Federer conquers!

The title says it all, really...Federer took the Wimbledon championship in straight sets, and I managed to watch almost the entire match. Roddick put up one hell of a fight, but Federer was inhuman - such mastery of the game is insane - and therefore a great pleasure to watch...

Here's the lowdown on what I found interesting...If I begin rambling on about seemingly unrelated things, please put up with it - as all my friends will testify, I'm the kind of guy who says, "That reminds me..." and brings up a topic that no one else can connect with the current subject. Sometimes the weirdness of the connections frightens me, but I suspect it's just normal associative memory in the hands of a somewhat flamboyant mentality...

The first item to note is (obviously)Federer's devastating skill. No matter where you put him on the court, he usually has an answer for anything anybody can throw at him. And he does it with such ease...eerie. It's impossible not to admire such talent.

This relates directly to the second item on the agenda - the contrast between Roddick and Federer.

Anyone who's seen Roddick play knows the way he barrels around the court, leaps in exultation, and clearly displays frustration. Even his returns are characterised by manic energy, and he leaps clear across the court to get impossible shots. He even took a shot from underneath his leg at one point, like a young show-off might...except with him, that kind of response is a natural reaction.

Federer, on the other hand, is moderation itself. His expressions of emotion are few and far between, usually reserved for the real big things. In today's final his expression barely changed throughout, but at the final stroke, he fell to the ground in sheer exaltation. He even broke down for a minute or so - and since this is his Wimbledon hat-trick, I don't blame him. Otherwise, he's as cool and collected as Mr. Spock.

While Roddick rushes all over the court, Federer is practically somnolent. Instead of rushing to meet the ball, he's magically in the place where it turns up. Hell, he practically strolls over while the other guy is cocking his racket to take the shot. The man is economy in motion - no wasted movement. When he returns, it's just a casual movement of his racket. Only the 'killing stroke' seems to have some kind of intensity.

To really see the contrast, you need to see a close up of a slow motion replay. Watch the eyes of both players as they follow the ball. Roddick gave me the impression of a zealous tiger, preparing to spring upon his unsuspecting prey. Federer's eyes don't project that kind of intensity - they seem...lazy. Like watching the ball is as natural as breathing.

Wow - there's a comparison: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Just about sums up the two players. In fact, a quote from the same movie comes to mind - "True skill comes without effort."

Roddick makes real great comments, though. Probably comes of being American...Loved his famous one about the kitchen sink and the bathtub last year.

So why do I happen to find tennis so interesting? There's a certain ephemeral quality - not confined to just tennis - that draws me. And then, of course, there's Maria Sharapova and the bevy of Russian babes...

Seriously though, I'm not exactly sure what the quality is - it's there in Halo to some extent. Football has it too, but not in the same degree as tennis.

Just had a sudden epiphany - this ineffable thing is related to outmanoeuvring the opponent. That's why I think of it when I sidestep an Elite's melee attack and counter with one of my own, followed by a barrage of bullets into his skull. Or that time when a well placed plasma grenade forced a stupid Elite to jump right off a bridge to escape. Too bad they don't scream on the way down...It's the same thing when Federer casually sends the ball past Roddick, who ends up wrong footed and unable to take the shot. There was this really cool rally where Federer forced Roddick into one corner of the court. By the time Roddick figured out what was happening, the ball was whizzing into the other corner...

Of course, this leaves me with the question of why outmanoeuvring someone is so much fun...

Time to get some shut eye...tennis fans, drop a few comments...