Game, set, match...

Introduction

Wimbledon is the home of tennis. There's no question about it. For the last week of June and the first week of July, the nation is gripped by tennis. Even people who are not all that into sport enjoy watching it. The nation's tennis courts (or at least what's left of them after the 1980s took their toll) suddenly fill up with eager young tennis players. This year was no different.



I'm a big tennis fan. It's probably the only sport that I was ever truly any good at playing, which is why I have a soft spot for it. I've been watching Wimbledon for as long as I can remember. I can recall where I was and what I was doing during the 1987 final between Ivan Lendl & Pat Cash (tagline: who will win? Cash or Czech?) I was at a scout camp, listening on the radio!



I watched the unknown Boris Becker beat Kevin Curren in 1985. I watched the three Edberg-Becker finals from 1988-1990. I watched McEnroe thrash Connors in 1984. I rejoiced in 1996 when Sampras didn't win (the Krajicek/Washington final). And I'll never forget last year's epic when Nadal finally came of age on grass and beat Federer and the rain delays.

I didn't think we'd get another final like that for a while. How wrong I was. 2009 was another epic, even though it was just a touch shorter than 2008. I wasn't even worried about nipping out to the train station during the fifth set this year, as I wasn't sure it would ever end.



This then is the DVD of the classic 2009 Wimbledon Men's final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. Every minute is here, from the pre-match build up to the presentations.

Video and Audio

An excellent 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, as first broadcast. Nothing wrong from a technical point of view and it's exactly like it was on the 5th of July 2009.



We also get a DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, again as first broadcast, and again perfectly fine technically.

Extra Features

An interview with Roger Federer. Sadly it's only 2 minutes long. An opportunity missed by a country mile.

Conclusion

If you were one of the 11 million who watched this on the BBC, you might like to relive the experience. You'll need to set aside a whole afternoon to do so, and you'll have to get up to swap DVDs when it gets to the end of the fourth set. You'll get to watch the most games ever played in a Wimbledon men's singles final. You'll see Federer serve over 50 aces in the match. And you'll see other record breaking feats too.

So if you fancy watching this match again, this DVD has it all there for you. It's a shame that the interview isn't much longer, but if you're just interested in the action, this will do you fine!