Word: nadal
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Second Set: From across the court, I can see into the TV commentator's booth. John McEnroe - whose five-set epic against Bjorn Borg in 1980 was, until this match, considered the gold standard in Wimbledon final history - is gesticulating wildly, re-enacting Nadal's backhand with such eagerness you worry he might fall from his booth onto his cherished court below...
Third Set: After a long run to the net to retrieve a Nadal drop-shot, Federer loses the point and pauses, leaning on the net tape; it is the posture...
Fourth Set: At one point Federer is distracted by the crash of bleachers being disassembled on other courts in the distance, seemingly attuned to the sound of the tournament winding down. Nadal, the newcomer, seems not to notice...
Fifth Set (5-6): The crowd breaks the silence in between games by chanting "Roger, Roger!" Their cheers become indistinguishable from the Nadal fans who cheer "Rafa, Rafa!" It seems fitting for these two great competitors that in the cheering, they have become one great athlete...
Fifth Set (9-7): Federer's return catches the net, Nadal has won the match. He sinks to the grass. The camera flashes that the ump warned the audience against using during play start exploding around the darkening arena like stars, and the two apparitions dressed in all white seem, for a brief moment, to be given the ascension they both deserve. I turn to the couple next to me. Federer fans, they are leaving before the trophy presentation. But they are holding hands, and at the top of the gate, they turn around together, and savor the moment...