High on the hills was a lonely GOAT

Only one man could bring me out of blogging semi-retirement: the Rajah himself.

The story arc of Roger Federer's resurgence has been written many times over by multiple authors around the world and I will not repeat it here. A cursory Google search will suffice. Instead I want to put down some random, disjointed thoughts that float through my brain...

a) For a long time DH and I were reconciled to the fact that he'd be stuck on one prime number - 17. When he won #18 earlier this year in Australia, DH remarked that he would HAVE to win one more to get back to a prime number because that's where he should be (by himself and one). Well, what do you know? It may be time to start thinking of 23 now. Impossible? Well, many of us thought 18 was impossible.

b) Remember this commercial from 10 years ago? It was released on July 6th, 2007, just moments after Roger had won his 10th major and was narrated by Tiger Woods who ended it with the haunting words: My name is Tiger Woods. I have 12 majors and counting. So keep up, buddy.

Yesterday, Roger did what Tiger always dreamed of - overtaking Jack Nicklaus' major count (18). For the record, Tiger has stalled at 14 for over eight years and it does not appear he is going to add to that total.



c) The Federer of 2017 is winning because he is better than the Federer of a few years ago. He is winning because he has improved. His backhand, especially, is a lot flatter and more potent. the elegant top-spin laden one has been beefed up by another version - a flattened, whiplash of a shot that singes across the court with power that is approaching Wawrinka territory.

d) The 2017 Wimbledon final was, finally, lacking in excitement or prolonged tension for Federer. But I am not complaining one bit. I'll take that any day over the 5 set gut-wrencher from earlier this year at the Australian Open where he was (gasp!) trailing 1-3 in the fifth set. Even today I sometimes break into a cold sweat thinking about what might have happened had Roger not raised his game.

Imagine this - Nadal wins the Australian Open. Suddenly the major head-to-head is 17-15 in Roger's favor with the French Open coming up where Nadal would make it 17-16. Oh dear...the GOAT narrative would have taken a drastic turn for the worse for us FedFans. Phew! Thank heavens for that atomic backhand (and Robin Soderling).

e) The loss to Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 US Open stung for a long, long time. Then came the capitulation to Marin Cilic in 2014 when all Roger had to do was take out Cilic and then Kei Nishikori (neither of whom he had ever lost to at that point in time). For years, I've wondered what those two missed US Opens would have done for his legacy. Suddenly, after what has transpired this year, the pain has eased tremendously.

f) Roger is the only man to have played at least 5 finals at each major. At the French, he has one win (in 2009, thank heavens for Soderling) and 4 losses to the clay GOAT - Rafael Nadal. One wonders what the actual count might have been if the gods had not sent Nadal to mess with us FedFans.

g) But seriously, just watch these 5 games from the 5th set of the 2017 Australia Open again and marvel at how close it was to being a completely different narrative. A matter of inches...literally, on multiple occasions.



h) In 2012 after the Olympics in London, in spite of winning a silver medal, it seemed quite inconceivable that Federer would last as long as Rio in 2016. Verily, it came to pass - Federer did not play in Rio while recovering from his myriad injuries. But if you had told me in 2012 that he would not play in Rio but would win multiple majors in 2017, I would not have believed it possible. I am still having a tough time believing it.

i) Hailing from a nation where we revere the Krishnans and Amritraj for simply making it to the quarter-final at Wimbledon, it is astonishing to think that Federer has played 70 Grand Slam events (tied for first all-time with Fabrice Santoro) and has reached the quarter-final or better in 50 of them. Yes, 50 of them!

j) For a man known for the beauty of his groundstrokes and the fluidity and grace of his foot movement, it is mind-boggling to think that he is third all-time in the list of aces hit on the ATP tour. And, if he plays the rest of the year, he's definitely going to be #2 behind Ivo Karlovic.

k) The final word has to, definitely, belong to the late, great David Foster Wallace from his famous essay: Federer as a religious experience. Mind you, this was published on August 20, 2006, almost 11 years ago, but it still resonates just as loudly today:

... Roger Federer is showing that the speed and strength of today’s pro game are merely its skeleton, not its flesh. He has, figuratively and literally, re-embodied men’s tennis, and for the first time in years the game’s future is unpredictable. (...) Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform — and even just to see, close up, power and aggression made vulnerable to beauty is to feel inspired and (in a fleeting, mortal way) reconciled.

(Credit: SI.com)

Reading the tea leaves

When the draw for the men's singles event of the 2015 French Open tennis tournament was announced, all eyes were focused on the quarterfinal where two titans were slated to clash against each other. Learned reporters nodded their collective heads and the phrase de facto final was bandied about.

After the first four rounds, the mega-clash came to be and so it came to pass - the winner of this particular quarterfinal DID win the French Open. While most people thought it would be the Djokovic-Nadal clash, any true tennis fan knew - the de facto final was the all-Swiss clash between Wawrinka and Federer. When Federer lost, my good friend DH and I knew that the GOAT had missed a golden opportunity to pad his resume.

Either way, watching Stan Wawrinka's blistering one-handed backhand made me smile, albeit with a tinge of sadness that it wasn't the other Swiss one-handed backhand player mesmerizing the audience.

चलो कोई बात नहीं, Federer नहीं तो Wawrinka ही सही!

Quiet, please

Reason number 1,456,687,432 why I am a bigger fan of Roger Federer than Rafael Nadal:  Their pace of play.

In the time it takes Nadal to serve between points, the viewer can surf other channels, catch up on the endings of all the NFL games and still not miss a single shot of the match.

With Federer, blink a couple of times and you may have already missed the latest exhibition of shot-making from the maestro.

