Counting down to the big W

A little late in the day to be counting down to Wimbledon but since the players that matter (to me) are still on the tour, the delay ain’t going to harm anything (yeah, like what I say on my little blog here is going to alter the ultimate outcome of Roger winning his third W title!)

That said, I can’t say I wasn’t a tad worried after Federer's loss to Safin at the Oz open and then him getting as far as the semis in the French and losing to the new-born, Nadal (though God knows a world # 1 of his caliber getting as far as the semis at Rolland Garros involved a magic act-the authorities at the French open have vowed that anyone that wins there ought to satisfy one criterion, and one criterion alone---be unknown to the world before he steps on their very-clay turf).

Now that both Roger's most recent ousters are out (I couldn't resist a little jig after I heard Marat lost in straight sets to a relative unknown :)---I don't forget easily!), I entitle myself to a huge sigh of relief......

Pheeeeeewwwwwww!!!

In other Wimbledon ranting (before I willingly and passionately jump right back to Roger and ramble on to a point where it kills anyone that is kind enough to get that far), it's hard to believe that Justine isn’t making the come back all of us (read: me and a few Belgians who care about hitting a ball with a wire-strung racket) are hoping she would. She really is -- or was (adopting the past tense is a neat way to quell your overflowing emotions when you are as absorbed with inconsequential far-off things as I am) -- the only thing that women's tennis has to be proud of. I don't believe in transients like Sharapova and the Williams sisters are quite necessarily out of their game. Not that I care much about women's tennis---but its more productive to contemplate an area that has probabilities rather than certainities.

Getting back to the certainity that is Roger Federer, let me dwell on some of the so-called-certainities that didn't happen (It’s nice to do this with wayward things---takes a little pressure off the ones that seem to exemplify my life ;)).

For one, I was hoping old Tim (still the most graceful serve and volleyer and an absolute pleasure to watch on grass) would make it to the semis as usual before losing to a high-powered Roddick or Safin or even get as far as the finals and face Roger. But Henmania had to be sadly curbed before it reached the fever pitch it does in the second week.

And despite my biases, I was giving Nadal and Safin a fair chance to get to the third week (yeah, I am quite the tennis advocate on my own little domain here).

So, clearly, seeing that Hewitt is in Federer's draw, I can put my money on watching a Roger vs Andy Wimbledon final ----quite literally, cos I sure as hell have to get a TV to do that.

And if your eyes are not going to be single-mindedly following Federer like mine (whether he's awaiting his turn to get to court, sitting out the grim rain or in the stands watching someone else play), there are still others to look out for:

The chocolate boy, Mario Ancic might face Lleyton in the quarters----an amazing match that should be with Ancic's powerful serve and volleying versus little Lleyton's behind-the-baseline play. That is, if Hewitt gets past the hardest-hitter on the tour---Taylor Dent. A few years back, when both of them were relative unknowns, I watched them play here at Wimbledon and quite naturally found myself on the side of the heavy-hitter. With that kinda serve I thought he'd make a Sampras some day, but Dent is the best testimony there is that you can’t just thunder your way to a slam trophy --- a big serve can be a liability if you can’t mix it up with a fairly all-round game (all you Pete-critics listen up, Dent has a 140-mph serve and he can get as many cheap points as he wants, but he's never made it past the fourth round here).

Another one I am looking forward to is a possible fourth round match-up between David Nalbandian and the big server Max Myrnii. Nalbandian is a treat to watch on any surface against any player but the way he tackles the serve and volleyers on their friendly turf with his impeccable groundstrokes from far behind the baseline is the kind of quality tennis you watch and say, "Trophies are meaningless. This is what tennis is about." I think David is one player who can rewrite tennis books without actually breaking a record or ever lifting a trophy. Though I’m all for him winning a trophy if fortune favors. But till Roger Federer is around, that is going to be a tall order for anyone….