Wimbledon Champion..

Wimbledon Champion, Roger Federer.

Rog produced a flawless display of tennis and showed everyone why he's the undisputable King of Grass when he dismantled the 2nd seeded Roddick in 3 straight sets. All my pre-match nerves were quickly erased the moment the 1st ball was struck. The first set was gone within 21 minutes with 2 breaks of serves by Rog. The set was clinched with an on-rushing Roddick being passed by a clinical crosscourt backhand that just clipped the sideline. It all seemed too easy for Rog that I worried he would doze off to his 'sleep mode' when he didn't even need to break a sweat.

The second set was a much closer affair. I was proven right when Rog was broken in the 3rd game with a string of uncharacteristic unforced errors. To the neutral tennis fans, finally a match was on. Rog failed to break in the next game and Roddick led 3-1. I was getting nervous now. But Rog stepped up a gear and produced winner after winner to break back. I was feeling more relaxed now. Although he wasted 2 set points on the Roddick serve at 5-4, Rog didn't look frustrated at all. He was still so calm and composed while I lamented the loss of them. I wondered whether the 2 set points would come back to haunt him. The inevitable tie-break came and Rog quickly moved to a 3-0 lead. However, his concentration let him down once more and the lead was cut to 3-2 with points being on serve. Sensing danger, Rog stamped his authority with breathtaking shots that left the spectators gasping for air. Roddick was clearly frustrated when he smashed his racket while trailing 5-2. Soon, the set was over with Rog winning 7-2 on the tie-break.

The weather gods seems to pity Roddick and decided to give him a timely break. Rain drops fell onto the Centre Court and play was suspended for approximately 15 minutes. Would there be a revival for Roddick? After all, last year, Rog was greatly helped by the rain as he was totally outplayed in the 1st set. Play resumed and Roddick produced his first double fault of the match. Were my worries unfounded? Anyway, Roddick came out a totally different player. His trademark booming forehands which troubled Rog last year started coming. But Rog was well-prepared and broke Roddick for a 4-3 lead. By then Rog was just concentrating on holding his own serve and not applying any sort of pressure on the Roddick serve. Serving for the set has always proven to be difficult for Rog. These fears were quickly dismissed when Rog served 2 outrageous aces. The second was even on a second serve. At 30-0, Rog put in a good serve which Roddick somehow manage to retrieve. However, with an open court to play, Rog dumped a simple backhand into the net and showed that he's human after all. At match point, Rog served an unreturnable serve to Roddick's backhand. After 1h 41min, it was game, set, match. Rog sunk to his knees and finally let his emotions run. Tears flowed from his eyes. Everyone in the stadium gave him a standing ovation, and so did all the long-suffering Rog fans watching from their living rooms.