THURSDAYIt's ladies' semi-finals day and it's those Williams sisters up against the Russians. Serena is on first against Elena
Dementieva and it turns out to be a corker of a match which Serena wins 8-6 in the deciding set. Not that BBC
automaton Sue Barker would dare show any emotion either way. Luckily, John McEnroe is on hand to provide wit, insight, passion and
intelligence. He was a brilliant player but he's almost even better as a pundit. Venus then dumps world number one,
Dinara Safina, out of the tournament in less than an hour.
FRIDAY
Anticipation rises as
Federer takes on Tommy Haas. At 31, the German is the 'old man'
of the tournament. This is five years younger than me. Start to feel positively ancient as it's pointed out that Roger is 27. Ugh. Then he wins in straight sets and it's time to see which Andy he'll meet in the final.
And lo and behold
Roddick wins the first set! Then Murray breaks at the start of the next, wins it and it's level at one set all. Surely the Scot will turn on the magic now. But no! It's
Andymonium as tiebreak specialist
Roddick wins sets three and four 7-6, 7-6 and the dream is over.
Gah! He's no better than
Henman! Actually he is, and he'll probably come back stronger next year. He's better on hard courts anyway (he says
knowledgeably).
SATURDAY
Here come the girls, girls, girls, girls. You know
the song, the one
commandeered by Boots for the TV ads. It's by Ernie K Dow, don't ya know. No, I hadn't heard of him either. Anyway, literally everyone on the BBC is predicting a Venus victory, which makes me nervous since I've put all my money/made a vague prediction that Serena will win the Williamsy final. Thankfully my sixth sense works a treat and the younger sister triumphs in two. Go me! And Serena I guess.
SUNDAY
Despite
tonking Murray, no-one is giving
Roddick much of a chance but he wins the first set and is just a point from winning the second when Lazarus
Federer wrests it back from him and then takes the third. But A-Rod, as I've
unaccountably started calling him, storms back to win the fourth and suddenly were into the decider and it is GAME ON.
I notice that Andrew Castle has been drafted in to commentate on the final, presumably because Johnny Mac has been seconded by an American broadcaster for the occasion. He's bland, slightly pompous and alongside Tim
Henman pretty much completes the
BBC's inoffensive line up in the box, with only Boris Becker left to make any interesting comments whatsoever.
With no tie break in the last set, it's just a question of who breaks the other's serve first and as yet,
Federer hasn't managed to break my main man A-Rod once. It's getting really tense and then, at around 9-9 it suddenly gets quite boring. Whoever serves wins their game and only once every couple of games is there actually a rally of any note. But it's really, really tense and I can't leave it but it's also kind of dull. Should I stay or should I go now? I can't remember what The Clash decided either so decide to stay. Meanwhile, a caption appears saying that the news is being shown over on BBC2. Shortly afterwards, there's another saying Antiques Roadshow has started. I vaguely wonder what happens if the match goes on all night. Will breakfast TV be shifted as well?
A few mistakes start to creep into to A-Rod's game and then, inevitably, the Fed breaks his serve, and with it his heart to win 16-14. He looks even smugger than normal while poor old Andy
Roddick is struggling manfully to hold back the tears. It's genuinely moving to see him so upset and I'm fairly sure I wasn't mistaken in that the cheer that went up around Centre Court for him when he was introduced as runner-up was way louder than it was for Roger as winner. Did they really like him more or is it just a classic response from a british crowsd, always cheering on the underdog? Either way, this epic final is a fitting way to end a great fortnight.
POST SCRIPTI've just realised that Wimbledon is, famously, in SW19. I live in SW14, which is only five away! How cool is that? The question is, five what?