Check out this split-screen video.  Roger Federer wins a game in the time it takes Nadal to get ready to serve the next point.  Roger's video begins with him serving at love-all.  Nadal's video begins with him hitting the winning shot of a point.

Lotur Rotak*

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.

The best medicine

Props to Megha for directing me to this absolutely wonderful video. If this does not tell you how special a time it is tight now to be a tennis fan, then I don't know what will. The two players at the top of the game challenge each other's destiny and fight for every inch on the court while off the court they are so comfortable being friends with each other.



And while I was trolling for some more videos, I found this one - Rafael Nadal, 12 years old and already displaying some of that exception court awareness of his.



And lest you think I am getting converted to the Nadal camp, I still feel this fellow is the GOAT. No doubt whatsoever.

Changing of the guard

The Rajah is dead! Long live the King!

Tennis is fortunate to have two wonderful human beings at the top.

Rafael Nadal continued his (seemingly) inexorable glide towards tennis destiny by taking the US Open crown yesterday evening. For a fellow who was initially considered to be a one-trick (read: clay) pony, he has transformed into the most formidable tennis player in the world today. Pound for pound, no one scares their opponent more than Rafael does.

My impression of Roger Federer as the Greatest of All-Time has not changed one bit (and I am not interested in a protracted discussion of the merits of Nadal or the demerits of Federer, either) but it is hard to see how Roger can beat Rafael, especially on clay, unless Federer (shock! horror!) improves his game.

Roger has 6 Wimbledon titles but, today, Nadal is the better volleyer and a much better constructor of points. Very rarely do you see Nadal charge the net when it is not a good idea. Federer apologists will say that Nadal gets illegally coached by his uncle. To hell with that! You can coach a fellow all you want but he still has to perform on the court. Nadal is outstanding in that department.

His post-match comments at the prize distribution ceremony were worthy of a champion. His English is improving, his command of the game has reached new levels, but his comportment as a person has not changed one bit. He is every bit as endearing, charming, and polite today as he was when he won his first French Open title.

Mr. Nadal, I will still root against you everytime you reach a Grand Slam final (and especially against Federer) but it will not stop me for giving you a standing ovation when you do win the tournament. You are a credit to the game of tennis. Long may you continue to play and be successful.

P.S. By the way, the next time you meet Dick Enberg, can you tell him that your name is not pronounced Ra-FEE-al Na-DOLL?

Randomly speaking

Quick thoughts and feelings:

Running Diary: Australian Open 2010 - Federer-Murray

A year ago, I stayed up all night to do a running diary of the Australian Open men's final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Twelve months later, Roger Federer is back in the final, this time against Andy Murray. I was going to just watch it this time...but suddenly feel compelled to maintain another running diary.

So, here goes:

2:23am: This running diary will not be as up-to-date as my previous one. I am less emotionally vested in this one than I was 12 months ago. The reason is that in the past year Roger has won that elusive French Open to complete a career Slam, equaled and then surpassed Pete Sampras' record of Grand Slam singles titles (for men, obviously). The rest of his career, from here on in, is just icing on the cake as far as I am concerned. In my mind he is the GOAT!

2:27am: Obligate (awe-inspiring) numbers that have to be mentioned and gotten out of the way: This is Roger's 22nd Grand Slam final (second place: Ivan Lendl with 19). He has reached at least the semi-final of the last 23 Grand Slam tournaments (second place: Ivan Lendl 10). (Here is a list that was made up before the French Open in 2009, so some of the streaks have been added to or surpassed!)

2:29am: One final thing: starting from Wimbledon 2004, Federer has either won or lost to the eventual winner in every Grand Slam, a running total of 23 Grand Slam tournaments. Phew! A streak that continues today.

2:38am: If you feel that I am short-changing Andy Murray, then you are right. If it really gets you angry, then please feel free to maintain a Murray-centric blog and let me know, I will swing by and take a look at it.

2:40am: Why can't folks say Rafa-EL? Why do they keep saying Raf-E-al? Am I missing something about Nadal's first name? Grrr.

2:31am: My prediction? Federer in 4 sets. Big surprise there.

FIRST SET

2:32am: Federer starts the final by serving first. Murray begins with a fantastic backhand down the line. He needs to do that all day to win. Two booming forehands by Federer paves the way back from 0-30 to 30-30. The game goes to deuce but Federer works his way out of the slightly stressful game to hold serve. 1-0 Federer.

Interesting tidbit. Federer's first Grand Slam win was in his 17th attempt. This is Murray's 17th Grand Slam tournament. Does that portent well for Murray?

2:51am: After being very aggressive in the first game of the match, Murray regresses into a passive mode. Federer pounces and hits a backhand and a forehand winner to capitalize on two Murray mistakes that made it 0-30 to break. 2-0 Federer.

2:54am: Murry fights right back, hitting two brilliant passing shots to get back the break! After the first one, a backhand winner from way beyond the backhand side of the court, Federer acknowledges the winner by clapping on his racquet. Interesting. 2-1 Federer.

2:57am: Players almost exclusively serve to Federer's backhand on the second serve and Murray's strategy is no different. Federer is content to slice them back in for now. Murray is missing his first serve and that is not helping matters. When he finally does get two in, he controls the game from that point on. 2-2.

3:03am: Murray efficiently gets to double break point, capitalizing on Federer's propensity to attack lines, but Federer gets back to deuce with two winners, one off his first serve. Murray defends his way to a third break point and Federer responds with another first serve that puts Murray off-balance and he wins the point easily. Federer builds on that with two aces. Boom, boom and it is 3-2 Federer.

3:15am: Both players go through their service games to hold on, but Federer looks more shaky than Murray. Interestingly, Federer is trying different things and attempting to force the pace while Murray is content to pound away from the baseline to Federer's backhand. A quick analysis by ESPN shows that Murray has targeted Federer's backhand about 60% of the time so far today. 4-3 Federer.

