a great sporting weekend

it has been a while since i last watched tennis on television. the wimbledon singles finals were the first in a long time, and i was not disappointed.

maria sharparova shocked me with her audacious ground strokes to thrash a shell-shocked serena williams in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. and if you know who serena williams is, that is a huge deal -- even though she's been off the tour for quite a bit due to surgery, the way the russian babe was playing, there was no way she could have replied to her poise and strength of character. down a break in the second set, she broke serena immediately to ultimately take the tie and the title. excellent.

then the roger federer-andy roddick final match up. andy came out with his guns blazing to take the first set with a single break being the defining point. but a huge serve and a big forehand return can only bring you so far.

roger was a picture of calmness as his superior ground strokes took over. he was struggling in the second and third sets -- though he prevailed 7-5, 7-6(6-3), his forehand winners let him down several times. but his back hand, single-handed and all, was a breath taking sight. especially those backhand down the line passing shots.

federer deserved the title mainly because on the wimbledon grass, he is the most natural serve-and-volleyer the game has seen in recent times -- in the post-sampras era. and he didn't waste 4 break points in a row like roddick did.

but having said that, i can see roddick winning the wimbledon title in a year or two's time -- when he starts to work on his game a bit more. because you really do need more than a power game to be a legend. it's a mouth watering propect really. of a truly international rivalry that i see emerging between roddick, federer and a certain leyton hewitt from down under. but hewitt has to get more game practice and learn to cope with big match situations better. and all this after i thought after andre agassi and pete sampras, life was gonna be a big long yawn.

and those darn greek upstarts. they actually beat a very poor portugal 1-0 in the euro final. incredible. if these apparent no-hopers can create such a huge upset, i am beginning to think i have got hope too. heh.