A final for the ages

This photo says it all for me. Back in July I watched one of the best tennis matches I'll probably ever see. For a tennis fanatic like myself it was a thing of beauty. The Wimbledon men's final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal didn't finish until almost 9:30 p.m. local time. Centre Court at Wimbledon doesn't have any overhead lights, so Nadal accepted the trophy in darkness right after the match. Roger Federer was seeking an unprecedented sixth straight Wimbledon title this year. And Rafa scratched his way to a win in a five-set epic match over Federer on his third try in as many years. While I have no qualms about the tennis prowess of Roger, I love to see Rafa play. Not only is he a buff Spaniard who's pretty easy on the eyes, he's an awesome player. He plays his heart out on every point no matter who is across the net and when he does lose he doesn't give any excuses. I'm in awe of his play for a couple of reasons, but the main one is that he plays left-handed. He does everything else in his life right-handed, but for tennis he's a lefty. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to switch after playing with his right hand for years. But now, how can anybody question the brilliance of that move? Rafa won his quarterfinal match against American Mardy Fish early this morning in the US Open draw. I'm still cheering for Andy Roddick, the only American left in the draw now, but I can't help being awed by the game of Nadal.