I have a confession to make. I rarely if ever watch tennis.
But today I did, and today I became -- if not a tennis fan -- an admirer of the battle that I witnessed this afternoon and evening between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic prevailed in four sets to beat the defending champion, but there was so much more to this contest that went over four hours.
There was Djokovic prone beside the court getting his back worked on, and Nadal looking gimpy in the last set, but both men giving it their all, giving it a match that was worthy of a U.S. Open.
The bare facts are that Djokovic wins 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1, and there is sure to be better coverage elsewhere, from "experts" who have actually watched as much tennis as I have watched football and baseball.
I guess the tribute that I can give to what I witnessed today is this: I will be watching tennis a whole lot more in the future.
Because today I saw just how compelling this sport can be.