Anyway, little Tony and his gang finished digging up their Romans and I switched back again and play had recommenced and Federer had saved the third set and there didn't seem any real reason why the match shouldn't carry on all week. It was good. I thought Federer had the moral edge and would probably win- Nadal just didn't seem to be able to make good on his break points- but in the end youth and strength vanquished maturity and tricksiness. Nadal's a nice lad and I liked how he went one better than Pat Cash and climbed all over the architecture and walked on roofs to get to his family and the Spanish royals (I'd have laughed if he'd fallen off) but he's less interesting to watch than Federer, because with him it's all about the muscles and the spin he puts on the ball whereas with Federer you get every shot in the book plus some he's made up on the spur of the moment. And I do love a man who volleys!
It's sad to see an old champion go down, but it's like the first chapter of the Golden Bough; there's always a young king aching to take the crown. No-one's won six Wimbledon titles in a row since the 19th century (when things were a leetle different) and it looks like we'll have to wait a while before anyone does it again. So Federer and Borg continue to top the modern game with five straight wins. Borg was in the crowd with his relatively new wife and looked like a man at peace with himself and perfectly happy to have his record taken away- so perhaps I'm glad that it wasn't .
Federer promised to be back next year. I'll be watching, hoping that he gets his cup back- just so long, of course, as it doesn't clash with any archaeology.