3:22am: Murray slips up and falls behind on his serve, first 0-15, and then 15-30. Two exquisite backhands gets Federer to break point and he capitalizes by smashing an inside-out forehand to the Murray backhand to break. 5-3 Federer. Serving for the first set.

3:26am: Without much trouble Federer holds his serve. A couple of deep angled serves, two errors from Murray and the first set goes to Federer, one of history's best fast starters in Grand Slams (the exact stat escapes me but I believe Federer has an obscenely humungous advantage when he wins the first set in a Grand Slam match).

(Editor's note: Found it! Federer is 171-5 in Grand Slams when he wins the first set. 172-5 after this match.)

In the first set, Murray's first serve was abysmal, except for in one game where it bailed him out. He will not win today if he does not improve his first serve. Murray changes to a white t-shirt. Maybe that will change his luck.

SECOND SET

3:30am: Murray does exactly that, putting in a few more first serves, getting Federer to scramble and wins the first game easily. Encouraging signs. The humidity on the court is close to 80% and that is making it harder to hit outright winners as the ball is not traveling as fast as it normally does on hard courts. On an average there have been about 9 strokes per rally so far. Tennis strokes, that is. 1-0 Murray.

3:34am: Murray is an incredible ball-retriever but he needs to be more aggressive and take more chances. Federer is more fit and will outlast him in a slug-fest. 1-1 Federer.

3:36am: If you want to see Federer at his best, take a look at this game! Federer strings Murray from corner to corner, raises the ante, and smashes 4 winners to break Murray at love. The passing shot to get to 0-40 is among the best I have ever seen him hit. Not only was the placement good, it was emphatic, too. 2-1 Federer.

3:42am: Murray has a slight chance at 30-30 but he is oddly regressing to a passive style of play and Federer capitalizes by pounding away at Murray's confidence and ending the game with another forehand winner. 3-1 Federer.

3:45am: Murray is being taken to the cleaners here by Federer who hits two brilliant winners, the second one a backhand down the line from Murray's stable to get to double-break point. Murray responds with an ace and a backhand down the line of his own, as if to show Federer he can do it, too. Another service winner takes him to game point. Two deep backhands later, Murray holds. An important hold for him. It was at a similar point in the 2009 US Open final that Federer cracked against Del Potro and gave up all the momentum he had. 3-2 Federer.

3:52am: Eerily, at 40-30, Federer dumps a drop shot in the net when he had the whole court in front of him after a short return. He had done a similar thing (tried a stupid drop shot) against Del Potro and lost momentum. Luckily for him, Murray does not make him pay for it and Federer escapes. Phew! That as closer than any causal observer may imagine. 4-2 Federer.

3:56am: Federer settles down after that hold, and a settled Roger is a dangerous force of nature. Murray finds out the hard way, as Federer crafts a brilliant gameplan, moving Murray back and forth across the baseline, probing away and then swinging a winner to the opposite side to get to three break points. Murray responds by attacking Federer's backhand and constructing three good points to get to deuce. Good for him. Now he needs to sustain it and hold on. Aaargh! He plays the next point from 6 feet behind the baseline and Federer toys with him - break point again. Murray's first serve percentage is really going downhill and escapes when Federer barely misses the baseline from his forehand side. The next rally is one of the best of the match so far, which Murray wins when he attacks the net and Federer barely misses a running forehand down the line. Game point Murray. Another long rally later, Murray holds as Federer dumps a backhand into the net. Important game for Murray. Still some life left in the set. 4-3 Federer.

4:05am: Murray can learn something from Roger. Four huge first serves, huge for accuracy and direction more than speed, and an easy love game for Federer. Four emphatic winners. Vintage Federer. 5-3 Federer.

4:08am: Murray and Federer play an odd game, where neither really took the initiative but for one splendid crosscourt forehand from Federer. Unfortunately for him, that was his only winner and Murray holds to make Federer serve for the second set. 5-4 Federer.

4:12am: Roger Federer is on cruise control now. Four winners gives him a two sets to love lead. When Federer wins the first two sets of a match in a Grand Slam, he is 155-0. Federer is a virtual lock to win the tournament. Murray has not shown me much to suggest he can turn this around.

At this point, Murray has to throw caution to the winds and attack Federer - both forehand and backhand, hammer the serve in on both tries, and look to come into the net and shorten the points. No shame in losing the set but if he does not try to take more chances then it will all be for naught.

THIRD SET

The last time Federer lost a 2 set lead was on this very same court in 2003 in a Davis Cup match against Leyton Hewitt. A defeat that prompted Federer to be more aggressive and change his mental thought process. Since then he has waged an assault on the record books of staggering proportions.

[Editor's note: Tifosi Guy points out "Correction there JQ.
David Nalbandian defeated Roger Federer in the Master's final in Shanghai in 2005 after being two sets down.
Nalbandian won 6-7, 6-7 , 6-2, 6 -1, 7-6."

Mea culpa, TG.]

4:17am: Murray gets a few first serves in, and thunders his way to the first game. His body language is not encouraging, however. He is walking around with a mopey look, as if searching for pebbles on a beach. 1-0 Murray.

One thing that Murray has done very well all day has been to anticipate which direction Federer is going to serve. Either Murray is very quick to respond or he is picking up on some cue from Roger. In his autobiography, Agassi points out that he knew which way Boris Becker was going to serve based on which direction Becker stuck his tongue out.

Murray reaches break point and plays the best point of the match for him, stringing Federer back and forth but misses a backhand down the line to get back to deuce. Federer quickly capitalizes with a brilliant backhand overhead winner and a serve and charge to finish the game. 1-1.

