Federer plots a Graf

          It has been a week since Roger Federer walked off Centre Court as Wimbledon champion for the seventh time. And as a Grand Slam winner, the best of 128 players, for a mind-boggling 17th time. The Slams simply dried up after January 2010, two and a half years ago. Novak Djokovic dumped on-court mimicry for titles. As his mother put it, 'Earlier it was Rafa, Roger, Rafa, Roger, now it's Novak, Novak, Novak..' Rafael Nadal grabbed the two available French Open titles. It is almost a given now - 128 men travel to Paris and Nadal wins.
          But Roger was the consistent loser. He never left before the quarters, but never left a winner. I was one among many who wrote him off as a has-been. But he pushed on, knowing he would win again, not hanging up his racquet just yet.
          And what better place to redeem himself than his adopted home, Wimbledon. In front of a polite crowd, appreciative of the genius he was displaying that day. Which brings me to the final. Andy Murray was the man on the other side of the net. (You think the next sentence will have the words 'first', 'British', 'man', 'Fred', 'Perry' and 1936 in it. I will spare you this most repeated piece of history in recent times.) The crowd was behind Murray, but some odd shouts in support of Federer could be heard. Federer had reached the summit clash having blown away the likes of Djokovic and Youzhny. Murray had braved Tsonga. He broke Federer early in the first set and went on to take it.
           Federer, never one to be walked over, bounced back to take set two. After two games in the third, the clouds opened to bless Federer. The Swiss accepted the blessings and romped his way to the set in progress and the next. Like Steffi Graf, he got around backhands to unleash his lethal forehand. He lifted the trophy, his long-time friend of ten years.
           British hearts were broken, but they got to see vintage Federer as a splendid compensation. Murray, the nearly man, praised his tormentor and thanked his crew between sobs. Federer was certain his vanquished opponent will win at least one Grand Slam some day. And I am certain that day will not arrive as long as Federer is playing this way.

The reign of Spain

          It's confirmed, for those who still weren't sure. Spain is the best international team at the moment. Take away Villa. Take away Puyol. Why, let boss del Bosque not play a proper striker at all. They are still the very best we have and we can relish that.
          That a team can win by the biggest margin in Euro final history without a striker is mind-boggling. I'm looking for apt words for blogging. Italy, famed for their defence, simply fell apart when it mattered. Stalwarts like Pirlo, Buffon and Cassano and stars like Balotelli had to walk past the Euro trophy without being allowed to lay a finger on it because they had not earned it, and because they were facing the best team in the world. The verve and resolve they showed in the same match-up three weeks ago vanished without a trace.
          Sure, Italy had a tad more possession in the first half. But possession does not win games. Ask Barcelona and Chelsea. Italy were unable to convert holding the ball into putting the ball into the net and they were penalised by Spain for it.
         Xavi defied his mounting age to send Jordi Alba a splendid through ball, which was promptly converted to a goal. Nearly half an hour earlier, David Silva had put the Spaniards ahead with a header that immediately found Cesc Fabregas's cross. The Italians were facing the same situation, scorewise, as the Germans three days earlier, but this time against a team several notches higher. They held out for a long while in the second half, but substitute Torres had what it took to put the seal on Spain's third Euro win. Mata, who had hardly been on for a minute, piled on the misery, slotting home Torres's pass into an empty net.
         Pirlo and Balotelli, both of whom had great tournaments, shed tears. They had defied expectations to get this far. To buckle this badly at the final hurdle would have been very painful. Had one mistake cost them on penalties, it would have been even more heartbreaking.
         Spain even bagged all the individual awards: Golden Boot (Torres - 3 goals, 1 assist), Man of the Tournament (Andres Iniesta) and Statistical Best (Sergio Ramos). But it is their team play which has left the world gasping.
         Spain's next test will be the FIFA Confederations Cup next year. They will face host Brazil and the winners of the competitions in other confederations, like Uruguay, Japan, Mexico and Tahiti. The Confederations Cup is the traditional warm-up to the FIFA World Cup the following year. Should they win, they will consolidate their position as World Cup favourites.
         Their critics have been silenced again. Tongues will wag again come next June. Till then, Spain is simply the best.