By Bill Simons
LONDON—Wimbledon gives greatly—glory and triumph. And today on Centre Court, Wimbledon gave us the greatest game in history.
Yes, it was astounding when Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in 1995 amidst fierce New York roars. There was a definitive 22-shot rally. In 2013, Andy Murray took twelve heart-wrenching minutes to beat Novak Djokovic to become the first Brit in 77 years to win Wimbledon. Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka had a mighty game in the 2013 US Open semis, and Murray and Djokovic had a memorable 20-minute game in this year’s Aussie Open final.
But today we saw a game for the gods. The greatest player of all time on the greatest court in tennis beat the greatest player modern Britain has ever produced.
Nice.
Up a set and on the brink of capturing another, Roger Federer was playing at his Federerian best, so sublime. Finesse, power, touch, grace—the man all but floats. He chuckles at gravity. And, at 33, he defies time. This master focuses with a surgical precision. He’s magical: dreamy style, ample panache.
But Scot Murray is adored on this island.
The praise is plentiful and poetic. The BBC gushed, “It’s working, it’s happening. It’s growing. You can’t contain it. You can’t control it. It burns. It stings. It hurts. See it. Taste it. Feel it. Embrace it. It’s you. It’s us. Say it together: ‘I am Murray, I am Murray. I am Murray.’”
But Roger—The Mighty Federer—is Roger. Of late, his serve has been on fire, a revelation. He started fast and ultimately won 76% of his first serves, hitting 20 aces. Need we note, the man is gutsy, and he’s smart.
There’s a reason he’d beaten Murray in six of their last seven meetings and in four of their five Slam matches. Ruthlessly, clinically, he exposed his foe’s weaknesses. He attacked Murray’s forehand, blasted away at the Scot’s vulnerable second serve, and, as he has done for years, got into Andy’s head.
Yes, in the very first game, Roger saved a break point. Then the match settled into a typical grass court encounter that seemed destined to sprint to a tiebreak. But in the twelfth game, Roger stepped up on his return of serve and forehand before rifling a backhand that handcuffed Andy. Grass court tennis is a matter of thin margins and flash opportunities. Federer stole the moment to win the first set, 7-5.
Then, when Roger was up 5-4 in the second, came the game for the ages—a match within a match. Here, Murray hit an astounding second-serve ace while down set point. The duo gave us inspired corner-to-corner scrambles, searing passes, subtle drop shots. Five times brave Murray, such a steely fighter, saved set points. There were seven deuce points.
We asked Roger what was going through his head during that considerable moment. The maestro gave us a treat. He explained to IT just what was he was thinking. “I said I was going to play the game with no regrets,” he explained. “[At] love-40, I said I’m going to run around and go for it. Then I thought I’m not sure if I should … He caught me up the line with a serve. I knew that was maybe a mistake … If Andy serves two big serves and he gets out of it, you’re like, ‘Maybe I should have made him play and feel the pressure more … But maybe it stays with his mind that I was going to do that at the biggest moments. Maybe that’s why he did serve on [match] point the second serve [ace] to make sure he didn’t have to go to the [slower] second serve. Maybe a set and a half later it paid off. Who knows?
“But the game was unbelievable. He played some unbelievable shots, great retrieving. I had my chances. I actually didn’t get down on myself. It was actually a perfect game, regardless if I win or I lose … It was a key game for him to stay on and break the good run I was on, then win the second set. It would have changed things around completely.”
In 1980, John McEnroe beat Bjorn Borg 18-16 in the greatest tiebreak ever. Mac won the battle but lost the war when Borg came back to win Wimbledon in the fifth. Similarly, Murray won the second-set game amidst deafening hollers. But Federer came back. The Swiss does not blink. The world may rage, but Federer remains calm, almost still. Barely taking a breath, he promptly held serve and then broke Murray.
He explained that after Murray won the transcendent 17-minute second-set game, “I was almost able to have a love game after that, stay with him, then break myself. Obviously it still remained an unbelievably important half-hour for both of us. The game itself, we had some unbelievable shots, and it was great to be a part of it … It’s a good game to play, I’ll tell you that.”
Roger’s 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 win propelled him into an unprecedented tenth Wimbledon final. Incredibly, he has won 30 of 31 sets in Wimbledon semis and has prevailed in 26 of the 37 Slam semis he’s played. On Sunday he will face No. 1 Djokovic, who downed him in last year’s final. Federer has not won a Slam in three years.
But never mind. On this sublime Wimbledon day, Federer drew adulation. Royals and regulars cheered and tennis bowed. “I hope he plays until he’s 80,” tweeted Richard Deitsch. “He’s an old Ferrari, but he’s still a Ferrari,” said Radio Wimbledon.
Maybe an elderly British fan on Murray Mount said it best. “Normally,” she sighed, “I’m quite a placid lady. But now I feel gutted.”
So did Andy Murray and so did all of British tennis.
