Category: Roger Federer

Roger vs. Rafa: Who will win the US Open?

It’s the US Open! What’s my biggest tennis wish? That two 6-foot-1 Nike endorsers will meet in the finals. You see, every time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet, it’s like a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. It’s like the Lakers vs. Celtics, the Yankees vs. Red Sox, La Salle against Ateneo. It’s a blockbuster movie. Only this time, it’s not reel but for real.

My opinion? It won’t happen. Rafa was injured and out of the ATP Tour for two months. That’s like asking Charice Pempengco to tape her mouth for 12 months. She’ll rust. And, yes, Rafa is rusty. Mr. Federer? Ah, he’s far from dusty. Like a gleaming Rolex watch that he wears on his left wrist, the Swiss is glossy and sparkling.

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No doubt, the greatest ever in tennis

Roger Federer’s favorite color is gold. His large bag glitters that color. If you examine his tennis shoes, gold is laced all around them. Same with his T-shirt and its trimmings, including the Nike swoosh and the inscription, “RF.” More so with his pre-match jacket and long pants. All trimmed with gold.

Fittingly, when the Wimbledon finale that needed more games than any other Grand Slam final was over, he carried on his fingers the trophy that glimmered with one color: Gold.

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(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

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In the battle of No. 1s, does tennis beat golf?

Tonight at 9 p.m. (RP time), over the Star Sports network (SkyCable channel 22), when Andy Roddick and Roger Federer meet in the final of the world’s oldest tennis tournament, the winner will defeat…………. Tiger Woods.

What??? Let me explain. I’m proclaiming Sir Roger as the champion. Yes, the game is yet to be played. True, the yellow ball is round and it can twist and turn in varying directions and thus reward the underdog the trophy. Yes, Roddick owns the fastest ever recorded serve at 249.5 kph and will out-ace the Swiss Ace. And, true, 48 hours ago, Andy The American beat Andy The British in an upset. So, Andy can upset Rog—

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Tennis’ first, there is only one Wimbledon

It’s called “The Oscars” of its sport. If the game were American football, it would be the Super Bowl. If soccer, the once-every-four-years World Cup. It is comparable in stature to The Masters of golf, the NBA Finals of basketball, the Olympics of the 100-meter dash. Such is the popularity of this 14-day-long event that one British man once quipped, “Tennis is not popular in England. Wimbledon is.”

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Why? Why is this event held at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon considered so revered? For one, it is “the oldest tennis tournament in the world.” And isn’t being the first—like that first kiss, the birth of your first child, one’s first job and paycheck, a first-time trip abroad—always special and extra memorable? That’s W.

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Roger’s look at Wimbledon

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What do you think? For me, it’s a little bit too “girlish.” Or flashy. His white apparel with gold trimmings is fine but that bag??? Peter Bodo says he looks like a “cruise ship host” in his piece entitled Dressing Roger.

Roger is Fed-tastic

The last time I saw Roger Federer, in person, was 10 months ago at the Beijing Olympics. In the first round, he played Dmitry Tursunov. Seated on Row 2 just 30 feet away, my wife Jasmin and I gazed at a man who wore a red T-shirt, white bandana and shorts, and a pair of Nikes with the letters engraved, “RF.” On the stands watched LeBron James.

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