Wimbledon Week 2 - The Men

So how about that? I have to be gone for a week and then come back after the entire tournament has blown up! Well, as much a tournament won by the No. 1 players in the world can blow up.
Who would have guessed that Roger Federer and Venus Williams, two players who combined for 11 Wimbledon titles and four finals, would have lost within about 24 hours of each other? On Tuesday and Wednesday, not Saturday and Sunday! Who knew that one of the women's semifinals would feature two players whose combined ranking was on the wrong side of 100? Who would have guessed after the third round that Rafael Nadal would right his ship so spectacularly in the second week of the tournament?
By now, it doesn't make much sense to rehash news that's so old, so I'll offer a few thoughts on what I saw and heard about.
Roddick Flames Out: This has got to hurt. In the past 12 months, Andy Roddick has been on the losing end of a 16-14 Wimbledon final, a fifth-set tie-breaker at the U.S. Open and now a 9-7 fourth round here. No doubt Roddick is tough to get to those positions, but at what point does his inability to close the deal become a pattern? It seems to me, when he starts going out to guys outside the top 50 in those situations, we're at that point.
Berdych has arrived: Two wins over Federer in 2010 have to cement Berdych's status as a top-five contender coming into the hard-court season and the U.S. Open. It will be interesting to see how the Czech player handles his new status, but after a semifinal run in Paris and a final at Wimbledon, there can be no doubt – he's one of the big boys, now. Whether that will be a blessing or a curse for him remains to be seen.
Federer's Sour Grapes: No doubt, getting bounced out of Roland Garros in the quarterfinals and losing his No. 1 ranking was a shock, but it couldn't have been nearly as big of a surprise as going down here. Federer had lost to Tomas Berdych at the Olympics, when Berdych was just emerging as a talented player, but until this year, seemed to have the younger player's number. Now, Federer may really have been injured, and he may not have had much time to clear his head after losing to Berdych, but his comments after his loss, still weren't in the best of taste. And it's not like this is the first time he has displayed questionable behavior after a match. The "15" coat last year, anyone?
I love watching Federer play. He's the main reason I watch men's tennis, but incidents like this make me cringe. You've spent a career turning yourself into the standard for other players to follow, Roger. Don't lower yourself with this kind of stuff, now.
King Rafa: You want evidence of how quickly tennis changes? Four months ago, Rafael Nadal wasn't even a top three player, and people were wondering if he would ever get back to where he once belonged. Now, Nadal is indisputably the best in the sport this year, thanks to back-to-back Grand Slam titles and an undefeated run on the clay. Nadal's not an A-List all-time player yet – that list still "only" contains Federer, Pete Sampras, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg. Make no mistake, though, Nadal's on the B-Plus list, and if he wins the U.S. Open, for my money, he joins the "A" group.
74 Years . . . and Still Counting: Quick everyone – when was the last time a British man won Wimbledon? Andy Murray even had the Queen cheering for him this year, and it still didn't do him much good. No doubt, he played well against Nadal, but when he needed to be better, he wasn't. That's probably a very harsh analysis, but it's the truth. Murray can come out of the summer Slams proud that he's turned around his dismal spring, but if he's going to break England's 74-year drought at his home Slam and put the ghost of Fred Perry to rest, he's probably going to have to find a way to break through "Fedal." So far, he hasn't figured it out.
We Love Lu: Was there a bigger surprise in the second week of the tournament than Yen-Hsun Lu? Had he lost to Roddick in that Round of 16 match, Lu would have had a fantastic tournament. Instead, he went out and stared down a guy who isn't exactly known for his timidness on the court and found himself in the quarterfinals. Quick – when was the last time you saw a guy from any Asian country in the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam? I can honestly say I've never seen it. The question, now is will we see it again?
Understanding Djokovic: You know, not to long ago, Novak Djokovic was indisputably the third-best man in the sport. Now, I don't know what to make of him. Are his breathing problems really that bad? Is he just not in the same league? Is he ever going to take the next step we all thought he was taking when he won the Australian Open in 2008? I don't know. What I do know is that the computer says Djokovic is ranked second, and I don't believe it. More and more, that Australian Open is starting to look like one of those random results tennis throws out once in awhile. After all, Djokovic is one of only TWO men not named Federer or Nadal who has won a Grand Slam since 2005, and in tennis terms, Djokovic should be in his prime.