The Decade That Was: Of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and Of Serve and Volley

By Charles Brown
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 1, 2010

At the turn of another decade, the realm of men's tennis looks much different than it did in Y2K. It has been somewhat cruel to two individuals, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick. Sampras was the man of the 90's, and after assembling an unprecedented 14 Grand Slam titles, one would have thought he would have been able to enjoy the view from his lofty perch for decades to come. But we all know what, or more accurately, who, came next. But it's not just Roger Federer. It is, for lack of a better word, Europeans. Rewind to the 1994 Wimbledon Final between Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic, where the longest rally was four strokes. This was to be the endgame of all the advances in equipment and player development, and that even had a name, 21st Century Tennis. In 21st Century Tennis, all you needed was a huge forehand and an even bigger serve. Andy Roddick duly obliged that vision by winning the 2003 US Open the year after Sampras retired, and ending the year ranked Number 1. But we all know what, or more importantly, who, happened next. The 2000's was truly the decade of Roger Federer. There is no need to go over the statistics, which read more like fan fiction, and every once in awhile you have to pinch yourself to be reminded that yes, he is real. But best of all is how he does it. There has never been so complete a player, and never has one made the game look so beautiful. Watching Sampras through the years was to realize the pursuit of history. To watch Federer play but a single match is to see the creation of it. Which actually says a lot about Rafael Nadal, whose game is every bit as compelling. It helps to look to some antecedents from the 90's for perspective. Jim Courier had brute physicality, Michael Chang was blindingly fast, Thomas Muster had an iron will. However, these attributes in those proportions are childlike in comparison to the soft spoken Mallorcan. Consider that ...

Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!