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With Wimbledon underway this week it will be interesting to see whether both the men’s and women’s draws end up in finals with the two best players competing for the title.
This is the hope of all spectators, organisers and sponsors alike as the best two players competing on the highest stage is the true test of who is the greatest.
Tennis as much as any other sport has enjoyed spectacular individual duels that have elevated it to the back page above football and sometimes the front page of the national Press.
This year it is Nadal vs. Federer and Henin vs. Mauresmo that will be considered the best finals although the All England Club have somehow managed to make the French woman the number four seed even though she is the defending Champion.
The close encounter at Eastbourne though with Henin coming out on top in a deciding tie break confirms it is these two players that are the best two women currently playing.
Henin the World Number One has never won at Wimbledon – losing in two finals including last year – so she is aiming to be only the sixth woman player to win all four Grand Slams.
It’s a challenge well within her capability but Mauresmo, now she has won two Grand Slams, is a totally different prospect.
Previously she was prone to terrible bouts of nerves at crucial times and was the circuits’ perennial ‘choker’ but this has changed and apart from her home Grand Slam in Roland Garos – where she can never find the form needed to win – she is a genuine title contender at every other tournament.
This year Henin’s hunger to win her first title on the grass of Wimbledon could be the deciding factor and I take the Belgian to come out on top.
Meanwhile, in the men’s draw there are only two acts in town and that is Federer and Nadal, the rest are someway back in terms of talent, drive and profile.
The Swiss genius is looking for his fifth Wimbledon title and considering the ease in which he has won previously it is difficult to see anything other than a Federer victory.
However, this does not take into account the force of nature that is Rafael Nadal. He is, without doubt, one of the most mentally strong players the sport has ever seen and has won many matches purely through will power.
He never gives up on any point, game, set or match and this puts a tremendous strain on his opponent and only the very best can survive this onslaught.
He is also the only player that gets under Federer’s skin as last year’s final in London demonstrated.
Federer has been almost unbeatable on grass over the past five years, such is his talent, but the Spaniard has come close and given the right circumstances it is possible he could defeat him.
It would need the court to be as slow as possible, which he might get given the recent rain in London, and a mediocre performance from Federer – but it is definitely a possibility.
Wimbledon, particularly in the men’s tournament, because of its unusual surface, offers the chance to win for players who on other surfaces could not be considered.
This year I expect the two heavyweights to contest the final and Federer’s talent should just about prevail.
It is the prospect of these two men in the final though that is a reminder of previous encounters in tennis history most notably the Borg and McEnroe final of 1980.
Borg, 24, at the time had won four finals on the bounce whilst the 21-year-old McEnroe was attempting to win his first.
One was the methodical baseline player and the other a prodigious volatile talent all over the court.
It was a match up made in heaven and on that summer day in 1980 everything came together to produce the most thrilling final ever.
Not only did the match go to a deciding set, there was a tie break for the fourth that produced tennis of epic proportions.
Most Tie breaks last less than 10 minutes but this one went to 22 with Borg having five match points and McEnroe seven set points in a total of 34 points.
In the end the American came out on top in this set but such was the will power and composure of Borg he was able to gather himself and win the deciding set 8-6, an extraordinary feat given the body blow of the previous tie break.
If any, let only the final itself, matches this kind of drama then it will be an occasion to remember.
The way the Nadal and Federer encounters are developing then one day they could provide this kind of spectacle … we can only hope that it takes place this year at Wimbledon.
By Patrick Cummings
patrick.cummings@blueyonder.co.uk
