Admit it.
As much as you could care less about tennis, especially on the NFL’s opening weekend, you were bummed to have missed the positively stunning Wimbledon final in July — what some have called the best match ever — in which Rafael Nadal prevailed over Roger Federer in a mesmerizing five sets.
Don’t make the same mistake if it should come about again this weekend at the U.S. Open, insists ESPN tennis analyst Luke Jensen.
“It’s the Grapple in the Apple, what people are calling the rematch if we can get it to happen,” said Jensen, referring also to the Nike pre-tournament campaign that enlisted legendary boxing promoter Don King.
Nadal, the world’s reigning No. 1 player, whipped his Saturday semifinal opponent, Andy Murray, in three sets on grass in London, but Jensen said the Scotsman’s old school game gives him a chance.
“He’s not stressing, not overanalyzing things,” said Jensen. “He’s just playing to the best of his ability. That’s why he’s here. In times past, he’s always had the potential and the ability, but things distracted him. He wanted it too much.”
Federer is the four-time defending champion in Flushing Meadows, but thanks to an awful summer, is in an unfamiliar spot as the underdog.
“I think it’s looking like he will [get back to the final], the way he is just pounding shots right now and driving balls into the corners,” said Jensen. “Plus, this is a guy who has lost something, and he wants it back.”
Jensen also called Wednesday’s women’s quarterfinal between sisters Venus and Serena Williams — which Serena won, 7-6, 7-6 —s absolutely fantastic.
“I’m glad that they’re mature enough and good enough to put [their “Us vs. The World” mentality] aside for a few hours every once in a while and beat the brains out of each other,” he said, “and show us what the best tennis is really like on that side of the draw.”
