Tennis - The Best of the Decade

It is December 31st, 2009 today. Right? Lest I have lost a year somewhere then the decade is not over for another 12 months.

So what is up with all these “decade” articles cropping up everywhere as we approach the Eve of the beginning of the last year of the decade?

Is it not enough we have sullied Christmas with marketing the festivities in September, spoilt Easter with Easter Eggs hitting a supermarket shelf near you in January?  Apparently, not. We are now contemplating a decade a full-year before the decade’s actual culmination. Fantastic!!

The decade doesn’t end until December 31st 2010 and there is a whole lot of tennis to be played from now to then that could alter our view of the decade.

What if Justine Henin (who is coming out of retirement this year) completes a career slam by winning Wimbledon? Never mind, what if she wins all four Grand Slam titles next year to complete a Grand Slam – the first since Serena Williams last did it in the women’s game.

For that matter, what if Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic was to win all four slams in a calendar year? A feat that has not been accomplished since Rod Laver (way back when) and would change everything – of how we look at each individual player and the legacy they would leave behind in the decade.

The possibilities are endless and any variant could potentially influence all the early retrospective decade pieces that everyone is churning out zealously. Methinks you are all just a bit hasty. But as, surprise, surprise, I have been asked to do a decade piece as well, I will, but I would add a small proviso: I reserve the right to make any changes come the real end of the decade, that is on – do keep up – on December 31st, 2010.

The Best Men’s Match of the Year: Without a doubt, this has to be the Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal 2008 Wimbledon final. Hands down. I remember watching every dry and rain-soaked minute of it as Nadal went on to dethrone Federer from his Kingly perch over the All England Club in a thrilling, five-set marathon.

Even John McEnroe (commenting for ESPN) could not stop gushing at the end of the match, calling it the best-ever in history. The match broke all sorts of viewing records, tennis betting records worldwide. Has to be the best, No?

The Best Women’s Match of the Year: So many matches are equal in tenure in my opinion that it came down to the 2005 Wimbledon final between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport and the 2004 Wimbledon final when Maria Sharapova shocked the world by beating Serena Williams.

The Best Male Player of the Decade: At the start of the 2009 season, when Nadal won the Australian Open he seemed poised to dominate the year. And had he done so by picking up a few more Slammies, he would have been well poised to give Federer a run for his money for the “Player of the Decade” honour in 2010 – the genuine last lap of the decade.

As current things stand (I reserve the right to make adjustments at the end of the year, naturally), the 15-Slam wonder Roger Federer has to take the honour.  there could have been an argument made for Nadal.