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.

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onearmedbandit said:

It's amazing how much better these guys are than everybody else in the sport. Some of the rallies they put together were unreal. This was the single best non-team sporting event I've ever seen. Golf needs a Nadal, or I guess a Federer now, to challenge Tiger Woods. As compelling as Tiger is, they need a young phenom to push him to his limits to help the sport reach its full peak. As for where this match ranks in my all time favorite sports memories, it's up there with the OSU national title in 02, USC v Texas Rose Bowl, the Red Wings various Cup titles, and the 95 and 97 Indians going to the World Series. What an unbelieveable spectacle. Nadal just beat arguably the greatest grass court player in the last 25 years, maybe ever. But the true gap between these players on grass is miniscule. Both of these guys are as mentally strong as anybody I've seen besides Tiger Woods, and theyve got the game to match. Here's to hoping for a rematch in every major title for the next few years

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July 07, 2008
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Lloyds Apple said:

Yo bro nice to see you pop up. I'm in complete agreement. Nadal is crazy good. I'm not sure how many records he'll break but the sky is the limit. I talked to people at work who saw the highlights and they kept talking about Federer and the "upset." They may not get it now but they will real soon. Nadal is about to take over the sport because he is that good. I love how his left arm is about 3 times the size of his right arm. The dude has super hero abilities and if anything, this will only make Federer and the sport of tennis step it up a notch. He will have me watching, that's for sure.

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July 07, 2008
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onearmedbandit said:

	Ya, I haven't been around much. I've been busy with various school stuff, but I expect that to change with NCAA football season coming up. I'll start cranking out some articles in the near future. I'll probably write up a review of the new NCAA football game late next week after I've had a few days to really analyze it.
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July 08, 2008
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