Federer has got to be one of the best ever at hitting the overhead backhand volley. Sampras was quite good, though Agassi was even better at it. Federer is right up there with Andre, in my esteem.

4:24am: Murray is showing some signs of life, pounding away at the corners and taking a love game, with the help of a couple of errors from Federer. Errors induced by the pace of Murray's hits. I hope this registers in Andy's brain. 2-1 Murray.

4:28am: Federer holds (2-2) and Murray grapbs his right quad muscles (or maybe his right knee). These are not encouraging signs for him. Federer hits 8 straight flat shots - forehand and backhand- to start the next game and goes up 0-15. Murray responds with a service winner. Roger runs around a backhand and hits a crunching forehand down the line for a sweet winner. 15-30. Murray hits out from his forehand side and wins the next two points to go to game point (40-30). This is a pivotal game. If Murray cannot hold, the match is done. Federer gets a second serve, tries to run around his backhand and hit a forehand winner. Epic fail and Murray holds. 3-2 Murray.

4:36am: Murray gets up very quickly to 0-40 with one superlative winner and two errors. Federer hits three great first serves, which elicit weak returns. He is able to pound winners off the first two but unable to capitalize on the third and Murray breaks! 4-2 Murray.

4:38am: Murray begins the game with a fabulous cross-court forehand that was hit with a venom that has not been on display all game to go to 15-0. The second point features the first really bad mis-hit by the Federer sliced backhand all day. 30-0. A forehand in the net by Roger brings Murray to 40-0. Murray has won 10 of the last 12 points. Murray finishes the game with an ace down the middle. 5-2 Murray. Game on!

4:45am: Federer responds with an easy hold, two aces taking him to the end of the game. 5-3 Murray. Murray is 4 points from the third set. After a good first serve and a forehand miss from Federer he is 3 points away. A Federer forehand blast and an error from Murray later it is 15-30. Throats are tightening up as Federer does not move his feet and misses a forehand slice. 30-30. A second serve from Murray is eaten alive by Federer, a cross-court top-spin forehand later it is breakpoint Federer. A booming serve from Murray brings it back to deuce. Good time to get a 133mph first serve. Federer responds with a great running backhand passing shot that elicits a weak volley from Murray. Breakpoint again. A long-ish rally ends with Murray hitting a routine forehand into the net. Federer is back on serve. Ouch-time for Murray fans. 5-4 Murray.

4:55am: Federer suffers a couple of odd decisions (hitting back to Murray on an approach shot and a drop shot hit into the net from behind the baseline) but battles his way back on the basis of that big first serve of his to hold serve. 5-5.

4:58am: Three brilliant serves from Murray (two aces) and two errors from him on the forehand side bring the game to 40-30. Federer then responds by pounding the second serve, coming into the net, and surviving a great passing shot with a drop volley to get to deuce. Murray then comes into the net very quickly and Federer misses the passing shot to get to game point. Federer's answer to that is to hit a looping forehand crosscourt, wrongfooting Andy to get back to deuce. Murray and Federer are finally playing high quality tennis simultaneously, with Murray winning the point with an overhead winner. He follows that up with an ace, his third of this very game, to get ahead once more. 6-5 Murray.

It took quite a while for the match to produce good tennis from both players at the same time, but now that it has come, it is well worth the wait.

5:05am: Four winners from Federer takes it to the tie-break. Federer's career record in tiebreaks is 266-139, Murray's is 70-41. In Grand Slam Finals, Federer is 18-5. Murray starts with an ace and then wins the longest rally of the match on a forehand error by Roger. A quick 2-0 lead. A service winner by Federer gets him to 2-1, but the advantage is with Murray. Murray hits what seems like three straight winners before he finally wins the point to get to 3-1. Murray follows that up with a horrible backhand that barely falls inside the doubles line to give the mini-break back to Roger. Roger capitalizes with a booming serve to Andy's backhand for an easy service winner. They change sides at 3-3.

Murray is talking to himself, while Federer has not displayed any emotion, those Great White Shark-like dark eyes just boring away into the distance.

Another backhand error from Murray and Federer inches ahead 4-3. Still on serve, though. Nice crosscourt winner from Murray shows a gutsy side to him. 4-4. He follows it up with an ace. Once again Andy is two points away from winning the set. As Federer approaches the net, he asks Andy to hit a passing shot and Murray obliges. 6-4 and two set points for Andy. Federer saves one set point with an acutely angled forehand winner. Still set point, 6-5 Murray. Federer plays excellent defense and forces a forehand error from Murray. 6-6.

Has Murray lost his chance? I will go out on a limb and say yes. It will be either set point or match point the rest of this tiebreak on alternate points!

Federer hits a lousy forehand and gifts a set point to Murray. 7-6 Murray. Federer plays great defense once again and Murray misses a volley to get back to 7-7. Federer responds as he does best - an ace to go to match point! 8-7 Federer. Inches!! A forehand passing shot (by Roger) missed by just inches and it is 8-8. Phew! What a point. Roger mishits a backhand slice into the net and it is set point Andy. 9-8 Murray. Roger rushes to the net, forcing Murray to hit the winner and Murray fluffs his third attempt at a passing shot. 9-9.

Federer comes to the net yet again and hits a delicate backhand drop volley to get to his second match point. 10-9 Federer. Andy to serve to stay in the tournament. Federer is not showing any emotion whatsoever. He bombs away at an Andy second serve, and tries another drop volley that Andy reaches and pulls off a passing shot to tie it at 10-10. Federer rushes a forehand crosscourt shot, with Andy horribly out of position, and another set point for Murray. 11-10 Murray. Another of Federer's service bombs saves that set point. He follows that up with a typical big serve-second hit winner to get back to match point. 12-11 Federer. Is this it? Yes, it is!!!!!! Murray hits a backhand down the line into the net and Federer has won Grand Slam number 16. The first man to win three different Grand Slams at least 4 times.

