The Man

All three of the winners in the men's semis last night are worthy claimants to the title of 'The Man.' All three played wonderfully - though all three played differently - and all three thoroughly deserved their wins.

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And Clement and Schuettler... well, they're just going to have to play catch up.

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The winner of that Clement/Schuettler match - which was at one set all when darkness stopped play - will face today's first claimant for the title of Man, which is the hugely be-biceped Rafael Nadal. I thought it was wonderfully ironic that this was the man Murray had to play after doing that whole muscle routine after the Gasquet victory. I must admit, I was impressed by the Murray muscles - considering he looks like such a skinny weed - but ain't no one can out bicep the Raf.

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Murray did not get a single break point in the match. Not only was Rafa serving beautifully, he was dominating at the net - he won twelve of fourteen approaches. I have predicted Rafa's demise for the past two rounds. Colour me ye-of-little-faith'd. There was no sign at all of knee trouble. Repeatedly, Murray tried to spread Nadal wide across the court. He really should have figured out after he got owned the first few times that that was just not going to work.

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Actually, it wasn't the smartest tactical game ever from Murray - though even if it had been, I doubt it would have made much difference. He let Rafa draw him into his game. The points were long, grinding. To a man who had just played the Five Set Match of Doom, long points were not in his interests to begin with - and against Rafa? Rafa Nadal? Claycourt king of the universe? Long, clay style points are never, ever going to be any good.

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Rafa himself played exceptional tennis. I have never really appreciated how good his passing shot is, but he pulled off some gorgeous ones. Murray might be capable of playing MacGyver tennis, but Rafa never gave him the chance. He is such a good retriever. It was nearly impossible for Murray to hit winners because Rafa was just there all the time. Like I said, knee? What knee? A worthy claimant to the title of Man.

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Another man (or Man, as the case might be) who has had knee trouble in his time is Marat 'Tennis Player I Would Most Like To Have An Affair With' Safin. The Lopez match wasn't his best match of the tournament, but he won it, and that - winning - is what has been sorely missing from the Safin game of late. He will never exactly be Zen, but I think the rain delay was really good for him, because it gave him a bit of a chance to calm down. I know smashing stuff is part of the Marat mystique and all, but when he's playing well enough that he doesn't need to - that's when you know Marat is in the building.

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Lopez didn't play bad - except perhaps in the last few points of the match, after that weird let call that pissed him off. (I bet that linesman got a talking to... I bet he wouldn't like to meet Fidgiano in a dark alley.) But Maratski lifted his game after that first set and just comprehensively outplayed him. He played a smart game. He didn't let Fidgiano - who really does have a very unSpanish game, if one can say that - bamboozle him with his slice backhand of excellence, and imposed himself. He has really improved his game at the net, as well. He's never been especially comfortable up there, but he has learned to use his size and his wingspan, and he is really getting down to balls well there. And he isn't afraid to approach the net, either - he came in 35 times, and won 25 of them. That is really good, for someone that isn't Captain Volley under normal circumstances.

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It is so great for Marat to be achieving new milestones in his career now, when he hasn't been playing so well. He has won five matches in a row against some very high quality opponents - I cannot thank him enough for putting out Public Enemy #1 in Novak Djokovic - and he hasn't even been playing his best. He's been finding his champion's mentality again - finding a way to win. This is his first Wimbledon semi final. Maybe all it took for him to get his mojo back was for little sis Dinara to reach the French final. Perhaps Marat can't bear not being the princess... and hey, I'm not complaining. A worthy claimant to the title of Man - even if I did call him a princess in the last sentence.

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But our final claimant, and the one for me that is the winner, The Man, the king of the grass, is Roger Federer. He played gorgeous tennis today - absolutely sublime. Rafa had eight unforced errors in his match. Roger had six. Six errors to an amazing forty winners. It is considered pretty decent when you have an even ratio. This is almost a 7:1 ratio. That is INSANE. Like, crazy. Rafa has been playing insanely well. But I think Roger is playing even better.

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I feel really sorry for Mario Ancic whenever he has to play Federer on grass, because no one will ever let him forget that 2002 first round. I bet he's kicking himself for winning that match now. Well, not really, but in many ways it's been more trouble than it's worth for him. He's over it. Federer's over it. It was six years ago, for heavens' sake. And still, the media is always like, oh, Ancic is a huge threat to Federer, last person to beat him on grass, ra, ra, ra. And sure, Ancic was the last person to beat Federer on grass - but it really is all academic now.

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It took this crazy NinjaFed (tm) tennis for the commentators on Channel 9 to even begin to admit that Federer might have a tiny chance of winning the title. He is now the 'slight favourite.' Excuse me, but what crack are they smoking? Why do people persist in doubting him? I know Rafa beat him at the French and sure, it was a beatdown. But if that has any bearing on this match at all, I think it will be motivation for Federer to shut people up. So when did Rafa suddenly become the out and out favourite? Forgive me in having the tiniest little bit of faith in the man who has won sixty four grass court matches in a row, including five Wimbledon titles, and two finals victories over who? Rafa.

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This is Federer's seventeenth straight Grand Slam semi final. That is just ridiculous consistency. (Six semi finals, Novak? You will have to do much better than that.) And that is why I declare Roger Federer today's winner of the title of Man. Rafa Nadal and Marat Safin are also very excellent Men, and worthy of the title, but if you have to pick one, well...

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Roger Federer. The Man.

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Wimbledon Results - Day #9

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Mario Ancic, 6-1 7-5 6-4

Marat Safin def. Feliciano Lopez, 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray, 6-3 6-2 6-4