Cilic-Haas Showdown Gives Wimbledon a Shot of Adrenaline

The fans were standing and raucously cheering, despite the fact that the outcome of the match was still in doubt. It was Saturday night at Wimbledon, and Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic had just put on a spectacular show. Haas and Cilic battled in what was a fearsome war of attrition, with Cilic rallying from two sets down to force a fifth set tiebreaker. Yet the two men fell victim to the London twilight. As day turned into dawn and dawn into night, play was suspended until the following day, depriving the passionate tennis fans in attendance on this night of witnessing the finish of this dazzling match. But as Haas and Cilic exited the premises to receive some much-needed rest before they returned to the court mere hours later, there was more elation than frustration in the stands. Every man, woman, and child stood and cheered in appreciation of Haas and Cilic. Because while they may not have the chance of seeing the end of the match, they were lucky enough to see an extraordinary display of pure athletic drama, the kind of tennis that the fans in London so feverishly crave.

Today, with far more light than the night before, Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic finished their match. Haas, the thirty-one-year-old from Germany looking to capture his first major title, was the winner, winning the final set by a count of 10-8. But to the sport of tennis, the winner of the match is not as important as the match itself. Haas-Cilic provided the kind of must-see excitement that this year's Wimbledon so desperately needed in the absence of Rafael Nadal. The 2009 Wimbledon tournament has its fair share of compelling storylines, most notably the dominance of Venus and Serena Williams, the play of local favorite Andy Murray, and the quest of Roger Federer to cement his status as the greatest of all time. However, prior to Saturday's Haas-Cilic showdown, the tournament was lacking that one moment that would get the sports world talking. The absence of Rafael Nadal had been the elephant in the room until Haas and Cilic stepped onto the court, but by the time their match was over, Wimbledon had received a welcome shot of adrenaline.

I love watching Wimbledon, and Haas-Cilic reminded me of why I'm such a fan of tennis. I don't expect this match to work any miracles. In the United States, Wimbledon will continue live in the shadow of the latest baseball, basketball, and football news, and nothing, not even a tournament for the ages, is going to change that. But I do think the Haas-Cilic match adds a jolt of excitement to Wimbledon that will attract increased viewer interest. The fans at the All England Club on Saturday night weren't clapping only for Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic; they were clapping also because they realized that the drama had finally arrived at Wimbledon.