It was 4 hours and 16 minutes of grueling, lay it all on the table tennis that was fueled by one person’s lust for a second grand slam title and another’s lust for tennis immortality.

Andy Roddick had an opportunity in the second set tie breaker to get up 2 sets and he couldn’t pull it off.  Federer came back and won 5 points in a row to win the set.  That was Andy’s chance and he blew it.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, but he had one chance against Roger and he couldn’t come up with it.

Roger also won the third set in a tiebreak and Roddick could feel his chances slipping away.  The fourth set was Andy’s as he broke Roger’s serve early on and blasted his record breaking serve past Roger Federer.

Now comes the 30 game fifth set.  Back and forth both men held their serves and it was just a matter of who would fold first.  Andy Roddick was playing the match of his life, flawless, fit and tough.  He believed he could win.  He probably deserved to win, but Roger found a way to win breaking Andy’s serve in the 30th game of the set and taking the 2009 Wimbledon Men’s Championship.

A great champion will find a way to win.  Roger is and did.  He waited for Andy to make a mistake and just stayed the course.  Sure enough Andy Roddick slipped and Roger didn’t.  He was there to capitalize on it and win the 15th major of his career.  The most in the history of the game.  He is back at #1 in the standings and is the undisputed greatest tennis player to ever play the game.

Venus played nothing like she did over the past 2 weeks and Serena played better than the past 2 weeks. They know each other’s weaknesses and prey on them. There is typically no big surprises when they play each other and this final was no exception.

It was obvious to me that had Elena Dementieva beat Serena in the semi final that she would have had no problem disposing of a half hearted Venus Williams.

The often boring 87 minute match was a thorough disappointment for any tennis fan, especially those that paid 1000 pounds or more to see it live!

This could have very well been Venus’ last shot at Wimbledon. She is 29 years old and past her prime. The tape around her knee indicates to me that she is nursing an injury contrary to what she has admitted. Serena appears to have a few more years in her after an impressive display in the semi finals.

Tommy Haas definitely put up a fight. Let’s face it, he is kind of like the bionic man in tennis. He has had so many injuries and surgeries that it is a surprise to see him playing this well at this stage of the game. He had an unbelievable run at Roland Garros almost beating Roger in 3 sets and an even better run at Wimbeldon this year, but could not keep up with the Maestro.

There is really nothing stopping a cool, calm and collected Roger Federer at Wimbledon this year. The man is on a mission and he is walking over his stiffest competition. His serve was on time today with a 75% first serve percentage and 11 aces. He won 89% of his first serve and 81% of his second. When his serve is on, there is no one alive that can handle Roger Federer.

On track to make history is the best way to describe Roger’s run at Wimbledon this far. He will face one of the two Andys that will play the second semi final of the day, Andy Murray or Andy Roddick. Roger would much rather play Roddick because he has winning record against him, but I don’t think it matters much as he is in prime form.

Safina looked defeated even when she won points (as few and far between as they were). Frustrated and ready to give up would be the best way to explain how she looked during the 51 minute semi final.

Venus was her usual well polished self. She didn’t do anything spectacular, just kept herself together and played her game. The numbers will show that she played outstanding, but it was more the fact that Safina played awful.

What a surprise that 28 year old Lleyton was able to play at the level he has throughout the championship this year. Many have claimed the former world #1 and 2-time grand slam champ to be over the hill and not able to play at the level of years past. He made a believer out of me and convinced his critics that he can still compete with the best of them.

Andy Roddick, also a former #1 and former US Open champion, has had much more success than Hewitt recent years and was clearly the favorite. Since losing some weight and increasing his fitness to the highest level of his career Andy has proved he can battle the best in the game.

I don’t think anyone had expected a five setter out of this match. I had thought maybe Andy in four, but Lleyton played at a really high level. I was convinced at times that it could have been an upset with Hewitt showing much confidence in his game. Andy in the end was the victor.

I fully expect Hewitt to capture a title this summer in the US Open series after looking to be in prime form.

The powers that be at Wimbledon were so excited to show off that new roof.  They not only wanted to avoid a lengthy delay in play, but they wanted to make darn sure that Andy Murray would play that evening.  With all the Murray mania in the UK right now there was no way they would let the fans down.

I have to admit it was pretty cool.  I have been watching Wimbledon since I was a kid and I know how frustrating the rain delays can be as a fan.

It takes about 10 minutes to close the roof, but it seemed much longer the first time.  The crowed cheered loudly and it was quite the event!

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Ivo was broken by Roger in the first set which gave roger the confidence boost he needed and the momentum to win the first set comfortably.  Roger was the first person to break his serve all tournament long which is a ridiculous statistic.

The service game of Ivo was strong, but that was about it.  He dumped many forehands into the net and wasn’t able to move well on any approach shots.  His game, beyond his serve, seems to be weak.  Compared to Roger Federer many players seem weak as he is no doubt the greatest to play the game, but one would think that a player of his level would have more shots in his arsenal.

Roger stayed strong and held his serve, which he knew he had to, in order to not get rolled over by the Giant’s serve. Ivo was not able to move fast enough to return many of Roger’s shots.

All in all it wasn’t the test of Roger’s skill that I expected.  It exposed Karlovic as a one trick pony while solidifying Federer’s dominance.

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