The King of the Grass Castle

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same...

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These are the lines from Rudyard Kipling's poem If that are writ large above the entrance to Centre Court, the last things that the players see before they enter the arena of battle. Two men enter. One man leaves.

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Welcome to Thunderdome.

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And today, no one wanted to leave. For one there was triumph, the other defeat, but it took a mammoth epic to discover who was whom, who would hold up the greatest trophy in tennis and who would suffer an abject, heartbreaking defeat.

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Andy Roddick fought. He fought harder than anyone, including me, believed him capable. He played tennis the likes of which he has not played since - no, scratch that, I have never seen him play like this. What he did out today required not only huge amounts of heart and guts and other visceral organs, but it required cleverness and tactics and a whole lot of skill.

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But destiny would not be denied.

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And Roger Federer had a date with destiny, and he didn't want to be late.

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What a match this was. Last year might have been technically longer in minutes, but the epic of this year cannot be underestimated. The Wimbledon final has produced some excellent finals over the last three years in particular - all five sets, all involving Roger Federer, and all brilliant and heartbeaking all at once. And though last year's match, where Rafael Nadal dethroned the great man, has been called the greatest match of all time, I believe that year's match will take a rightful place beside it.

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For a match to be great, there needs to be two worthy opponents - and I cannot praise the efforts of Andy Roddick highly enough. To take the King of the Grass Castle to five sets, to a fifth set that will be remembered down the ages... I don't have the right words to describe what he has done. What a rejuvenation for his career. I read a great line somewhere today that said that Andy Roddick had found his mojo and found his Mirka, and I can't agree highly enough. Brooklyn Decker has been a wonderful influence on the A-Rod - and one cannot underestimate the effect that the brilliant mind of Larry Stefanki has had. Roddick is a whole new player. He is more than a serve with a forehand attached. His double-handed backhand was unbelievably effective - and I don't know how he fixed his volleys, but he has done it with aplomb. I cannot praise him highly enough.

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But today, in the end, belonged to the King. To the greatest player of all time. To the man that now holds all the records. 15 time Slam winner - 5 US Opens, 3 Australian Opens, 1 hardfought, brilliant Roland Garros and now an incredible 6 Wimbledons. The man who has reached 21 consecutive Slam semi-finals. The man who has played better and more consistently than any man in history. A man who now holds sixty singles titles.

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The Roland Garros and Wimbledon dual champion who has now ascended the pedestal once more and become the #1 player in the world.

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Today belonged to the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen. And it was fitting that so many of the greats were there to watch him. Bjorn Borg, who also won the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in a single season. Rod Laver, twice winner of the calendar year Grand Slam. And Pete Sampras, whom Federer has surpassed today as the winner of fifteen career Slams. All these men are great. But Federer has transcended their achievements, has ascended to another level.

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Destiny came calling for Roger Federer today. And with Swiss precision, he answered her call. There was a sense of profound rightness when he held up the trophy - the sense that some kind of order had been restored, that something incredibly, truly right had happened. And so it is with the great champions. Everything they do, they deserve.

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And Roger Federer belongs in their league, as the greatest of the great. Here at Wimbledon, he has experienced both triumph and disaster, and treated those two impostors just the same. He has filled the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run.

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And his is the earth, and everything that's in it - and what's more, what a man he is, my son!

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Today's Results

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The Championships (Wimbledon)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Andy Roddick, 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14