Andy Roddick Nearly Defeats Roger Federer. The Key Word Being “Nearly.”
All Andy Roddick had to do to claim his first ever Wimbledon championship was defeat Roger Federer, a man who had beaten him 18 out of their previous 20 matches, and who was himself looking to make history by winning his record 15th grand slam title.
Roddick, despite dire predictions, was up to the task. At one point it even looked like Roddick might actually get the Federer-sized monkey off his back: The match was all even after two sets. The third went to a tiebreak, and Roddick had four straight set points to go up 2 sets to 1. So what does Federer do? Rattle of six straight points to take a one set lead.
That’s how it is when you’re Andy Roddick and he’s Roger Federer – just when you think you’ve got a chance to pull it out, he snatches it away from you like a mean kid dangling a toy in front of a toddler.
Then again, a toddler seldom gives the mean kid the kind of battle Roddick gave Federer on Sunday. It would take five sets – and a stunning 30 games in the final set – for Federer to at last wear Roddick down, don the Elvis-like gold-trimmed track suit and hoist his sixth Wimbledon trophy.
The final set was an epic nearly as grueling and dramatic as what went down last year between Federer and Rafael Nadal. The key was Roddick’s serve, which Federer absolutely could not break. Until finally, on something like the 400th try, he did.
The entire match, actually, was dominated by huge serves. Federer scored about a thousand aces on Roddick, right in front of Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, who kept grumbling to each other that they could’ve served like that too had the rackets in their day not been carved from mammoth tusk.
Also present to witness the spectacle was Pete Sampras, who has officially joined the Hair Club for Men. Sampras brought his wife Bridgette Wilson, who was the #1 hot tennis WAG 10 years ago. Now #1 is Brooklyn Decker, the swimsuit model wife of Andy Roddick. The standard joke is, “Roddick may have lost, but at least he gets to go home to Brooklyn Decker.” I’m guessing Roddick would’ve prefered to go home to Brooklyn carrying a first place trophy instead of that dopey tray they give you for finishing second. It signifies that you were the runner-up at Wimbledon…and you can serve drinks on it!
Roddick will need plenty of drinks to get through the night, with or without Brooklyn at his side. He has to know that this was his last best shot at finally winning Wimbledon. If he’s in the final again next year, I’ll eat John McEnroe’s toejam. On toast.
