TENNIS/Wimbledon Championships: Once again American Andy Roddick, sweat dripping from the brim of his peaked cap and his eyes sinking further into his head, stared across the Centre Court net at the inscrutable Roger Fededer.
The Swiss world number one was, for the third time in as many years, hurtling down the home straight for the championship title with barely a hair out of place.
Roddick was again the lost soul, forever searching with his big abrasive serves and forehands for a way to break Federer's stranglehold on the match. But always hopelessly so.
The omnipotence on grass of Fededer is something Roddick knows more about than most.
For the second year in succession he has been given a glimpse of the title only for the world number one to shut him out in the final, this time 6-2, 7-6, 6-4. Once again the completeness and soaring quality of the Federer game took the 22-year-old almost to the point of distress as he realised that he had run out of options in the face of one of the best grass players of all time.
Centre Court is a tough arena to arrive at such a realisation. Roddick's reaction to television immediately after the match was the most accurate illustration of what he felt, of the exasperation he had experienced for a second time in his career. His confidence may well have to be exhumed before the US Open in six weeks time.
"I bet you're not in the mood for talking," said the interviewer. "No," replied Roddick. "I'm in the mood for a beer."
Unusually for a player, let alone one who has just lost the Wimbledon final, Roddick was later as gushing about the champion and his ability as almost everyone else. Compared to last year, the number one is even better.
"He played head and shoulders above last year. Just look at the stats," said Roddick. "He hit like 49 winners and two errors. I hope he gets bored or something, I don't know. It wasn't a war of attrition out there. I wasn't tired. He was just better . . . I was tired of him."
Just a year older than Roddick and already Federer has been approved as one of the great players. The third title in succession takes him into an elite group including Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Fred Perry. He is now also chasing Borg for the longest winning streak on a grass court. Borg completed 41 win between Wimbledon 1976 and 1981 before he was halted.
Federer has now 36 wins. Next year's grass season could see him overtake that incredible mark.
There are other indicators falling out of the statistics mountain that follows Federer's every move. The guy has dropped only four sets to date during his three-year unbeaten run. He dropped one set on his way to the 2003 title, two sets en route to the 2004 title and one set this year against Nicolas Kiefer in the third round. As Roddick indicated and all the other players agree, these are tough times for the rest of the draw.
