Robbie Koenig: Enjoy The Summer Ride!

The Wimbledon final this year has highlighted something that I’ve been aware of for some time now and that’s how good a shape the men’s game is in right now! With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal we have two guys who are model ambassadors. Champions in every department, regardless of the sport, have respect for their fellow competitors and most importantly, respect for each other. Nadal’s humility, in this day and age in the sporting world, is quite phenomenal and refreshing. There’s a lot of athletes out there who could learn a lot from the young Spaniard.
A lot of people ask me what Federer is like (I often get told he looks arrogant). Here this is from me – the guy is class with a capital C! Don’t be misled by what you see on court – that’s the office. It’s business out there, but in the locker room, he’s got a wicked sense of humour. Always cracking jokes, he knows just about every one of his peers’ nicknames, who supports what teams, and he’s quick to remind you when they get their ass kicked. No ‘airs and graces’ – his feet are solidly planted on the ground
If I was being really picky, I’d love for one of the Americans to get back into the the thick of things, especially Andy Roddick – That would be the perfect threesome! It would throw an interesting spanner in the European works! I really hope Andy finds some good form in the North American hard court swing starting in Canada this week.
It’s an interesting time in tennis. It was about at this time in his career that Borg decided to hang up his “bats” after losing to John McEnroe in 1981 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and robbed us of what could have been the greatest rivalry in our sport. Mac has said on many occassion how devasted he was when Bjorn retired. Now Roger is under threat, defeated in his own backyard at Wimbledon. Maybe he’s gonna hang his rackets up? There is a ZERO chance of that! He wants to play till the 2012 Olympics in London!!!
I believe we are in the midst of what will be the greatest rivalry in our sport. Nadal and Federer meet only on the biggest stages at the biggest events and when they go toe to toe, they take the sport to vertigo inducing heights. Federer will respond this summer, but the gap that was there, is no longer. Remember, it’s the time of year when Nadal typically struggles – and then there’s a certain Serb named Novak Djokovic who will make his intentions felt. WOW, what a summer it’s gonna be for our sport AND its an Olympic year!!!! Fasten your seat belts folks and enjoy the ride.