There are sports competitions, and then there are all-out brawls. Slugfests. Marathons of strength, will, and pure talent. Larry Legend against Magic. Ali versus Frasier. Brady versus Manning. The list is pretty much endless.

But recently, the sport of tennis has had a downward trend of popularity. Sure, Bill Simmons tried to resurrect the whole sport with his list of ideas to better the sport, by allowing cheering throughout matches and shortening sets… but these are not immediate possibilities and are whimsical hopes.

The days of MacEnroe, Ash, Borg, Connors, Sampras and Aggasi are long gone. American women, being solely represented by Venus and Serena Williams, are able to dominate the world. However, American men rarely make it past the second round. James Blake and Andy Roddick seem to have quite a bit of hype, but also seem to get steamrolled by anyone who doesn’t call America home.

Perhaps that is why the United States public has neglected tennis as a sport. Matches take a while, it doesn’t appeal to the middle class majority, and we don’t have any American heroes.

And to that, I say: WHO CARES?

Enter Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Roger Federer: The master of recent tennis history. Grand Slam after Grand Slam. Wimbledon. The Australian Open. The US Open. He’s won them all. He’s beaten pretty much anyone of any worth in the world of tennis. Seriously, just go to his Wiki page and scroll through his accomplishments. Tell me he isn’t one of the greatest tennis players (heck, one of the greatest athletes) of all time.

Rafael Nadal: The young kid whose goal is to become the master of the more recent tennis history. And so far, he’s on pace to do so. Everyone (or at least anyone who cares about sports) knows he’s unbeatable on clay. That’s fine; everyone has their vice. Outside of that, grass has been his Achilles heel. He’s lost three times to Federer at Wimbledon. He’s given Roger fits a few times, but he’s never pulled it out.

Until today.

Rafael Nadal finally beat Roger Federer on grass in an epic match, perhaps the greatest match of all time. The score: 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. All happening in a 4-hour, 48-minute classic. Call Nadal ‘Pheidippides,’ or just call him sensational.

Wrapping himself in a Spanish flag, taking a bite of the trophy… Nadal has passion. He exudes it. Everything Nadal does is flashy, but also pure. He loves the game and he respects it with every cell in his body. His warmups are elaborate five hour routines and he has the control to play the game consistently well.

America may not have any possible heroes from our turf… but Nadal is no enemy. Enjoy the show!