Federer wins 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

By the way, in my mind: Never. A. Doubt.

At this point, Federer is starting to get closer to the real Grand Slam leaders of all-time - the Margaret Court mark of 24 is within sight. Albeit quite some ways away but starting to get closer. After all, he is two-thirds of the way there! His competition is the ladies from here on in:

Margaret Court - 24
Steffi Graf - 22
Helen Wills Moody - 19
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert - 18

Andy: "I can cry like Roger; it's just a shame I can't play like him.."
Roger: "Andy, you're too good of a player not to win a Grand Slam, so don't worry about it.."

Okay, this was as much fun for me as it was last year (the result notwithstanding). But it is time to sit back and reflect on Federer's performance, consistency, and elegance. He is a fabulous mix of durability and winning, something that has eluded some of the folks that have his number such as Murray, Guillermo Canas, David Nalbandian, and, of course, Rafael Nadal. They have the winning thing down but, sadly for tennis fans, are unable to sustain their presence on the court. I hope they come back strong, especially Rafael.

I leave you with this image of Federer telling you where he lies in my esteem:

(Associated Press 2010)

Charitable aces

The world of tennis is lucky to be populated by some of the best leaders in any sport. Look at the stars who came together to raise money for the victims in Haiti as such short notice. It helps that the fellows at the top, apart from being fantastic players, were also raised well, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal being at the forefront of this. Kudos to their parents!

Roger Federer played the role of master of ceremonies. Andy Roddick doubled as a stand-up comic. Serena Williams was laughing all the way.

The fundraiser for earthquake victims on Sunday -- a brainchild of Federer and dubbed "Hit for Haiti" -- came on the eve of the Australian Open and raised more than $185,000, an amount that organizers expected would increase.

Federer, who has won a record 15 Grand Slam titles, teamed up with reigning Australian Open champion Serena Williams and Australia's Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur. Their opponents were 2009 winner Rafael Nadal, 2008 winner Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters.

Update: On his SI.com mailbag, Jon Wertheim talked about the event.

The CliffsNotes version: Federer sees the Haiti disaster on the news. "Let's do something." He fires off texts to players from Rafael Nadal to Andy Roddick to Novak Djokovic to Serena Williams. Tennis Australia makes the court available for an impromptu benefit on Sunday -- the day before a Grand Slam begins. Jim Courier agrees to be chair umpire. Through a quick publicity blast -- thanks, technology! -- a capacity crowd pays $10 to watch. There is no corporate sponsor or tie-in. This is not the "foundation benefit," whereby you pay your buddies an appearance, hold a lavish party and give the "proceeds" to charity. This was not some slickly packaged event run by a management agency. The alphabet soup of agencies didn't get involved and make sure no one logos were bigger than the other and their name came first on the self-congratulatory press release. Mary Carillo used the word "organic."

Also note the cause here: There are no Haitian players on tour, no event in Haiti, no Haitian sponsor, no ulterior motive. This is simply: Something horrible happened on the other side of the world, we recognize that and we want to use our platform to help. And note which players showed. Next time you rip "ill-tempered Serena" or "selfish Djokovic," keep this event in mind.

Just a great day for the sport, a great showing from the top players starting with Federer, a great indication of what can happens when tennis cuts through the in-fighting and everyone works for a greater cause. At the risk of getting carried away, events like this ought to convince the players that, when they work together, they have the power, the leverage and capacity to cut through the tennis clutter and take charge.

Here's a brief video of the event.



From the same Wertheim mailbag: How cool is this? As recently as November 2009, Federer and Nadal practiced with each other, clearly supporting the notion that they are not antagonists off the court.

Memorable matches

As the 00's wind down, all over the Internet people are compiling their "Best of the Decade" lists.  Sports Illustrated is certainly not lagging behind in this and gives us a list of what they consider to be the 10 best tennis matches of the past decade. Even if you are not a big fan of tennis, just check out the videos for some tennis of the highest quality. You will not be disappointed.

Not surprisingly, Roger Federer figures prominently in that list, meriting as many as 5 mentions.  Surprisingly, though, he was the winner on only one occasion, reaffirming the notion that to bring down Darth Federer players usually need to come up a very special effort to do so.  GOAT status reconfirmed.

(By the way, even though the commentary is in French, check out #7 for a rare glimpse of Fabrice Santoro, whose nickname (The Magician) was well-earned.

Stuck in a date

I have been a fan of Andre Agassi from the time he burst on the scene in the late 80's. My brother, who was touring the US during that time frame, brought back a Tennis magazines that featured Agassi and I was hooked. After Ivan Lendl retired, I needed a player to root for and I stuck with Agassi through thick and thin.

When I found out he was coming out with an autobiography, I was excited and pre-ordered it from Amazon that day itself.

To whet our appetites, an excerpt was released on Sports Illustrated (link here). Lost in the scandal about recreational drug use was the story of a kid who did a fantastic job of hiding his dislike for the game. It is compelling reading, but not without its critics.

Martina Navratilova is shocked at Agassi's admissions. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are not far behind in expressing their displeasure, too.

In India, Harsha Bhogle stepped onto a soapbox and used his column to slam Agassi for letting down his fans and that he had "spoilt the week" filled with other good news. His thesis is that pardoning Agassi would open the floodgate to impressionable fans choosing to go Agassi's route. I am not sure Harsha thought this through well enough. This article is not up to his normal standards. He starts off with a statement that is so absurd, it bears repeating here:

Andre Agassi has just added a convenient truth to an earlier, convenient lie. In an attempt to come out smelling of roses, he does far too much damage to those who look up to him, and other sportsmen, as role models. At the best of times it’s a flawed equation, this assumption that a fine sportsman is a fine person, but it exists and I fear Agassi may have given people reason to indulge in drugs.

