Here at Sporting Owl towers, we're huge fans of British sport and we've cheered all our athletes relentlessly throughout these first eight days of Olympic competition. Despite our inclination toward cynicism and snark, we're so proud to see our little islands standing tall in third place on the medal table - notwithstanding that it can't possibly last once Russia starts hoovering up athletics gold like a magnetic anteater. To have won ten gold medals already is a staggering achievement for our country.
There is, however, one event where we're desperately hoping that Britain will not win. That's right: NOT win. Or lose, if you prefer. Do feel free to imagine us descending to a hushed whisper at this point as we dodge raging lynch mobs with customised pitchforks made of souvenir Olympic torches strapped together with leftover Jubilee bunting. That event is the men's singles tennis.
Roger Federer and Andy Murray have battled through to the final with equal measures of skill and determination. We've been quite taken aback by all the evidence that the tennis multimillionaires competing at London 2012 actually do care about the Olympics. We'd always believed that Olympic gold was seen by top tennis players as a bonus ranking a distant fifth below the four Grand Slam tournaments in their ambitions for each Olympic year. However, it's hard to sustain that belief in the face of the two longest matches in Olympic tennis history, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga scraping past future star Milos Raonic 25-23 in the deciding set and Federer himself edging out Juan Martin del Potro 19-17 in their semi-final clash. So let's answer that question once and for all: these players are desperate to win Olympic gold.
One man has more reason than most to crave victory, and not just because it's his birthday on Wednesday. Roger Federer has won almost everything there is to win in his chosen sport. He was ranked number one in the world at junior level, won junior Wimbledon in singles and doubles and has since won 17 Grand Slam singles titles, six Tour finals and Olympic doubles gold in Beijing. He's topped the world tennis rankings for almost 300 weeks throughout his career, regaining that mantle at the grand old age of 30 by winning his record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title last month. His graceful single-handed backhand is a baroque masterpiece which for a decade has embellished and illuminated a sport now dominated by prosaic power and stamina. Federer is the greatest sportsman of his generation, outstripping the achievements of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan on and off the court with consummate ease and elegance. There's just one thing missing from his unprecedented resumé: an Olympic singles gold medal. Tomorrow he can put that right.
While we felt his histrionics at the Wimbledon final were a little selfish in light of Federer's achievements, we do have a bit of a soft spot for Andy Murray - honest. It's just here, right below our left wing. We're very glad he's made it to the final (especially after his lamentable performance in Beijing), and we're excited to see him scything through the mixed doubles draw with Laura Robson. We fervently hope he comes away from London 2012 with two well-deserved medals round his neck, and we'd love to see him capture Olympic singles gold in Rio. But try as we might, we can't bring ourselves to cheer for him tomorrow. While Federer is the benchmark against which all future champions will be judged, we can only imagine Andy Murray being remembered in 30 years as the answer to an obscure pub quiz question.
So it's a heartfelt ALLEZ ROGER! from the Owl. Because we've loved watching him play for twelve years. Because he deserves this. Because he's simply the best.
No comments:
Post a Comment