ENTERING THE UNKNOWN
It was there. Two match points. Eight years later, for the second time. On twitter, I wrote, "I LOVE YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL MAN" aching to hit the leftmost key on the bottom row and the rightmost key on the middle row together.
Poof! It was gone. I don't remember how it happened. I don't want to revisit and see what exactly happened. It was for the first time in many years, ten of them to be precise since that dreaded night in Rod Laver Arena, that I felt numb as a Federer fan. Over the years, I had built up enough resistance to sporting disappointments, not unlike how kauṭilya had built up candragupta maurya's resistance to poison by administering non-lethal doses of it each day.
This was but too much to take. A record equalling 9th Wimbledon, a 21st slam. Restoring the 3 slam gap. All. Gone. Like that. Even my current most favourite white ball cricketer, Mah Man Jos Buttler, winning the 50 over World Cup half an hour later was scant consolation. Federer has a history of brushing aside heart-breakers and moving full steam ahead like how kumbhkarṇa brushed aside vānaras who tried to stop him. 100th title, (near) Sunshine Double, all felt worthless (they are not). One could not help but wonder how, a soon to be 38 year old could recover from (yet) another devastating loss.
2020 is as uncertain as for Federer Nation as 2017 was. Back then, he was coming off of the first major surgery of his career and delivered a season for the ages. Can he, the wounded king lion of the pride, win 21 sets in the legendary heat of Australia with many young lions looking to usurp his throne? Can he push himself one more time on the hallowed turf of SW19, where has suffered back to back losses from match point(s) up, to equal Martina Navratilova? Can he win a 6th US Open, a tournament in which he has reached the final once in 10 editions? Can he win a record extending 7th season ending tournament?
"Fight on, my men," Sir Andrew Said
"A little I’m hurt but not yet slain.
I'll just lie down and bleed a while,
And then I’ll rise and Fight again."
There may be a million uncertainties but there's one certainty. Roger Federer will give every ounce of effort to win number 7, number 9, number 6, heck even number 2. His career is testament to this. The man, on average, spends more time in a match he loses than in one he wins. A fifth straight loss to Nadal, who spent in excess of five hours and one less day of rest, would have had a weaker man bursting at the seams. Federer bounced back to win his first French Open title and became the greatest men's singles slam winner a month later.
Two years later, things had all lined up at Chatrier. The balls were (allegedly) light. Conditions fast...ish. Nadal seemingly vulnerable. From 5-2 up and a drop shot that was a millimetre away from making it 6-2, Federer proceeded to lose 5 games in a row to lose the set. As is his wont, he didn't back off and kept plugging away but 7 tough sets in a row on dirt were too much for the soon to be 30 year old and he missed his last chance to even the score, so to speak. This was followed by his first loss in a slam from 2 sets to love up at his favourite tournament. Another loss from match point up, this time on his own serve, against Djokovic rounded up his slam for the year.
Another soul crushing year at slam level. What does the 30 year old do? Starting at Basel, he rolls off an 18 match win streak to end 2011. This sequence continues in 2012 and culminates in a record equalling 7th Wimbledon, a month shy of his 31st birthday. Federer went 61-6, winning the Tour Finals for a record 6th time, in this period. Everyone and their mothers were complaining about blue clay but the old man coolly wins & with it became Blue Clay GOAT forever. This powerful run gave him the number 1 rank and allowed him to pass Pete Sampras. An almost 31 year old usurped the number 1 rank from a 26 year old and two 25 year olds at the physical peaks.
We could go on and one about the year from hell (2013), 2014, 2015, the slip, BEL18VE, RO8ER, 20 but one thing changed in 2019. After 14 years, the slam gap shrunk to less than 3. We can all (try to) wash it away with calling the weakest US Open draws, the bad luck, the poorest tennis generations ever since 1990, and what not but ultimately, facts are facts. The difference is now one. Plus, luck, good & bad, even out over 15 years. Nadal may or may not win a second Australian Open but he's most certainly nailed on favourite to reach lucky 13 in Paris with nary a competitor in sight. The difference could be 0, -1 or, (nightmare!!!) +1 when Wimbledon begins.
What happens in the worst case scenario? Like George told the executives of NBC: Nothing! Yes, it will be painful and difficult to accept that Federer won't be GOAT (obviously it's our duty to not accept this) but the man has made it as difficult as possible, repeatedly fighting father time in staving off not one but two GOAT candidates half a decade younger than him. Remember, it was supposed to be over when Federer was 2 sets to love down and Falla was serving for the match in the 1st round of Wimbledon in 2010! The George Bastl. At 29, it was the age when most great players were virtually done. It was supposed to be over after 2011. Nope. After that, literally, back breaking year in 2013? Still there. Surely after receiving a thrashing of a lifetime in Rod Laver Arena and injuring his knee in spring? Are you kidding me? He turned 18, months before he turned 36!
So, worry not fellow Fed fans. The greed will never go but we will still have a million moments to remember him by, just from this last decade. The disappointments will never go but the highs were certainly higher than the lows were lower. That epic finger wag. Charlene/Myla clapping in that dotted frock. That genuflection. Charlene (or Myla) making Leo (or Lenny) clap his hands. SABR. Neo-backhand. The shot that almost touched the heavens and yet had Berdych rooted to the baseline. The shot around the post that dropped Bad Boy Kyrgios' jaw. That epic 26 shot rally. Tons of tomes wouldn't be enough to fill "Federer Moments" just from this decade let alone his halcyon days.