What? Did he really write that? He, of all people, should know better than to gauge the contents of a book based on a few articles in the media. To quote Sherlock Holmes: "It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment."

Rick Reilly (of ESPN.com) goes to the other extreme and lauds Agassi for his honesty.

Why is Agassi so scorchingly honest in these excerpts? Maybe because he once lived enough lies for five men. Or maybe because, as an educator, he's heard the truth can set him free.

But hopefully, by the time you close "Open," you'll know that this book is about more than the wrong turns he took. It's about how that broken road led him straight to the good man he is now.

Finally, I will leave you with Prem Panicker, who addresses Harsha's article and provides a searchingly personal article in support of Agassi's decision.

I don’t mean to suggest that post facto honesty absolves Agassi of a ‘crime’ we would have known nothing about had he not chosen to speak to the record. He confessed, and now he can take whatever knocks come to him, and welcome.

I do, however, intend to point out that in our obsession with the ‘scandalous’ coda to the story of a life lived on the edge [from which we single out for notice not the important bits, but such inanities], we are perhaps in danger of overlooking the intrinsic worth of this book. And that (...) would be a tragedy, because such openness is rare enough to be treasured.

I shall read the book from cover to cover. For all his faults (and he appears to list so many of them) Agassi has been at the helm of many great causes, and the reason for many of my fond memories of tennis. I shall always hold him in high stead for that.

(C.S. Manish 2007)

US Open leftovers

Here are some final thoughts from the 2009 US Open.

1) One of India's greatest sportsmen added to his collection of trophies at the US Open, while missing out on the the mixed double's crown where his team was the #1 seed.

Check out the following link for the brief video of the Leander Paes-Lukas Dlouhy win over the Mahesh Bhupathi-Mark Knowles combination.

2) If your name (Roger) sounds like Rajah, is it surprising that when you visit NY for the US Open you live in digs fit for a king?

3) The best thing that has happened for tennis in the last few years has been the emergence of Rafael Nadal as a challenger to Roger's era of domination. A case could even be easily made that Nadal is the superior player among the two of them, lacking just a few Grand Slams on hard courts to enter the GOAT equation. Greg Garber of ESPN expands on this theme alluding obliquely to the predator-prey aspect of the relationship shared by these two rivals who, surprisingly, are good friends off the court.

4) Finally, I end with the shot that Roger Federer himself acknowledged as the greatest shot he has ever hit. Too bad that was the high point of the weekend for him, though in all fairness Juan Martin Del Potro won the Open, taking it away from Federer with a coming-out party for the ages.

Long live the Rajah

Roger Federer is now firmly entrenched as the most successful Grand Slam champion of all-time. There are numerous asterisk's that accompany this accomplishment but none of them concern him (Rod Laver missed 5 years worth of Grand Slams as he was ineligible to compete, Bjorn Borg never bothered to play the Australian Open after one attempt early on in his career, etc.).

For now, barely a year after Rafael Nadal broke through at Wimbledon and a few months after many folks (including me, I must admit) wondered if he would get back to his old self, Federer has reclaimed the #1 ranking.

SI.com put together a list of Federer's accomplishments in numeric form. The most amazing number in there for me is this one:

21 -- Consecutive appearances in Grand Slam semifinals, perhaps the most extraordinary metric of Federer's otherworldly consistency.

Greg Garber of ESPN.com salutes the maestro a few hours after the Wimbledon triumph.

Federer will not be content with 15 major titles. He arrived for his postmatch interview wearing a shirt bearing his new agenda: There is no finish line.

Here's a longer report of the final against Andy Roddick, with a comparison to Pete Sampras, whose record he broke.

The statistics were eye-catching: Federer's 50 aces were one short of the Wimbledon record held by Ivo Karlovic. Federer had an incredible total of 107 winners, compared with 38 unforced errors. Roddick had 27 aces, 74 winners and 33 unforced mistakes.

By the way, the 50 aces by Federer are easily the most ever in a Grand Slam final. Surprisingly, hitting aces does not correlate all that well with victory, as this list reveals:

55 - Ivo Karlovic (Roland Garros 2009) 5 sets, lost to Lleyton Hewitt

54 - Gary Muller (Wimbledon 1993, qualifying match) 3 sets, defeated Peter Lundgren

51 - Joachim Johansson (Australian Open 2005 ) 4 sets, lost to Andre Agassi
51 - Ivo Karlovic (Wimbledon 2005) 5 sets, lost to Daniele Bracciali

50 - Chris Guccione (Wimbledon 2005, qualifying match) 3 sets, defeated Olivier Patience
50 - Gregory Carraz (Andrézieux 2004 - Challenger) 3 sets, defeated Tomas Zib *
50 - Roger Federer (Wimbledon 2009) 5 sets, defeated Andy Roddick

49 - Richard Krajicek (US Open 1999) 5 sets, lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov

48 - Marc Rosset (Davis Cup 2001) 5 sets, lost to Arnaud Clement

47 - Gustavo Kuerten (Davis Cup 2003) 5 sets, lost to Daniel Nestor
47 - Gilles Muller (Australian Open 2009) 5 sets, defeated Feliciano Lopez

Finally, to round it off, my favorite tennis writer - L. Jon Wertheim has 50 parting shots from Wimbledon 2009.

• For the second straight major, the eight men's quarterfinalists were from eight different countries.

