All
England Club. Agassi first hinted of his future
metamorphosis on the grounds of SW19. The former teenage
phenom who was too spoiled to work towards fulfilling his
potential made a stunning run to the 1992 title to capture
his first Grand Slam title; it was a long overdue victory
that previewed the type of passion and dedication that would
become Agassi’s trademark in his later years. Martina
Navratilova, despite having (mostly) retired from singles
play in 1994, is still a contender in doubles at nearly 50
years of age. Navratilova retires with a record nine singles
titles and twenty Wimbledon crowns overall, solidifying her
status as the greatest woman ever to pick up a racquet.
Soon,
however, the sun would come out and there were current
champions longing to be crowned. The sun brought with it
over a week’s worth of record-breaking temperatures, drying
the courts and making them slightly more suited to a
baseline style of play. Reigning French Open champion
Rafael Nadal took full advantage. Unlike other men who have
dominated clay courts in the past, Nadal does not shun the
slick, faster grass court surface. In fact, he embraces the
challenge grass poses and openly professes his desire to win
Wimbledon. Couple that attitude with his never-say-die style
and few doubted the Nadal could have a future impact at
Wimbledon; however, virtually no one expected Nadal to
advance deep into this year’s draw. After surviving a scare
in the second round, Rafa never looked back as he proved
himself a man for all surfaces in stunning fashion. He
advanced to the Championships’ final with excellent serving
and enthusiastic foot speed, downing Andre Agassi and Marcos
Baghdatis along the way. To no one’s surprise, awaiting him
in the title match was three-time defending champion and
rival Roger Federer.
A great
rivalry combines exterior contrast with inner equality and,
as such, Federer versus Nadal is fast becoming the best
rivalry tennis has to offer. Federer is clearly the best
player in the world; he has not lost a match this year to
any man save one. That one man, however, is clearly the
world’s second best player in Rafael Nadal. Federer’s game
is about all-court grace and classy composure. Nadal is
equally classy off the court, but his on-court personality
is explosive and intimidating. Most tellingly, both men are
possessed of championship heart and desire. Although it
manifests itself differently in each man, that shared
quality is what makes their battles truly intriguing. Nadal
has owned Federer in their head-to-head match ups, but the
two had never faced one another on grass – Federer’s best
surface and presumably Nadal’s worst. Nadal has won 60consecutive matches on clay and counting. Going into
the final, Federer had won 47 consecutive matches on grass.
Both streaks are Open Era records. The questions on
everyone’s mind were simple: could Rafael Nadal challenge
Roger Federer on grass? If so, will he win Wimbledon? And,
if Nadal wins Wimbledon, then who is the best player in the
world?
In the first
set, it was Roger Federer who had all the answers as he
blanked Nadal 6-0 with a superior display of shot making.
The young Nadal was being taught a lesson in grass court
tennis, but throughout the fortnight Rafael had shown
himself to be a quick study. Adjusting his strokes and
attacking the net more judiciously, Nadal proved he was a
worthy opponent for Federer on this day and in the future,
no matter the surface. He pushed Roger to a tiebreak in
both the second and third sets, the latter of which Nadal
claimed for his own. It would prove to be the only set
Federer surrendered during the entire tournament. Federer
upped his play and closed out Nadal 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7 (2),
6-3to win his fourth straight Wimbledon crown and
eighth Grand Slam title overall. It was only his second
triumph over Nadal in eight career meetings. Whether the
match is a turning of the tide or simply a momentary respite
in this rivalry is impossible to foretell, but Roger Federer
has reaffirmed his place of superiority in tennis … for
now.
Federer’s
counterpart in the women’s draw, top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo
of France, was in search of a different type of validation.
While Federer is already regarded as a champion for the
ages, Mauresmo was all but overlooked heading into
Wimbledon. Mauresmo ascended to the top spot in women’s
tennis by virtue of winning her first Grand Slam title in
Australia at the start of the year; however, the victory was
marred by circumstances beyond Mauresmo’s control. She
received three defaults along her way to that title,
including a contentious withdrawal in the final by Justine
Henin-Hardenne, who quit with a suspect stomach ailment
after losing the first set handily.
