There are many ways to play tennis and the trivalry at the top of men's tennis today - Federer, Djokovic and Nadal - exemplify it better than ever before in the history of the game. Federer is the artist, Nadal the ferocious fighter who is a ball-retrieving machine par excellence, while Djokovic has the ability to switch from offense to defense more decisively than anyone I've seen before.
From 2003-2008, Federer was the king of all he surveyed, picking up tournaments like nobody's business, at one point winning 24 consecutive tournament finals.
Then came Rafael Nadal. A perfect counter to Federer's strengths. Nadal's ability to hit severe top-spinning shots that jump off the surface to Federe's one-handed backhand, coupled with seemingly limitless stamina and mental fortitude was a jolt to the big one. By late 2009 the writing was on the wall - Nadal had Federer's number and a long reign awaited the Spaniard. Until Novak Djokovic stepped up and embarked on a 12 month run that boggled the imagination. Now Nadal had met his nemesis - a player not disturbed by the slow pace or the high-spinning ball and blessed with an odd quality of raising his game as the stakes got tighter. Nadal lost 7 consecutive finals to the Djoker and the duo left Federer further and further behind.
A lot of stuff has been written about Roger but very little of it deals with what I believe are his two most under-rated qualities - the stamina to play 5-setters and not seem winded at the end of it, and the ability to change game-plans during a match to fit the situation, to think on his feet.
Now, one can add a third quality that is not often spoken about - the will to work hard to become better when conventional wisdom would have advocated gracefully accepting Fate's nudge and seeking pastures outside the tennis court. Incredibly, rather than get beaten down by the duo ahead of him in the rankings, Federer worked harder and harder at his game, willing to eschew looking pretty in order to work on those aspects that his frenemies had been targeting.
After losing a gut-wrenching semi-final to Djokovic at the US Open in 2011, Fedrer went undefeated the rest of the year, culminating in a win at the season-ending championship. The Australian Open in January was a stutter, losing in the semis to Nadal, but he kept picking up tournament wins in 2012, quickly reducing the gap on the duo surpassing Nadal just before the French Open. Nadal re-claimed the #2 ranking in time for the French Open but by then Federer's focus had skipped from Nadal and adjusted to to a higher number - the #1 was within reach and he could leap-frog from #3 to #1.
By the time Wimbledon started the equation was simple - win Wimbledon, regain the #1 ranking and equal Pete Sampras for most weeks at #1. Very rarely do one's goals come together as sweetly as this.
In 2009, at the French Open, Robin Soderling took out Nadal in the 4th round. Suddenly the French Open was Federer's to win. The very next day, Federer lost the first two sets to Tommy Haas and it seemed as if a golden opportunity had been squandered. But then, game by game, set by set, he recovered his poise and beat Haas in 5 sets and, a few days later, took the championship. Last week, in the second round at Wimbledon, Nadal was filleted in the second round by an unknown named Lukas Rosol. Now, all that stood between Federer and Wimbledon was Djokovic. Except, just like in 2009, Federer immediately lost the first two sets of the 4th round match to Julien Benneteau. On 5 different occasions during the 4th set, he was two points from losing. But Federer did not lose and came through in 5 sets.
I am a firm believer in omens. That day the ghosts of 2009 rose before me and I was as sure as anyone can ever hope to be that Federer would definitely win his 7th Wimbledon title. Six days later, that's exactly what happened.
Roger Federer is, once again, the Wimbledon champion and #1 ranked player in the world. This does not feel like the last gasp hurrah of a fading champion but rather like the culmination of a hard climb to the top with the intention of staying relevant for some time yet.
If you are a tennis aesthete you can breathe a little easier today - the Rajah is back!
* I came up with Lotur Rotak after the second movie in Peter Jackson's trilogy was released. It is a modified way of saying: Lord of the Rings - Return of the King.
From 2003-2008, Federer was the king of all he surveyed, picking up tournaments like nobody's business, at one point winning 24 consecutive tournament finals.
Then came Rafael Nadal. A perfect counter to Federer's strengths. Nadal's ability to hit severe top-spinning shots that jump off the surface to Federe's one-handed backhand, coupled with seemingly limitless stamina and mental fortitude was a jolt to the big one. By late 2009 the writing was on the wall - Nadal had Federer's number and a long reign awaited the Spaniard. Until Novak Djokovic stepped up and embarked on a 12 month run that boggled the imagination. Now Nadal had met his nemesis - a player not disturbed by the slow pace or the high-spinning ball and blessed with an odd quality of raising his game as the stakes got tighter. Nadal lost 7 consecutive finals to the Djoker and the duo left Federer further and further behind.
A lot of stuff has been written about Roger but very little of it deals with what I believe are his two most under-rated qualities - the stamina to play 5-setters and not seem winded at the end of it, and the ability to change game-plans during a match to fit the situation, to think on his feet.
Now, one can add a third quality that is not often spoken about - the will to work hard to become better when conventional wisdom would have advocated gracefully accepting Fate's nudge and seeking pastures outside the tennis court. Incredibly, rather than get beaten down by the duo ahead of him in the rankings, Federer worked harder and harder at his game, willing to eschew looking pretty in order to work on those aspects that his frenemies had been targeting.
After losing a gut-wrenching semi-final to Djokovic at the US Open in 2011, Fedrer went undefeated the rest of the year, culminating in a win at the season-ending championship. The Australian Open in January was a stutter, losing in the semis to Nadal, but he kept picking up tournament wins in 2012, quickly reducing the gap on the duo surpassing Nadal just before the French Open. Nadal re-claimed the #2 ranking in time for the French Open but by then Federer's focus had skipped from Nadal and adjusted to to a higher number - the #1 was within reach and he could leap-frog from #3 to #1.
By the time Wimbledon started the equation was simple - win Wimbledon, regain the #1 ranking and equal Pete Sampras for most weeks at #1. Very rarely do one's goals come together as sweetly as this.
In 2009, at the French Open, Robin Soderling took out Nadal in the 4th round. Suddenly the French Open was Federer's to win. The very next day, Federer lost the first two sets to Tommy Haas and it seemed as if a golden opportunity had been squandered. But then, game by game, set by set, he recovered his poise and beat Haas in 5 sets and, a few days later, took the championship. Last week, in the second round at Wimbledon, Nadal was filleted in the second round by an unknown named Lukas Rosol. Now, all that stood between Federer and Wimbledon was Djokovic. Except, just like in 2009, Federer immediately lost the first two sets of the 4th round match to Julien Benneteau. On 5 different occasions during the 4th set, he was two points from losing. But Federer did not lose and came through in 5 sets.
I am a firm believer in omens. That day the ghosts of 2009 rose before me and I was as sure as anyone can ever hope to be that Federer would definitely win his 7th Wimbledon title. Six days later, that's exactly what happened.
Roger Federer is, once again, the Wimbledon champion and #1 ranked player in the world. This does not feel like the last gasp hurrah of a fading champion but rather like the culmination of a hard climb to the top with the intention of staying relevant for some time yet.
If you are a tennis aesthete you can breathe a little easier today - the Rajah is back!
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