Roger Federer has just won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon Championship over his rival Rafael Nadal. But for as much noise as these two make on the trimmed lawns of the All-England Club, these two advisaries make little noise off the court. 

This year’s final was a thing of tennis beauty. Both players competed as fast and as strong as two racehorses sprinting to the finish. Nadal pushed Federer to a deciding fifth set but in the end it was the familiar site of the dapper Federer hoisting the champion’s trophy.  

Nadal tested Federer’s heart as a champion and the Swiss Mister answered with his huge serve topping out at over 128 miles per hour, strong ground strokes and the never-say-die attitude we see from the greatest of prizefighters.

Federer has now solidified his position as the greatest tennis player in a generation – perhaps ever, by winning his fifth Wimbledon title, equaling Bjorn Borg’s mark of consecutive

Wimbledon wins. Federer also captured his 11th Grand Slam title – just four short of tying legendary Pete Sampras for most slams won.For all of Federer’s out-of-this world play, Nadal’s persistence showed the world that Federer is indeed human. The Spaniard got under the champ’s skin and Federer went as far as to question the accuracy of Wimbledon’s laser-guided replay machine and ask that it be turned off.  Yes this match had everything but a Gatorade shower.  So where does this rivalry rank among great sports rivalries? Unfortunately, somewhere near the bottom. There is no face-painting, chest bumping, trash-talking that we see from other great sports rivalries like the Patriots vs. the Colts, Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz or Florida vs. Florida

State. 

Is tennis just that pretentious? No. It is simply because the two best players the sport has to offer choose to make all their noise on the court. These two competitors are true sportsmen and true gentlemen – they leave it all on the court. Federer told his opponent that he thought he deserved to win the day. When was the last time you heard A-Rod tell Big Papi the Sox deserved to win the World Series?Tennis fans are passionate but you will never see an errant folding chair hurled onto the court. You will never see beer hurled from the cheap seats. The intensity of the one-on-one competition is enough. 

Federer vs. Nadal rivalry may not grab the kind of headlines the way the Red Sox vs. Yankees do but the two best tennis players on the planet wouldn’t have it any other way.