In winning
the title in Australia, Mauresmo did not have to prove her
mettle by serving out the championship or winning the final
point. Robbed of her moment of glory, Mauresmo was forced
to continually suffer questions about her mental fortitude
and ability to overcome the nerves that had plagued her
career prior to winning last year’s season-ending
Championships. Despite being a Grand Slam titleholder,
Mauresmo still needed to prove herself. As Amelie set about
the task of earning respect, more attention was given to a
pair of former champions that shared her half of the draw.
Maria
Sharapova won this tournament in 2004 with fearless
aggression and was the odds-makers favorite to win her
second major championship. Sharapova was in fine form
during her run to the semifinals, where she would ultimately
lose to Mauresmo in three tough sets, but Maria garnered far
more attention for the grunts and shrieks she produces when
hitting a tennis ball. Not since 1992 and the London
tabloids’ “Grunt-O-Meter” that measured the decibels of
Monica Seles’s signature multi-syllabic ball striking moans
had such a fuss been made over this type of non-issue. The
controversy in 1992 may have cost Seles the only major title
she lacks, as an oddly silent Monica fell easily to Steffi
Graf in the final, but the brazen Sharapova defiantly vowed
not to stop shrieking. Sharapova is not the only player who
grunts loudly when pressure mounts during a match. Perhaps
the phenomenon is even a small part of the Seles legacy. No
doubt that when Maria does finally win her second major
title, be it at Wimbledon or elsewhere, she will not win it
silently.
Meanwhile,
three time queen of the lawns and defending champion Venus
Williams was also taking the spotlight from Mauresmo.
Williams has returned to form of late and seemed destined to
play for another Wimbledon victory on the event’s final
weekend. Sadly, Venus was wildly inconsistent during her
short stay at the All England Club. She barely fought off
Lisa Raymond before losing a thrilling three-setter to
Jelena Jankovic in the third round. The loss concluded a
dismal tournament for American star players, as supposed
contender for the men’s title James Blake and Andy Roddick,
runner-up to Federer in 2004 and 2005, both bowed out early
and easily.
Venus
Williams’ loss cleared the path somewhat for Mauresmo to
reach the final, but her draw remained treacherous; she
overcame former Slam champions Sharapova and the renewed
Anastasia Myskina along the way, as well a personal nemesis
in young Ana Ivanovic. In a case of delicious karma,
Mauresmo’s opponent in the final would be Justine
Henin-Hardenne. Justine had blitzed through her half of the
draw without dropping a set, including yet another defeat of
compatriot Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, and she seemed
well on her way to claiming the only major title to elude
her collection as she started aggressively in the final and
took the first set from a tight Mauresmo, 6-2.
Then
something changed. Henin-Hardenne could not sustain her
high level of tennis and Mauresmo won an error-filled second
set to even the match. They would play one set for the
title. Mauresmo fought her way into form, particularly on
slashing serves out wide that utilized the speed of the
grass court to expose Henin-Hardenne’s lack of reach. Amelie
captured the only break she would need early in the third
set and did not falter from there on out. It was Mauresmo
and not Henin-Hardenne who held up under the pressure,
serving two aces during match game and outlasting an
obviously faded Henin-Hardenne on match point to take her
first Wimbledon title, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Amelie sank to her
knees in disbelief, landing temporarily on the soft blades
of grass before climbing into the stands to celebrate with
her coach. The championship moment was six months overdue
for Mauresmo, who can now be viewed a legitimate world
number one and is playing the best tennis of her career at
the relatively late age of 27.
After the
match, the openly gay Mauresmo donned a custom made shirt
from her sponsor that read “2006 Wimbledon Champion: I Am
What I Am.” Roger Federer entered the stadium for each of
his matches sporting a classic cream-colored blazer
befitting a dignified champion. Their choices of attire,
one modern and one symbolic of days gone by, perfectly
bookend the two weeks of a Wimbledon where the modern game
stopped to honor the history and practice of champions
past. Undoubtedly, the grace and style with which Amelie
Mauresmo and Roger Federer play not only won them this
year’s Wimbledon titles, but also the hearts of a future
generation as well.
Wyman Meers is a writer living
in New York. He is
Gaga4Gaby on the Outsports Discussion Board.
