To Sir With Love...

He did it.


As the warmth of a tepid Paris Sunday morning wished him a good morning, he might as well have wished himself a good day. It was going to be the greatest day of his life. What was for years tantalizingly elusive was to be finally achieved. The pretentiousness of the occasion was enormous and tennis immortality was in sight. As the 13 time Grand Slam champion took the court on the overcast Sunday afternoon amid great expectation and anxiety for the most important match of his life, he produced the tennis of equivalent quality as the significance of the occasion. The first serves were spot on, the whipping forehands and the pinpoint accuracy of his shots displayed in the first few minutes the forte of a champion. Roger Federer’s moment of glory had arrived before him. The rest of the match seemed a rather curt formality, and Roger Federer at the end of 2 hours of near flawless tennis, was the greatest player of all time.


Actually, studying this French Open, it is hard not to notice certain queerness about Roger’s play in this tournament. His play seemed quite rusty for most of the tournament, pretty similar to his exploits at Roland Garros in the past, where he never really was on top of his game like he normally is on every other occasion. His 2nd round wrestle against a never-heard-of Jose Acasusuo, or an equally grappling win against local Frenchman Paul Henri Mathieu in the subsequent round might not have sent worrying jitters in the Federer camp. But the grueling five setter against Tommy Haas in the fourth round did indeed give Federer fans reason to fret. The remarkable turnaround of coming back from two sets down to winning the match however, displayed great skill that was worthy of acknowledgement. In the quarterfinal against Gael Monfils (who was tipped to defeat Federer…believe it or not!) Roger played the kind of tennis that defined his regal reign in the last five years. Taking the match in straight sets, his storming into the semifinals was a fitting reply to those skeptical detractors who still surprisingly ruled him out of contention for the title. Rafael Nadal’s unprecedented exit from his happiest-hunting-ground might have brought about sighs of relief to all the millions of Federer devotees across the world, but the task was still incomplete. He faced his toughest challenge of the tournament in his semifinal clash against Juan Martin Del Potro, to whom he hadn’t dropped a set in his whole career. However, the initial moments of the match told an entirely different tale. Del Potro looked dominant and determined and another great ‘knock out’ seemed to be in sight. But people who thought so seemed to ignore the fact that Roger Federer was on the other side of the net. An outstanding comeback from the champion saw him battle his way through to the final in another tough five setter.


The other champion, Roger’s greatest adversary over the last few years, Rafael Nadal had a tournament he would love to forget at the earliest. Who would have expected a fourth round knock out to some World No 24 while the World No 2 himself was far behind him, on the surface he could proudly call his own? Who would have thought the overwhelming favourite for the title (a tag he received for the first time) and four-time defending champion would get a sound thrashing in as early as the fourth round? I think the explanation for this debacle is a rather simple one that is being overlooked. Nadal has probably played the most tennis in the last 6-12 months, his wild goose chase for supremacy being the driving force for doing so. The repercussions of this however, are alarming to say the least. The 6 time Grand Slam champion’s participation in this month’s Wimbledon is reportedly under a cloud of doubt, with his very own uncle-coach saying he wasn’t too optimistic about the belligerent Spaniard’s participation in the tournament. Now that might be a crippling blow for the defending champion who might very well be staring down the barrel by the end of the year, with a resurgent Roger Federer who will play tennis for the rest of his life without an ounce of pressure.


Having followed Roger passionately for half a decade now, it is no difficult confession that yesterday was the biggest day of his career. He might now be on par with Pete Sampras at 14 Grand Slams and sharing the sobriquet of the ‘greatest ever’ with the debonair American legend. But we might see that change in as soon as a month, with the Wimbledon championships only a couple of weeks away. I see Roger Federer as the clear favourite for this year’s championships. I know he went down to Nadal in a historic final last year, I know he isn’t playing the best tennis of his life, but Roger’s outlook and attitude will take a radical turn for the better, now that he has accomplished the unachievable. Roger has been the emperor of grass for the last 6 years, making 5 of the last 6 Wimbledon trophies his own. His game, needless to say, is perfectly suited to the rapid fast grass courts of South West London. Besides, Rafael Nadal, the only man capable of halting Roger’s triumph, has suddenly run into darkness. His loss to Federer in straight sets on clay earlier this year adding to his shock fourth round exit from his paradise Roland Garros has made many experts turn the tide in Roger’s favour. The Wimbledon championship will be an enormous occasion too for Roger. Winning here would make him the player with the highest number of Grand Slam conquests and possibly dispel all clouds of doubt that still linger around his greatness.


What a finish that would be to an extraordinary tale…conquering the pinnacle of immortality at his favourite tournament…I see that happening on July the 5th. But this Roland Garros victory of 7th June 2009 will be one that he can describe to his grand children as the ‘greatest’ of his life…as one that propelled him to irrefutable distinction.

He did it.