The Final Frontier.

Tennis is a cruel sport by its very nature. You get no second chances. A defeat in any round can never be cast away as an insignificant entry in a statistics register; its gravity cannot be dimmed by stellar performances in following games against others in the 'Group'. There is no team member to blame and no one to bank on if you're having a bad day. It is just you, your racquet and your image on millions of TV sets around the world, letting people judge your every move.Roger Federer will agree. After hailing him as the greatest ever to have stepped on a tennis court, we tarnish his spectacular victory by insinuating that he holds the trophy only because he didn't have to beat Nadal to get it. A statement that is so incredibly demeaning, I pity everyone who actually believes it with enough conviction to say it out aloud; and the sport itself, the spirit of which is being painstakingly upheld by men and women who strive relentlessly in their pursuit of a lifelong dream, just so the world can contort its ugly face and scream, 'luck!'.

Rafael Nadal is definitely one of the greats of the game. His dominance of the clay court is unquestionable, and so is his commitment to being one of the best. His Wimbledon title was well deserved, albeit by a less than colossal margin. But he is human, no matter what his stamina and persistence would have us believe. And his early exit this time stands testament to that fact. It is his fault, and his fault alone that he did not make it to the finals to play Federer, who for his part can only try and beat the person he plays. Add to that the fact that Federer handed Nadal's nemesis a three set drubbing in the final, and any doubts we have about if the trophy was deserved should fade into nothingness. If they don't, we should take a good long look at ourselves in the mirror and vehemently question our very right to behold history in the making.

The tears that streamed down Roger Federer's face that fateful day are not only proof of the sheer passion he has for the game, but a befitting tribute to one of those very rare moments in time when a mortal is rendered into the realms of immortality.

The best man won.