IT USED to be that tennis pros who reach their 30s are already considered old. One of my first favorite players, Pete Sampras, was nowhere his peak self when he got to this age. Though Pistol Pete won a final grand slam in 2002, beating old rival Andre Agassi to win his 14th major. That final came a year after Sampras defeated the Bald One in the quarterfinal of the same tournament in four sets.
I saw that quarterfinal meeting live and what was remarkable about that was neither player lost his serve. I think at one point in the match, the commentators brought up the classic Nike ad of the two, where neither was willing to concede a point, and they grew up beards in their long rallies.
Though Agassi went on to play until he was 36, he was a hobbled version of himself, who had to take on cortisone shots in his final run at the US Open in 2006.
But here comes the great Roger Federer. Everyone thought he was finished when his streaks of winning majors, making the semifinals or quarterfinals of majors ended a couple of years ago, but Fed Ex is still one of the best at 37.
What he has done in the past couple of years, becoming the oldest major winner, is nothing short of remarkable that I think some of the writers are scrambling to look at fresh angles. His last one was really rare, he beat 20-year-old Casper Ruud whose father played in the French Open when Federer made his debut in 1999 (When Casper was just five months old).
It was the first time that a father got featured prominently and positively at that in an AP match report. Up next for Federer is his old friend Stanislas Wawrinka, who after a five-hour and five-set win against another 20-year-old Stefanos Tsiptsipas was told by a reporter that at least the guy he’d be facing next will be older.
“But he’s the better one, let’s not forget about that,” Wawrinka said in the AP report.
At 34, Wawrinka is another player who’s trying to defy Father time.
I don’t know how long Federer will be playing. Some said he will quit after the 2020 Olympics but he just corrected that a few days ago when he said he never said he was going to retire after Tokyo.
That’s music to every fan’s ears. To see the Swiss Maestro defy both the young ones on the other side of the court and every player’s enemy, time.
ALL SQUARE. Personal errands last June 3 prevented me from seeing the second half of Game 2 of the finals and after seeing the first half, I thought a 2-0 lead was in the bag. But when I got home and tuned in to the post-match analysis, the TV heads were all about the Warriors.
With Golden State hosting three of the next four games, it seems everyone but the most ardent Golden State hater have The Best Time Money Can Buy winning in six, giving Kevin Durant an NBA title each in his three years of the Warriors. (And that will make purists hate him more).
Still, I’m holding out hope for the Raptors. Stranger things have happened in sports these days, like that 30-1 underdog beating the daylights out of undefeated Anthony Joshua.
Raptors in 7.(Puts on a blue No. 30 jersey.)