Newcomer Skywalker wins Wimbledon! Posted by: Bill Cable 7-11-01 11:01am In an unparalleled upset, unranked and unseeded unknown Luke Skywalker humiliated 3rd-seed Patrick Rafter, vanquishing him in straight sets 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. Never in the history of the sport has a complete unknown run the table at a Grand Slam event, nor has anyone, anywhere dominated the field in this manner. Skywalker looked as if he could do no wrong, serving up a tournament record 336 aces, dwarfing the previous Wimbledon record of 206. Rafter was first to chime in with his thoughts. "Never in my life... never in anyone's life has there been a performance like the one this kid put on today. His control of the ball is unlike anything I've ever seen. He can pick any corner of the court from anywhere he touches the ball and hit it at will. He puts a spin on the ball that cannot be believed... no matter which direction he hit the ball it always seemed to land in-bounds. I've never seen such wicked arcs... he almost seems to defy physics. I just... I'm awestruck." Skywalker put on a game that will be reviewed and analyzed for decades to come. He picked-apart his opponents at will... when not handcuffing them with blistering aces, he sent volleys across the net that seemed almost determined to avoid the their reach. Along with serving 336 aces, he allowed only 17 aces by. He seemed to know exactly where every serve was coming at him before it left his opponents' rackets. His positioning was more perfect than can be described. His speed and reflexes eclipse those of any of the greatest players in their primes. Some of his shots need to be seen to be believed... we can't do them justice on paper. His signature move is a quick lob that seems to hit the turf without bouncing before rolling to a complete stop. Rafter commented, "When he started pulling those no-bounce shots out of his ass I just about quit. I mean COME ON! There's no way to defend against that! The topspin on those shots must have been fierce enough to melt glass to show that kind of action. This guy is a phenomenon!" Skywalker's near-perfection even seemed to affect the judges. One of Skywalker's volleys late in the second set landed a clear 3 or 4 feet out of bounds. But Skywalker's performance to that point must have clouded the mind of the line judge, who called the shot "in." Despite vigorous protests by Rafter and clear evidence on the video replay, the judge refused to reverse his call. But that small discrepancy in no way tarnishes this victory for Skywalker, with Rafter even admitting he still wouldn't have stood a chance in the match had that call gone his way. Skywalker, a quiet country boy who grew up on a small farm in the deserts of Tunisia, declined to discuss his game. A deeply religious man, he used his opportunity with reporters to profess his peculiar, non-denominational faith. "I'd like to thank the Force for giving me the ability to triumph in this tournament! Remember that the Force is in all of us, and all you have to do is submit to the will of the Force to achieve peace and balance." This year's tournament will go down in history as the event where the greatest athlete of our age was revealed to the world. We've witnessed the birth of a legend. As much as Tiger Woods dominates golf, his isn't 1/10th the dominance that Skywalker demonstrated this week at Wimbledon.