England Watered Down

I watched over the weekend as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams cruised to the Wimbledon Championships. The both of them made it look incredibly easy. I couldn't help but feel cheated they both got to the finals without having to play their arch nemesis, their most worthy adversary, and their #1 rival. In the case of Serena it was the absence of Venus. No one else pushes Serena the way Venus does. Let us not forget Venus is the older sister and doesn't put up with Serena's sh*t. The psychological and emotional warfare makes for exciting TV. You wonder how many more grand slam titles the Williams sisters would have if they didn't have to play each other. In the case of Nadal it was the absence of Roger Federer. Some people consider Roger the greatest of all time yet Nadal has had his number recently. He's won two consecutive grand slams (on clay and grass) and has fared well in their head to head match ups. It's a rivalry that's starting to resemble Agassi/Sampras from a few years back. Tennis more so than other sports needs compelling rivalries. It needs two champions facing each other that bring out the best in their opponent. Without the epic rivalry the ending is often anti climatic. Nadal needs Roger. Serena needs Venus. Their battles are career defining and validate greatness. Roger and Venus need to get it together, the US Open is around the corner.