MOZART AND FEDERER

"I am coal, that this diamond may shine even more brightly."

Paraphrased - Salieri in AMADEUS.

            The smart money, the safe bet, even as Andy Roddick began his steady climb at this latest Wimbledon was on a short, surgical win by Roger.

When the tall and rangy American beat British hope Andy Murray in Friday's semifinal, a momentous upset, there remained little doubt: Come the finals, he would wilt against greatness. Didn't Roddick have just two wins out of 20 matches against Federer?

This, we now know, was the same old Roger; rock solid, with a magician's panache. Steady as a metronome. It was his seventh straight Wimbledon final, his 19th Grand Slam final since 2003. He'd just won his record-tying 14th Grand Slam in Paris. Now he was going for the all-time record.

But a different Andy Roddick showed up.

It was Roddick who made this match happen, Roddick who forced the tension and the steady surge of emotion. His game sizzled with half-volley winners, forehand blasts, backhands and serves that touched chalk and went dipping, diving and dancing -- unreturnable.

Andy Roddick brought his own magic for five unforgiving, unforgettable sets. We know about his bad luck. The tense, missed volley in the second set tie-breaker. The break points lost late in the match. We also know about the good fortune he produced; from the opening stroke, when bright light filled the game's greatest stage, to the last point, when shadows fell once again on Centre Court.

There was a moment, there were many moments, when it seemed like he would produce what would have been the most stunning upset at a Wimbledon final.

Then we remembered who was on the other side. Roger is not like the rest.

This, truth be told, is still Roger Federer's time. And here he has just played yet another match that will stand the test of time. In men's tennis at Wimbledon, today's tilt now sits right beside all the other greatest, most memorable ones. Beside Borg beating McEnroe in 1980. Beside 41-year-old Pancho Gonzalez turning back young Charlie Pasarell in 1969's first round: five hours and 12 minutes, a 22-24 first set. Beside, among a handful of other matches, Andre Agassi's startling five-set win over Goran Ivanisevic in the 1992 final

But that's the long view. The shorter view, focused on just this last final, speaks solely to the immediate brilliance of two men.

The way these two were playing -- Roddick never backing off, Federer scratching and crawling and defending -- a few more hours of tennis seemed a possibility. Every time one man came close, the other turned him back. Remember that there were, aside from the set points Roddick lost early on, two break points saved by Federer in the opening chapter of the fifth set.

If Federer had lost just one of those fifth-set points, Andy Roddick probably would have won. What a story that would have been. But this wasn't that kind of story: a thrilling, long-march upset that would finish somewhat conventionally.

No, this was Shakespeare. On and on and on they went.

We watched in awe, surprised as it became clear 2009 was mirroring 2008, which mirrored 2007.

We watched in agony, hearts heavy and sad as Andy Roddick bowed his head after that final miss.

We watched in joy, marveling at a beautiful performance from the greatest men's champion of all time, a man who has delivered the sublime and supreme for so long it is now hard to remember life without Roger Federer.

L.A. TIMES