Yes, this is a medical evaluation of sorts.  But no, the five-time Wimbledon champ does not have calculi in his kidneys.  I'm talking about the pair between his thighs.  It shall never again be questioned whether Mirka keeps them at home or in her purse.

It was a wild and wobbly Wimbly, with the rain delays and some outstanding matchups...  Henman v. Moya, Vaidisova v Ivanovic, and Djokovic v Baghdatis were most thrilling.  But the gentlemen's final topped them all.

One would think Tommy Haas' fourth-round withdrawal and the cramped second-week schedule of his Spanish opponent gave Federer an advantage.  Quite the opposite. 

Take as an example the way both Williams sisters worked their way into form for their Grand Slam titles this year.  The first couple of rounds are always tricky, and a player likes to build on challenges as he or she goes along.

The blustery forces of nature that gave Federer a week off in the middle of the tournament!!! left the champ with rust.  (Hey, how about that Juan Carlos Ferrero?!!)  And this after the Swiss -- once again flying solo as his own coach  -- skipped Halle, the grass-court lead-in he had won four years running.  Preparation and superstition, be damned.

The man was not what you call match-rich.  And he had a lot of time to think about the immense significance of what he was attempting.  Even he said he did not feel as confident and prepared as he did in 2006.

Meanwhile, an improved game and heavy dose of luck produced an opponent that was match-saturated and rising in confidence as the tournament moved on.  The same opponent from the year prior, the indefatigable Rafael Nadal.  Not completely surprising, but the reigning French Open champion was also fortunate that Mikhail Youzhny and Novak Djokovic played impaired. 

Where Fed would have likely been challenged by healthy Tommy Haas, Nadal would have likely been toppled by a healthy Youzhny.  And Djokovic had scrapped his way to results that live up to his brashness before he had to retire from the semifinal.  So the two finalists spent roughly the same time on court Saturday.

Fortunately, I'm used to the roller coaster of anxiety of a Marat Safin match.  This experience gave me the stamina to survive this final.  The opening three games had me feeling secure with Fed at 3-0.

That sense of security did not return until late in the fifth set.

In between, Federer battled a grass court that was slower than ever, some dubious calls from -- oddly enough -- the electronic line judge and obviously, the one opponent who is most in his head.

This has been a challenging year for the world number one.  He parted ways with Tony Roche shortly before the French, Guillermo Canas took him out of two tournaments early, and in the French Open final, his best game -- especially his serve -- abandoned him.

Federer's serve was premiere Sunday, but his best game was not all there.  Five sets in a Slam is unusual territory for Fed.  And he was irritated enough by the seemingly erroneous Hawk-Eye that he asked for it to be turned off.  (Which didn't happen.)

It was a rough day on center court for the defending champion.  But he needed this. 

Despite a timeout for treatment to his knee, Nadal had the momentum going into the final set.  Twice in the fifth, Federer was down 15-40.  Since last year, I had Fed as the man who should and would win this tournament.  (Provding he got past Safin, of course!)  But on that long series of break points, even I doubted the historic Bjorn-like moment would happen.

And then in the sixth game, Federer scorched a forehand winner down the line and I knew.

This was the Roger I recognized.

No... this was the Roger I hadn't seen in a long time.  He was pushed to an extreme the entire match and came through.  He didn't always play brilliant -- which is his trademark, but he played brave.

He needed this checkup.  Head, heart, guts and nuts... intact!

 

Some have doubted Federer's ####... but probably not the folks that erected this sign.