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In a truly inspirational display of competitiveness, Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer in 5 sets of what John McEnroe declared the greatest tennis match ever. It is pretty much impossible to disagree. I could care less that neither guy was American, we witnessed a true passing of the torch as Federer came up barely short of winning his sixth straight Wimbledon. After watching the match in its entirety I can only conclude the better player won. Still, this rivalry is not over yet as Federer has his 27th birthday coming soon and Nadal is hitting his prime, just turning 22 in June.

Nadal has long been declared only great on clay, which is of course not true: he is actually UNBEATABLE on clay. Now you can argue he is the best on any surface, with a backhand and forehand worthy of any ones respect. It seemed like he played slightly better throughout, where his points came with more dominance. To Federer’s credit he dug deep and somehow, some way almost pulled out his sixth straight Wimbledon.

 John McEnroe is Good for the Game

McEnroe was absolutely cracking my ass up by the end of the match with his obvious admiration of these tennis phenoms. He said repeatedly it was the greatest tennis match ever and I’m more than happy to agree. He hugged Federer and thanked him in his post game interview and continuously thanked both players for what he had witnessed. He also talked about how great this was for the sport of tennis, which is true because I seriously want to play tennis right now. It’s worth noting though that McEnroe is the best for tennis. His analyses and enthusiasm for everyone involved is a true pleasure. 

If you have been one to hit the snooze button on the sport of tennis, it is encouraged that you watch Nadal play sometime. The dude is brilliant and Federer has finally met his true nemesis. 

I think we can all expect Wimbledon 2009 to draw record numbers, assuming Nadal and Federer go at it again.