More on Federer

Here's the New York Times report on the Roddick match.

Federer relied on classic shots from his repertoire: forehand flicks that dipped just out of Roddick’s reach; running one-handed backhand blasts that zipped down the line; sharply cut volleys that hit the rubberized green surface and quickly bounced twice. But there was also some exotica, none more memorable than the shot produced on the opening point of the fourth game of the second set.

Roddick was already down 0-3, and when Federer gave him a rare short ball, Roddick moved forward and channeled all the frustration of the match’s first 40 minutes into a forehand that landed very near the baseline. Most players would have gotten out of the way, but Federer sprung to his left and hit a backhand reflex half volley on the move that traveled cross court for a clean winner. Roddick stood gaping at the net as the crowd roared with a mixture of surprise and aesthetic delight.

But such sounds soon gave way to nervous laughter and anticipatory groans as it became abundantly clear that Roddick had no answers to the tennis riddles that Federer kept posing. Roddick’s frustration eventually gave way to anger, and he could not even get that quite right, smashing a ball into the stands after losing his serve and accidentally losing his grip on the racket in the process, sending it hurtling in the direction of a photographer courtside and earning him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.

There's really nothing to say about Federer that hasn't already been said. All I'll say is that I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to say I saw two of the five greatest atheletes of all time at their very peak (Jordan and Federer, with Muhammad Ali and Pele and a third of your choice being the others).