This appears in my Monday column, Bleachers' Brew, in the July 6, 2009 edition of the Business Mirror.
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/sports/12706-bleachers-brew-.html
Oh, Great!
by rick olivares
A month Phil Jackson won his tenth championship ring following the Los Angeles Lakers victory in the National Basketball Association finals that broke a tie with the late Boston Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach and stirred water-cooler and forum talk about being the greatest pro basketball coach ever, here’s another confrontation for the ages.
It’s Roger Federer and Andy Roddick for the 2009 Wimbledon Men’s Singles title Part III.
So is it like the fortunes of Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls? Or maybe Elgin Baylor’s and Jerry West’s Lakers against Bill Russell’s Celtics? Is this how the rest of the Professional Golfers Association feels when Tiger Woods is in the field?
So you know that time and tide aren’t even on the side of Roddick. The 27-year old face of American men’s tennis is perhaps in the best shape of his career after a rigorous conditioning program imposed by new coach Larry Stefanski who replaced all-time great Jimmy Connors. But the jury is still out as he is 2-18 lifetime against the Swiss Terminator who is out to break a 14-Grand Slam tie with the retired Pete Sampras.
Let’s break it down: Roddick is 0-7 in Finals matches with Federer. He lost that last two times they faced in the All England Club in 2005 and 2006 including the US Open in the fall of 2006. The American’s only two wins against R-Fed were on the hardcourts: the first was in Canada in 2003 and the second, during the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami last year. And both were non-Grand Slam events.
“You spend the better part of three hours stressing out, high drama and the whole deal. I think afterward, you’re just kind of trying to maybe calm down a little bit.” he said of the daunting task of facing Federer after defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a highly-charged semifinals match.
But it was no cake walk for Federer either as he beat Germany’s Tommy Haas in a hard-fought three-setter 7-6, 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the final. But he has to take comfort in who has to play to become “the greatest.” Talk of which Federer clearly relishes. And why not? Former tennis great Rod Laver agrees so.
The Swiss star may be a gentleman on and off the court but you’ll have to forgive him if his engages in a mild bit of trashtalking.
“He’s always played me quite differently every single time I’ve played him. I’ve had many different looks against Roddick (Read: Nothing he does works). I enjoy how he leaves everything on the court. I can only marvel at how incredible his serve is (Read: I’m able to return it every time out). I like playing against him not only just because of the record (Ouch!).”
When the newly married American (to supermodel Brooklyn Decker) was asked if he could picture himself winning Wimbledon and beating Federer, he smiled and said, “Oh, I’ve done that many times.”
Unfortunately, it is Roddick’s misfortune to play in the same era as Federer who is now enjoying the men’s tour that is Rafael Nadal-less (the Spanish whirling dervish could be going the way of Boris Becker as he struggles with various injuries from his frenetic and reckless style of play). That’s something Ewing and many other NBA stars can empathize with. “It’s the only thing I’ve known in a Wimbledon final. It is expected that it’s Roger. Pretty much if you want to win a Slam, its got to go through him.”
As he is the supreme underdog in this match, after previously trying to exploit Federer’s sometimes spotting backhand and having thrown in nearly every thing including the kitchen sink against his opponent, Roddick might want to follow something a little more simple such as the immortal Hulk Hogan’s exhortations to “take your vitamins and say yer prayers.”
If Roddick should upset Federer, it would be the greatest win of his career. It would be a victory that could reinvigorate his career, American tennis, and for at least a few more months, keep Sampras in the record books. But the Land of the Free’s best hope didn’t sound convincing after he dispatched Murray, “I showed people that I can play too… sometimes.”
Someone is showing that he can still play and compete. Perhaps even more importantly, age is only a state of mind.
As the Tour de France is underway, the field of cyclists has to be wary of Lance Armstrong despite his 37 revolutions on this earth. Not only is he a seven-time winner of cycling’s most prestigious race but this year, almost four years after he last competed, he is coming on strong. He began 2009 with a 29th place finish in the Tour Down Under. He followed that with a seventh place finish at the Tour of California and came in 12th at the Giro d’Italia.
In the first stage of the 2009 Tour through Monaco, Armstrong finished ahead of 170 riders and a respectable tenth behind first stage winner Fabian Cancellara who took the yellow jersey. He completed the individual 9.6-mile time trial in 20 minutes and 12 seconds. That was 20 seconds behind leader Cancellara.
The Tour de France’s longtime race announcer Phil Ligget said that many of the participants are scared of the American. “C’mon, the guy has won the tour seven times. He is almost programmed to win the tour by now.”
Armstong won from 1999-205 and broke the record of five straight wins by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil. Formerly with the US Postal Service Team, he now rides for Kazakhstan-based UCI ProTeam Astana that is bannered by Spaniard Alberto Contador who is 11 years his junior.
For Armstrong, the Tour is a stage where as much as he’d like to win for an even improbable eighth time, just finishing strong is already a victory for his philanthropy. His second comeback and participation despite “harassment” from event officials regarding doping tests, has already drawn a lot of interest and support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation that continuously provides support for people afflicted with cancer. “Failure?” he said somewhat somberly when queried if an unsuccessful return would brand his comeback as a letdown. “My biggest failure was my marriage.”
And when asked what it meant to compete in the Tour again, the Texan cancer survivor smiled and replied, “It simply means that I’ve been around for a long time.”
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