In 2001 Roger Federer ended Pete Sampras’ reign in the QF playing an impeccable serve and volley on 100% of his serving points.
That same year wildcard-Goran Ivanisevic won his first and only Grand Slam title against Pat Rafter after an intense and nerve-breaking final that inspired the movie Wimbledon.
In 1992 Andre Agassi won his only title by playing uniquely from the baseline when everybody was still thinking that it was impossible to win on grass without serve-and-volley. The same happened with Bjorn Borg from 1975 to 1980. For six years in a row he defeated from the baseline such legends as McEnroe or Connors.
The elegance of Stefan Edberg, the exploding service of Boris Becker, the agility of Andre Agassi, the crazy talent of John McEnroe, the purity of Pete Sampras, the volleys of Pat Cash, the natural smoothness of Roger Federer…not everybody could win Wimbledon. The icy and cold Ivan Lendl never did, and neither did the swedish champ Mats Wilander, who won every other Grand Slam in 1988.
To win on grass players needed, instinct, creativity, touch, madness, improvisation, heart, inspiration, and above all, they needed an innate talent and…serve-and-volley.
But in these last few years things have changed. Raquets have changed. Strings have changed. And the players have changed. Now everybody plays from the baseline – with a few and rare exceptions – rallying and pounding shots at an extreme speed, and when Rafa Nadal beat King Roger in 2008 the world of tennis almost collapsed. Rafa Nadal is a machine programmed to play tennis. His mental strength has no equals, he could play against a wall and win. He makes Wimbledon look like a lawn to mow. And he not only won once, but twice, and if it hadn’t been for Novak Djokovic’s incredible and unbelievable performance, this year we would have witnessed the definitive death of tennis.
Probably the most overrated player of the history, Rafa Nadal has already broken many records, has won an incredible number of tournaments, and he will surely keep grinding opponents and treading on dead bodies, but he will never be considered on the same level of the greatest of all time. He’s a humble kid, dedicated and very strong. People will remember Rafa for his unbelievable strenght and determination, for his numerous wins, for the underwear move, but surely not for the talent, the smooth touch or the elegance when compared to other champions from past.
And besides, Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon 2011. Tennis is still alive!
