Two magical finals, two tragic heroes and the victory of sport
No one could have predicted that London would host two of the greatest finals in sporting history on the same fateful Sunday night. No one could have predicted that it would produce not one, but two vanquished heroes simultaneously, Kane Williamson and Roger Federer.
These two masters of their respective sports may have lost the battle on the night due to a cruel concoction of luck and performance, but they captured the imagination and hearts of innumerable followers on a night in which sports was the real winner.
Wimbledon 2019, Roger Federer
There were moments in last night's titanic struggle in the Wimbledon men's singles final where it seemed inevitable that Novak Djokovic, the 32-year-old No.1 seed, would prevail over the Swiss maestro, Federer.
This feeling only grew as the match wore on, despite Federer conjuring up some sublime tennis, including some stunning one-handed backhands that sent the Center Court crowd into rapturous applause.
This sense of inevitability that it was not to be Federer's night in the longest Wimbledon final ever, was bolstered by him failing to latch on to two match points deep in the fifth set, as the younger, machine-like Djokovic just kept on growing stronger.
In the end, the Serb triumphed in his third tie-breaker on the night to prevail, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 for his 5th title on the famed lawns of the All England Club.
But the night belonged to his much older rival, whose every point was cheered on vociferously by a normally-restrained Center Court contingent; Federer never deserted the poetry inherent in his game - he will never desert it for as long as he plays the sport - and that is the source of the eternal romance that followers of tennis have with him.
World Cup final, Kane Williamson
As the ball deflected off Ben Stokes's bat and rolled away for a freakish boundary from a Martin Guptill throw, it seemed as though it was not to be for the Kiwis, who had fought gallantly till the very end of what was probably the greatest ODI ever.
Stokes had batted heroically (84 not out) and after the scores were tied post the end of 100 overs and the match headed into a Super Over, some Kiwis seemed dejected. Not their unflappable captain though, whose face never lost the stoical smile so characteristic of the champion that he is.
It seemed as though Williamson, rightfully declared the Man of the Tournament (578 runs) courtesy his dexterous captaincy and gallant batsmanship, knew that fate had the last word in everything, be it sports or life.
His stoical face took it all in gracefully: the freak deflection, the catch by Trent Boult that was not a catch after all but a six since he had touched the rope, and, last of all, the tied Super Over that gave England the Cup because of the strange boundary rule.
That is why he, and, by extension, his men, the underdogs who beat favorites India and then ran England beyond the wire after a horrible end to the league phase, were seemingly protagonists of a Greek tragedy where fate overcomes and undoes man's best intentions.
Sport wins
Two brilliant finals, many great lessons for everyone involved, two champions who lit up two great sporting venues, Lord's and the All England Club, not just with their sporting prowess but also their approach and attitude.
On this Sunday in London, sport won because its message transcended the realm of the field to inflect the wider world; give your best, take what comes on the chin and battle on, because you cannot control everything.
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