Thoughts on Day One, Wimbledon

Two years ago, when Federer ruthlessly demolished Jonas Bjorkman in a semi-final match on Center court, by conceding just 4 games in the entire match, the veteran Swede said cheerfully, "In a way, I had the best seat in the house."

Today, another long-time friend of Federer’s (and one-time doubles partner) decided to literally take the seat next to Roger at a changeover. Alix Ramsay dissects the intricacies and nuances of that simple act. It’s good to see someone extolling the prowess of the champion after weeks of media bashing.

Watching Federer in action on his best surface, I do think it must take a lot of self-control to not just stand and watch in awe. Players have often stopped to applaud a Federer classic mid-match – those are the times when there’s no apt way to respond with a racket. Roddick went a little further during one of those Federer classics a couple years ago – by actually smashed his racket into the ground, jumping over the net to the other side and congratulating his long time rival and nemesis.

In other day one news, I didn’t expect Nalbandian to go out without a fight – grinding, grueling five-set matches are the hallmark of his career! Djokovic would have been expected to breeze through easily in his first round match at the big W but he had a relatively tough opponent in Berrer. whom he did manage to surmount in four sets, even dispensing a bagel in the final one.

Good to see the big-hitters, Ancic and Safin move on easily. Ancic still bears the prestigious label of being the last man to beat Federer on grass, though that doesn’t mean as much anymore. And since the memories of 2005 are still fresh in my mind, I still maintain that Safin is probably the closest to Roger in shot-making prowess. And the clash in personalities – hot-headed, racket-smashing vs. cool and unflappable are always a treat to watch.