 Federer took his fourth Wimbledon title in his stride |
Roger Federer is starting to remind me of Bjorn Borg. Not just in the way he's dominating Wimbledon year after year, but also in his approach to the sport.
In my playing days I could never get to Borg, never knew what he was thinking.
He just kept going, playing the sort of tennis that made him who and what he was. Federer is just the same, especially in his attitude and the way he never lets himself gets flustered.
Look at him after the match. He came off and said he was a little nervous serving it out but I just thought: "What does it take for him to show some emotion?"
He's so calm and collected during the course of play and he's just the same walking around with the trophy.
Rafael Nadal should be proud of himself for the way he played but I know he won't be too pleased with this result.
He'll know that he didn't come out aggressively enough and allowed Federer to get into a rhythm.
 | Nadal wanted to win and will have expected to win |
I think he's probably looking back now and really regretting not serving out for the second set. He played a tremendous third set to win it on a tie-break but he'll also look back on that terrible volley at break point down in the fourth set.
One thing though - I always hated beating people 6-0 in the first set because it made them mad!
And that's what happened with Nadal, he came out in the second and third sets to make life very difficult for Federer.
I'm proud of Nadal. He's only 20 years old and he's come into the game in an era of specialists - you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist... or you're Roger Federer and now I think we can add Nadal's name to that short list.
I say that with the understanding that he knows he has to learn and I think he will. The key is he learns so quickly and wants it so badly.
 Nadal v Federer could be one of the sport's great rivalries |
He wanted to win and will have expected to win; don't be fooled by his talk about being the underdog.
Federer has already taken his place in history. If Nadal wants to take his place alongside him, then he's going to have to compete with him week-in, week-out.
We have the makings of a classic rivalry. Both players - and the sport itself - need that.
It's very important for these two players to go out and carry the game out to the public. And hopefully somewhere in the future an Andy Roddick, Mario Ancic or Ivan Ljubicic steps up and says: "I want a piece of this as well."
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Highlights: Wimbledon men's final
