It's official... I'm a tennis fan

I've never been a big fan of tennis, but after getting wrapped in this year's Wimbledon Championships I can say that I am. Even though I can only name four players on the men's tour (including the 'big two' American men) and a handful of women's players (the Williams sister and a couple of hot Russian-typed women), and i don't even pretend to know where all the play or the intricacies of playing on the hard court, clay or grass. That said, I'm not a fan.

Like some of you, I've just finished watching one of the greatest games (using a general term here) to ever occur in sports with the Men's Championship between Roger Federer and 'Rafa' Nadal. When I turned it on after getting home from church, Nadal was a game up in the fourth set after winning the first two sets 6-4 before Federer rallied to take the third 7-6, then fought off three match points from Nadal in a fourth set tiebreaker. Rafa was up 5-2 in the tiebreak but Federer battled back to win it 8-6 and force a fifth set. The two traded service games until Nadal broke to go up 8-7, then he closed it out to win 9-7. Even John McEnroe, who was a part of the epic 1980 final showdown with Bjorn Borg, said it was the greatest thing he'd ever seen or been a part of.

While I don't know exactly where I'll rank it in terms of great games/matches/sporting events, but after a few more days/weeks of letting it soak in, I'll be able to give a more thorough analysis. 

As for my new thoughts on tennis, I've got to say I was rooting for Federer. I'm one of those who can be guilty of rooting for the favorite when it's a historic situation. For example, I love watching Tiger win the majors and would've loved to see RF win his 6th straight Wimbledon. Plus, I really don't care for 'Rafa.' I thought tennis was like golf, a sport with a tradition of etiquette and professionalism. If that's the case, then why is he allowed to play in a cut-off t-shirt and capri pants? Just curious...

As for the women's side, I was disappointed to see my new girl Ana Ivanovic go out in the third round, but I loved the all Williams final. I also enjoyed seeing Venus knock off Serena, for a couple reasons. 1) I always love it when big brother/sister knocks off little bro/sis. 2) Venus is always much more graceful in victory, and defeat, than Serena. Venus was always happy when she finished second to Serena, and she was also very subdued after winning Saturday. However, Serena celebrates like Venus is any other opponent and she was sullen after losing this time.

Also, I went out a few weeks ago and hit tennis balls for the first time in a long time. I've been a die hard racquetball player for quite a while, so I'm always a little nervous to go swing a different styled racket in a different manner for fear of hurting my racquetball stroke. But hopefully I'll be able to play a little tennis if I can get a decent racket and someone who wants to hit around every once in a while.