The kurukṣetra war had many a great warrior and many a furious battle yet the devas came to watch 16 year old abhimanyu duel with pitāmaḥ bhīṣma. Graham Gooch scored almost 500 runs (456) in the Lord's test of 1990. England scored a convincing and crushing 247 run victory but the Cricket Gods came to watch Azharuddin's dazzling 22 4s, 88 ball 100 and Kapil's 4 6s in a row.
Grit, pugnacity, determination will never triumph grace, panache, debonair. Nadal, maybe even Djokovic in 2021, may pass Federer on the totempole but the Tennis Gods came to watch Federer play. Nadal/Djokovic can only have one out of one's breath but it is Federer who makes one feel good about life. Nadal/Djokovic may be greater winners but Roger Federer was, is, and forever will be a religious experience.
Federer has been asked to meet impossible standards from the moment he beat Pete Sampras. gitācāryan said we only have the rights of efforts and no rights on results. There have been a few missteps here and some mishaps there but it's safe to say that he has met and exceeded many of those challenges and the few that he failed, it wasn't due to a lack of trying. Come hell or high water in 2020, it has been one ride of fantasy so far. As Roger Federer enters the unknown again, the best thing we "Fed-tards" can do is to forget about what others do, ignore the results and simply enjoy the fantastical, the heavenly Roger Federer Show.
Two years later, things had all lined up at Chatrier. The balls were (allegedly) light. Conditions fast...ish. Nadal seemingly vulnerable. From 5-2 up and a drop shot that was a millimetre away from making it 6-2, Federer proceeded to lose 5 games in a row to lose the set. As is his wont, he didn't back off and kept plugging away but 7 tough sets in a row on dirt were too much for the soon to be 30 year old and he missed his last chance to even the score, so to speak. This was followed by his first loss in a slam from 2 sets to love up at his favourite tournament. Another loss from match point up, this time on his own serve, against Djokovic rounded up his slam for the year.
Another soul crushing year at slam level. What does the 30 year old do? Starting at Basel, he rolls off an 18 match win streak to end 2011. This sequence continues in 2012 and culminates in a record equalling 7th Wimbledon, a month shy of his 31st birthday. Federer went 61-6, winning the Tour Finals for a record 6th time, in this period. Everyone and their mothers were complaining about blue clay but the old man coolly wins & with it became Blue Clay GOAT forever. This powerful run gave him the number 1 rank and allowed him to pass Pete Sampras. An almost 31 year old usurped the number 1 rank from a 26 year old and two 25 year olds at the physical peaks.
We could go on and one about the year from hell (2013), 2014, 2015, the slip, BEL18VE, RO8ER, 20 but one thing changed in 2019. After 14 years, the slam gap shrunk to less than 3. We can all (try to) wash it away with calling the weakest US Open draws, the bad luck, the poorest tennis generations ever since 1990, and what not but ultimately, facts are facts. The difference is now one. Plus, luck, good & bad, even out over 15 years. Nadal may or may not win a second Australian Open but he's most certainly nailed on favourite to reach lucky 13 in Paris with nary a competitor in sight. The difference could be 0, -1 or, (nightmare!!!) +1 when Wimbledon begins.
What happens in the worst case scenario? Like George told the executives of NBC: Nothing! Yes, it will be painful and difficult to accept that Federer won't be GOAT (obviously it's our duty to not accept this) but the man has made it as difficult as possible, repeatedly fighting father time in staving off not one but two GOAT candidates half a decade younger than him. Remember, it was supposed to be over when Federer was 2 sets to love down and Falla was serving for the match in the 1st round of Wimbledon in 2010! The George Bastl. At 29, it was the age when most great players were virtually done. It was supposed to be over after 2011. Nope. After that, literally, back breaking year in 2013? Still there. Surely after receiving a thrashing of a lifetime in Rod Laver Arena and injuring his knee in spring? Are you kidding me? He turned 18, months before he turned 36!
So, worry not fellow Fed fans. The greed will never go but we will still have a million moments to remember him by, just from this last decade. The disappointments will never go but the highs were certainly higher than the lows were lower. That epic finger wag. Charlene/Myla clapping in that dotted frock. That genuflection. Charlene (or Myla) making Leo (or Lenny) clap his hands. SABR. Neo-backhand. The shot that almost touched the heavens and yet had Berdych rooted to the baseline. The shot around the post that dropped Bad Boy Kyrgios' jaw. That epic 26 shot rally. Tons of tomes wouldn't be enough to fill "Federer Moments" just from this decade let alone his halcyon days.
The kurukṣetra war had many a great warrior and many a furious battle yet the devas came to watch 16 year old abhimanyu duel with pitāmaḥ bhīṣma. Graham Gooch scored almost 500 runs (456) in the Lord's test of 1990. England scored a convincing and crushing 247 run victory but the Cricket Gods came to watch Azharuddin's dazzling 22 4s, 88 ball 100 and Kapil's 4 6s in a row.
Grit, pugnacity, determination will never triumph grace, panache, debonair. Nadal, maybe even Djokovic in 2021, may pass Federer on the totempole but the Tennis Gods came to watch Federer play. Nadal/Djokovic can only have one out of one's breath but it is Federer who makes one feel good about life. Nadal/Djokovic may be greater winners but Roger Federer was, is, and forever will be a religious experience.
Federer has been asked to meet impossible standards from the moment he beat Pete Sampras. gitācāryan said we only have the rights of efforts and no rights on results. There have been a few missteps here and some mishaps there but it's safe to say that he has met and exceeded many of those challenges and the few that he failed, it wasn't due to a lack of trying. Come hell or high water in 2020, it has been one ride of fantasy so far. As Roger Federer enters the unknown again, the best thing we "Fed-tards" can do is to forget about what others do, ignore the results and simply enjoy the fantastical, the heavenly Roger Federer Show.
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