THE POETRY OF TENNIS

Inspired by the news that the Championships Wimbledon has appointed its first poet-in-residence, I chose to consider yesterday's men's final at the French Open in a slightly more esoteric light.  Plenty of others have written about the match itself, most notably Peter Bodo at Tennis.com, and I truly have only a few thoughts to add to the tonnage.

I love symmetrical storylines, of which the tale of Rafael Nadal vs. Robin Soderling is one.  Last year at the 2009 French Open, Soderling shocked the tennis world by taking out Nadal in the fourth round.  Rafa had never lost a match on the red clay of Roland Garros, and Robin had never lived up to his potential on the big stage.  With weakened knees from tendinitis and a clouded mind from the recent divorce of his parents, Rafael Nadal was vulnerable in Paris for the very first time, and Robin Soderling exposed him. The two players had clashed before, particularly at Wimbledon in 2007, when the Swede imitated the Spaniard's habit of picking his underwear from his ass before every point.  But no one saw the monumental upset coming.  Soderling continued all the way to the finals, before succombing to Roger Federer and his diehard quest to complete the Career Slam.  Soderling also backed up his French Open run by breaking into the top ten and establishing himself as a consistent force on the tour.

In the 2010 French Open, Soderling once again elevated himself from a supporting cast member to a starring role.  Though no one took him or his sledgehammer groundstrokes lightly this time around, Robin Soderling somehow managed to get his revenge on Roger Federer, the greatest of all-time. The Swedish antagonist took Fed out in the quarters, ending Roger's remarkable streak of consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearances at 23.  It was the first time anyone has been able to truly upset Federer at a major in 6 years.  Despite now being on the radar, Soderling was able to shock the tennis world again. He backed up his gigantic win with five-set win over Thomas Berdych in the semis to book his spot in the final, and Nadal held up his end of the bargain by ending the Cinderella run of Austrian upstart Jurgen Melzer.  And then yesterday, the symmetry became complete.  Rafa got his revenge.

By the time Rafael Nadal showed any vulnerability yesterday, it was all over.  After closing out the match and the tournament, collapsing on the clay, shaking hands, and rolling in the dirt again, the Mallorcan master sat on bench and sobbed into a towel.  His body convulsed.  The emotion poured out of him.  And, for me at least, it was impossible not to feel empathy.  Following a year of failure and uncertainty, all of the tension of trying to get back on top finally broke.  As a fan, I felt a tiny portion of the relief Rafa was experiencing.  During his comeback from injury, at times I found myself doubting that he would every reclaim his rightful spot atop the game.  But in this moment, clearly all of those doubts were erased for Nadal.  He won the French again (for the 5th time), he vanquished Soderling, he proved that he was all the way back.  And he overtook Roger Federer for #1 in the world.

Rarely have the concepts of symmetry and empathy entered my thoughts on tennis.  But with Wimbledon immortalizing the 2010 Championships in verse, I figure I too can take a more introspective look at the sport I love.  And with expressive champions like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer paving the way, it's now acceptable to let those deep-seated emotions rise to the surface.

******

NEWS AND NOTES

Along with the Queen of Spain, pop's Royal Couple - Jay-Z and Beyonce - were in attendance at yesterday's French Open final.  Looked like they were having a pretty good time, too.

******

Olympic skier Bode Miller attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open in a regional tournament in Hawaii this weekend.  The former high school state champion in Maine was ousted in straight sets, claiming he just hasn't had enough time on the court recently.  I guess that's a natural by-product of being a professional alpine skier.

******

Current ATP Rankings following the French Open.

Rank	Name & Nationality	Points	Position Moved	Tournaments Played
1	Nadal, Rafael (ESP)	8,700	1	17
2	Federer, Roger (SUI)	8,390	-1	19
3	Djokovic, Novak (SRB)	6,675	0	21
4	Murray, Andy (GBR)	5,385	0	17
5	Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS)	4,785	0	24
6	Soderling, Robin (SWE)	4,755	1	25
7	Roddick, Andy (USA)	4,510	1	20
8	Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)	4,395	-2	17
9	Verdasco, Fernando (ESP)	3,645	0	27
10	Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)	3,185	0	24
11	Ferrer, David (ESP)	3,010	0	25
12	Cilic, Marin (CRO)	2,945	0	23
13	Berdych, Tomas (CZE)	2,825	4	26
14	Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS)	2,690	0	27
15	Ljubicic, Ivan (CRO)	2,215	1	24
16	Melzer, Jurgen (AUT)	2,125	11	27
17	Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP)	2,095	1	25
18	Almagro, Nicolas (ESP)	1,960	3	27
19	Isner, John (USA)	1,925	0	26
20	Monfils, Gael (FRA)	1,905	-5	25
21	Gonzalez, Fernando (CHI)	1,710	-8	21
22	Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI)	1,690	2	22
23	Querrey, Sam (USA)	1,675	-1	28
24	Bellucci, Thomaz (BRA)	1,652	5	27
25	Stepanek, Radek (CZE)	1,645	-5	21
26	Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP)	1,545	4	26
27	Haas, Tommy (USA)	1,480	-4	19
28	Monaco, Juan (ARG)	1,475	-3	25
29	Gulbis, Ernests (LAT)	1,459	-1	23
30	Montanes, Albert (ESP)	1,405	4	28
31	Lopez, Feliciano (ESP)	1,385	0	26
32	Hewitt, Lleyton (AUS)	1,350	1	22