Word: wimbledon
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...poorly in the final game, losing by a point to Russia. But that was a year ago. Today, as you tally up Gasol's appearance with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in June, the Spanish soccer team's victory in the European Cup, Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon defeat of Roger Federer, and Carlos Sastre's triumph at the Tour de France, it's pretty obvious Spanish athletes have conquered the sporting world...
...some, the country's victory streak is largely coincidence. "In sports, there's always an element of luck," says Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's coach and uncle. "Rafael could have beaten Federer last year and moved past him, just as he could have lost to Federer this year at Wimbledon. Circumstances and details shape you and in a given competition shape the outcome...
...Broader participation in sports seems to have spun a unique thread of national identity as well. Spanish athletes often use their moment of glory to give a nod to the patria. After winning Wimbledon, Nadal ran to embrace his coach and family, then stepped into the next box to greet Spain's Prince Felipe and Princess Leticia, thanking them by name minutes later while addressing the crowd from center court. Sastre spoke on Spain's national evening news of his pride in bringing glory to his country. Through sports Spaniards seem able to find a sense of national identity that...
...This is the greatest match I've ever seen.' JOHN MCENROE, three-time Wimbledon champion, after Rafael Nadal (right) defeated Roger Federer in the longest men's singles final in the tournament's history...
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...