• Most underrated story: the Indian-Pakistani doubles team of Prakash Amritraj and Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi, won a few matches. Qureshi has now played with an Indian and an Israeli at Wimbledon. Small steps. But steps nonetheless.

• Here's Scott on the WTA ranking system: "The one place it doesn't stir a debate is in the locker room. The players believe in that ranking system. They believe the ranking is right. And I have not had one player come up to me and say, 'How can Dinara Safina be No. 1 in the world?'"

• Here's Serena Williams -- who apparently spends little time in aforementioned locker room -- on the same subject:

"I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be No. 1, but not on the WTA Tour obviously, so. ... You know, my motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay No. 2, I guess (laughter). ... That's just shocking. But whatever. It is what it is. I'd rather definitely be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any. "

• Here's Serena again: "I feel like I've had a pretty consistent year, though, you know." Come again? You've won "only" two tournaments in 2009, but they've both been majors. And sandwiched between them was a four-match losing streak. What exactly constitutes an inconsistent year?

Poetry in motion

Watch Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer recite Rudyard Kipling's poem - If.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Running diary

In the (now) immortal words of the Joker: And...here...we...go!

2:38am: Brad Gilbert says that it is hard to call Federer the GOAT (Greatest Of All-Time) if he cannot beat Nadal on clay. Well, nobody casts aspersions against Pete Sampras in the GOAT discussion because he could never get past Sergi Bruguera. So does that make Bruguera a greater player than Pete Sampras? My opinion: I have never seen a better all-round player than Federer, Nadal included.

2:42am: This just occurred to me. Nadal is 4-2 in Grand Slam finals, and those two losses are to Federer. Federer's record in Grand Slam finals is 13-4, and those 4 losses have been to Nadal. Either way, their streaks continue today!

2:45am: How hard is it for Dick Enberg to say RafA-EL? Why does he keep saying RafE-AL? Seriously!? Am I missing something here?

2:50am: In their last 4 major finals, Roger is just 6 of 42 in break point chances. Wow! Darren Cahill favors Federer in 4 sets, Brad Gilbert predicts Nadal in 4, more specifically 7-5 in the 4th.

2:55am: Patrick McEnroe says that there is more pressure on Federer to win this, and I agree.

FIRST SET
2:56am: 4 errors from Federer and Nadal draws first blood easily. Wow!

3:03am: Ah! To be able to hit ONE flat backhand like Roger does. Beauty.

3:07am: Federer breaks back. 1-1. Four rallies in the game went to double-digits - Federer won ALL of them. Whodathunk that?! Also, Federer has stopped slicing the backhand and is hitting them back. Good sign for him as Nadal just eats up those sliced backhands.

3:10am: Federer needs 13 aces today to lead the tournament in that category (Andy Roddick has 87). Make that 12 aces now. 2-1 Federer.

3:12am: The Australian cricket team dominated cricket for the better part of the last two decades, but not any longer. Federer has dominated tennis for about the last half-decade but not any more. In the case of the Aussie team, their standards have fallen, allowing the others to catch up. It is to Federer's (and his opponent's) credit that his game has stayed at the highest level while the rest have raised theirs. No wonder, watching tennis is so much more fun than cricket-watching these days. Well, almost as much fun!

3:20am: On serve now, 3-2, Federer has won all but one of the rallies of over 10 shots in the match so far. Does not augur well for Nadal. The level of play is of the highest caliber. They have just picked up from where the 5th set ended at Wimbledon in 2008.

3:26am: Federer finally runs around his backhand on Nadal's second serve to attack on break point and gets it. 4-2.

3:29am: Nadal hits two ridiculous winners in the game. Simply outstanding court coverage. And it gets into Federer's head. Roger serves a double fault on break point to lose serve. Back on serve, 4-3. Nadal's ability to conjure winners where anyone else would simply be happy to get to a ball is incredible. Simply incredible.

3:37am: Roger struggles but manages to hold to make it 5-4. Nadal won and lost almost all the points, with one blistering forehand for Federer in there. Nadal looks sharp and is beginning to get his forehand to start dipping at the sharp angle that he is so uniquely capable of.

3:40: 47 minutes into the match, and 72 minutes into the coverage comes the story of how Nadal is actually right-handed but chose to be left-handed when he was 12 years old. Amazing story and one that I had never heard before...right.

3:45am: Nadal breaks for a 6-5 lead. Federer is having to go for more on his shots than usual (which is the norm during matches against Nadal) and paid the price with some egregious unforced errors. Big advantage to Nadal now. But Federer has got to realize that he can take on Nadal as he has already broken his serve twice today.

3:52am: The first set is in the book! Nadal wins 7-5. Federer was broken 3 out of 5 service games. Nadal is definitely in his head. The key is whether Nadal can finish this in 3 sets. I still feel that if it goes longer, Nadal loses.

SECOND SET
3:57am: Federer comes back from 0-30 down in the opening game with four winners. Very important for him to have held his serve to open the game. Game on.

4:03am: Four good shots for Federer to hold serve after Nadal hits a ridiculous backhand to hold his own. 2-1 on serve. By the way, we now also know about Nadal's grand-father who conducted some symphony orchestra and his uncle who played futbol for Spain. Wait until Federer begins to win a few and we can hear about Federer's temper while growing up, which he has now brought under check.

4:16am: Nadal is now 4-4 on break points. He is really taking it to Federer, hitting harder than he normally does, taking the ball earlier than usual on the backhand and pounding winners. Dangerous times for Federer.

4:21am: Federer breaks back as Nadal makes 3 unforced errors. I can't believe that I just typed that considering how well Nadal has been playing.

