As a tradition-loving sports event, Wimbledon rarely alters it and, in fact, has done so only a handful of times in its long history.
On July 15th, sports fans all over the world were wishing Wimbledon had started its men’s final a few hours earlier to avoid a potential clash with the FIFA World Cup finals. But Wimbledon organisers refused to reschedule it.
Including 2018, only three times have the Wimbledon men’s finals crossed paths with the FIFA World Cup finals.
To recall the earliest instance of this brings back vivid memories of the Boris Becker vs Stefan Edberg men’s singles final in 1990.
One hour into the match, Becker was down two sets to none, and it seemed as if he was desperately in a hurry to catch the earliest flight to Rome where, a few hours from the Wimbledon finals, West Germany and Argentina were scheduled to play the FIFA World Cup finals.
As one of Becker’s ardent fans, it strikes as odd that, mentally and physically, he is not where he ought to be.
Only a year ago, he had played a class of tennis that hardly any player would have ever matched on that centre court in Wimbledon, beating Edberg in straight sets, including a first set bagel.
In fact, it was the first time since the Open Era (1968 or later) a player was beaten 6-0 in the first set of the Wimbledon men’s finals.
During the change break, right before the start of the third set, the television camera zoomed in to take a close look at Becker’s eyes that didn’t waver a bit. Fiery and intense, one could see the single-pointed focus in them.
To better picture this, imagine the eyes of an angry lion that is all set to pounce on its prey, no matter what comes on its way. Perhaps, the cameraman had realised the significance of the moment.
Somewhere around the corner of the living room, as if in a trance, staring at the television set, I said to myself “Come on, Boris, you can do it”.
A little more than an hour later, as Becker tossed the ball up to serve at 3-1 in the fifth and final set, authoring one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Wimbledon finals, it was all like a fairytale wish come true moment.
But then, just when he seemed to have the match firmly in his hands, just when he needed to confidently close out the match, Becker let it go, denying himself and his fans a fairytale finish to a spectacular comeback.
During the trophy presentation, a deeply disappointed Becker, unable to overcome his emotions, even requested Edberg to allow him to touch the winner’s trophy. Edberg graciously allowed Becker to do so.
What a sporting gesture!
Well, for both Becker, and all those fans who witnessed that match, Wimbledon and the FIFA World Cup, will forever be linked.
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