Monday Net Post
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By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournament
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Roland Garros (ITF - Clay - Paris, France)
- Roger Federer def. Robin Soderling
Women's Singles Bracket - Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina
Men's Doubles Bracket - Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes def. Weslie Moodie/Dick Norman
Women's Doubles Bracket - Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Victoria Azarenka/Elena Vesnina
McGrogan's Heroes
Roger Federer and Svetlana Kuznetsova
As I watched Roger Federer hold serve without much trouble at the beginning of the third set in yesterday's French Open final, I told my girlfriend -- a trooper these past two weeks, it must be said -- that for all the things Federer has done in tennis, he's never experienced the pressure of serving for the French Open; serving for the career Grand Slam; serving to, without question in my mind, supplant his idol atop tennis' pantheon of greats. It will be interesting, I said to her, to see how Federer will react during this crucible.
Serving for it all at 5-4, Federer started the game with a second-serve let, which signaled that he was already feeling the burden -- how could he not? Soderling gifted Federer the point shortly after, though, with a poor return. But on the next point, Federer fans' worst fears arose -- the maestro botched a relatively simple forehand that would have given him a 30-0 cushion.
The two exchanged points to reach 30-all. Then, after a fine serve up the T, Federer approached the net to take Soderling's harmless return in the air. Tennis History Point was but a solid swing away. Instead, Crushing Backbreaker Point stared Federer in the face after he struck the ball well long.
Federer, understandably, looked apprehensive at this juncture, just wanting to keep the ball in play. The "strategy" worked: a Soderling forehand -- the defining stroke of this year's tournament -- went awry and brought the score to deuce.
Mirka clasped her hands on the sidelines, looking in prayer. Thousands of Federer supporters around the world mimicked her on their couches. They all had to be asking the same question -- could Federer do this right now? Up to this point, the final had been in stark contrast to Federer's other tight duels at Roland Garros. Maybe now it was time for the real challenge to knock on Federer's door.
At deuce, Federer came to the net after pushing Soderling out wide with a cross-court backhand. A volley -- another simple one, like a few points earlier -- would determine the point. I wasn't conceding anything to Federer at this stage, not with the enormous pressure that was choking him. Could he reach Tennis History Point?
I never found out. My cable went out the instant his racquet contacted the ball.
A minute later, I saw Federer shaking hands with the chair umpire and overcome with emotion. Tennis history had indeed happened. And for all the tennis I've watched over the years, I can now say, with incredible vitriol, that I never saw the conclusion of one of the sport's most important matches.
Why couldn't the cable have crashed during championship point (a Dinara Safina double-fault) in the women's final?
Next Week's Tournaments
(TV Schedule)
AEGON Championships (ATP - Grass - London, England)
Singles Bracket
Doubles Bracket