“I felt like I was going to shoot Bambi” | Relay

After more than four and a quarter hours of play, at the first championship point, the television cameras turn to the Royal Box of the Cathedral of Tennis. There, Sitting in the front row in sunglasses and a grey suit, Pete Sampras watches as a man is about to take the record of all records from himA few meters below, that man, who is called Roger Federerachieves the decisive point on the grass of Wimbledon and celebrates by jumping for his 15th Grand Slam title, a figure that had been unattainable until then.

On the other side of the net is one of the Swiss’s favorite victims, Andy Roddickwhom he had already beaten in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals and in the 2006 US Open. But in none of the previous ones was the American as close as in the one at hand now, Wimbledon 2009. The match ended in a tight 5-7, 7-6 (7-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 and 16-14 for Federer. At the time, no one knew it, but that was the last Grand Slam final played by an American tennis player. until now.

Because this Sunday, September 8, 5,544 days after that July 5, 2009, an American will once again fight for a major title. It will be Taylor Fritz and it will be at none other than the US Open (20:00 on Movistar+)although he will face the world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner. The wait has been very long, although we have to rewind even further, to the US Open 2003, to see the last champion born in the United States, who was precisely Roddick.

American tennis has been yearning ever since to see one of its own holding one of the four major titles. And the closest it came to that was on the centre court at Wimbledon. that July 5, 2009, when everything happened, something that was not easy coming from where tennis came from, from that 2008 final in which Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer They played what was dubbed the match of the century.

The volley that condemned Roddick

The Nebraska Bomber was at that time one of the most feared rivals on grass due to a huge serve, one of the most powerful in history. When he was in tune with the serve, he was practically impenetrable on a surface like grass. And if when he retired in 2012 without a single Wimbledon title to his name, it was simply Federer’s fault.

When they stepped onto the Wimbledon court in 2009, the Swiss was the overwhelming favourite. A five-time champion at the All England Club, he had Roddick’s measure and was eager to reclaim the throne after the final against Nadal. But The American started without any complexes and the match could have ended in a very different way if Roddick had not missed a seemingly simple volley in the second set..

“It’s impossible not to think about it. We are human, we are not cyborgs. At that moment, there are two options. Either you let go or you keep fighting. The second option sounds much better to me.”

Andy Roddick

That key moment was in the tie break of the second set, when Roddick He had already won the first set and was leading in the second set tiebreaker by 6-2. He had four points to go 2-0 up.Federer saved the first serve with a backhand winner, then hit two first serves and at 6-5 he was completely sold. Roddick served, Federer returned to mid-court, the American attacked with his forehand and the ball came back to him for a backhand volley. He had the entire court in his favor, but he went a couple of meters beyond the doubles corridor, and his mind went blank for a few minutes.. (That moment comes at 1 hour and 21 minutes into the full summary below.)

That was a huge blow for Roddick. “It’s impossible not to think about it. We are humans, we are not cyborgs. At that point there are two options. Either you let go or you keep fighting. The second option sounds much better to me.“, the Nebraskan said after the final.

Indeed, Roddick continued to fight. He also lost the third set in the tie break, but tied the fourth andEverything was decided in a fifth set that was a real brawl. Ace here, ace there and so on until an hour and a half later the Swiss won 16-14.Roddick also had his chance in that fifth set, two break points with the score at 8-8.

“There were a number of ex-tennis players in the Royal Box, and of such calibre, who were going to witness Roger’s performance… That day I felt like I was going to shoot Bambi”

Andy Roddick

“I’m sorry, Pete, I tried to stop him.”Roddick told Sampras during the ceremony on court, accompanied in the stands by legends such as Rod Laver, Manolo Santana and Bjorn Borg. Nobody wanted to miss a historic moment, the moment when a man reached the figure of 15 Grand Slam titles for the first time.

“There were a number of former tennis players of such calibre in the Royal Box who were going to witness Roger’s performance… That day I felt like I was going to shoot Bambi.“Roddick recalled years later. “You go out and you see Sampras is there, and he’s there because he and Roger both have 14 titles. You definitely feel the weight of the moment.”

Something like this might be felt by Sinner this Sunday, who when he looks into the stands will surely see many American legends. John McEnroe will be there for sure, Andre Agassi is one of those who doesn’t miss one of these and In recent days it has been rumored that Roddick may be the one to hand over the cup and the champion is Fritz.

• Roger Federer

• Jannik Sinner