4:24am: Federer holds in a tough game to make it 4-3. Nadal looked a little weary on a couple of shots there. Or I may just be clutching at straws...after all I am the same person who said that Nadal was 22 and would not feel the effects of that semi-final match. Hmmm.

4:37am: After Nadal powers his way out of 4 break points, Federer finally manages to break Nadal. Serving for the set. He HAS to get some first serves in.

4:40am: Federer wins the last 4 games of the set to even the match at one set apiece. Now, my theory can be tested. I think Federer thinks he has a chance and Nadal may be in trouble. Either way, the quality of tennis is stupendously high. And as I type that, Chris Fowler says that the quality of tennis is not as high as Wimbledon '08. Come one, that match is the subject of an L. Jon Wertheim book, often referred to as MOAT (Match Of All-Time, to go with GOAT!).

THIRD SET
4:47am: Nadal holds to start the third set, but it was not an easy one for him. Let's see if I am searching for signs or whether it is indeed the turning of the tide. Easy enough test coming up - Federer to serve.

4:50am: Federer holds but is made to sweat by Nadal from 40-0. Interesting hold. Gives both players more confidence!

4:57am: Two deuces in Nadal's game and he holds it t make it 2-1 in the third set. Things are starting to get tight for both players on their service games.

5:02am: Federer-Nadal play "the point of the championship", according to Enberg, and Nadal wins it on a fantastic drop volley. But Federer holds at 30. 2-2.

5:07am: Nadal holds for 3-2, but throws in another sorry double fault while at it. By the way, Nadal's shorts have glitter on them. I don't know why it matters, but it has got to, right? And I am officially sick of Enberg's RaEAl pronunciation. Why can't he simply call him Nadal? Between that and his "Oh, my!" repetitions I wonder whether they simply have some tapes of Enberg playing in the background, while Dick suns himself at a nearby beach.

5:14am: Federer saves break point against his serve for the first time all match and holds after playing some superb befensive tennis. Shakespeare and his "There is a tide in the affairs of men," etc. comes to mind!

5:17am: Nadal holds to get to 4-3, but calls for a trainer! Fatigue? Gamesmanship? Naah, just looks like he is getting a rubdown. Maybe he is combating an early onset of cramps. Just a thought: if Nadal starts to come in to the net more often and tries to finish points quicker than he has, then it means that something is really bothering him.

5:21am: Federer holds easily (4-4), and Nadal does not even try to run down a couple of the shots. Looks like there is something wrong with Nadal right now.

5:29am: From 0-40 down, Nadal plays like a man possessed and gets the game back. He also serves an ace to Federer's forhand on the deuce court. The first time all match (2hours and 36 minutes into it, as Enberg helpfully informs) that he serves to Federer's forehand from that side of the court. What composure for a guy so young!

5:42am: Another incredible hold by Nadal, pounding winner after winner on break point, saving 3 of them in another pulse-pounding game. 6-5. How much longer can he keep pulling out these games? Conversely, how much is all of this affecting Federer?

5:58am: As soon as Enberg said that Federer had won his last 5 tie-breaks against Nadal, you knew the writing was on the wall! Roger double faults on Nadal's set point to hand him the tie-break. Two sets to one for Nadal.

FOURTH SET
6:11am: Nadal loses his serve and then proceeds to play out of his skin and break right back. How long can Federer survive these blows? I still think that if he gets a nose ahead in the game, he (Federer) will be home.

6:15am: Incredible resolve from Nadal, down 0-30, to cooly pound away and get to 2-2 in the set.

6:27am: Twelve minutes of absolutely great tennis. Federer saves 5 break points and eventually wins on the 20th point of the game. If you get a chance to watch the replay of this match, don't miss this game. For some people, a whole career would go by without hitting some of the shots this duo has been producing. Nadal had an incredible forehand winner on the run that was just mind-boggling. Phew! 3-2 in the 4th.

6:34am: Federer breaks Nadal to go up 4-2. Nadal finally makes an error on break point, very uncharacteristically. Here's Federer's chance to make it harder for Nadal. If he does, the match is over. At least in my mind.

6:35am: Federer wins the easiest game of the whole match in less than a minute, at love. 5-2 up in the 4th. We may be nearing the end of the Nadal run. I just do not see how he will be able to gut it out for another set after this one.

I do feel that, to secure it totally, Federer needs to break Nadal now to win the set. That way he will be serving first in the 5th set.

6:43am: Nadal holds and then, on his own serve, Federer wins a line call challenge on second serve (that was called out) at 15-15, and goes on to serve his way to a 5th set. Incredible tennis. The fact that the two of them can keep playing such a high level is a tribute to both men's skill and resolve.

FIFTH SET
6:49am: One set for it all. Major advantage Federer. Nadal to serve first, however, and that is always a big thing in a 5 set match. And he holds easily to go up 1-0

6:55am: Nadal holds ridiculously easily to make it 2-1 now. Hmmm, its almost as if he has found his second wind and is appearing the fresher of the two. Just incredible how he is able to keep going 4 hours into the match. Dangerous times for Federer now. The longer he keeps Nadal in the match, the stronger Nadal's chances start to get.

6:59am: Nadal breaks Federer, who looks very nervous now. Nadal is in the driver's seat. I did not see that coming.

7:06am: Nadal holds serve easily as Federer's error totals begin to mount. Just 1 winner for Nadal in the 5th set and he is up 4-1!

7:07am: Boom-boom-boom-boom, and an easy service game for Federer. 4-2 in the 5th. Two chances for Federer to break Nadal.

7:09am: And just like that it is 5-2 as Nadal holds at love. He has still not added to his winners total for the set. Federer's backhand has just deserted him. Wow.

7:16am: And I was wrong!!! Federer saves two match points but is unable to save the third and Nadal wins 6-2 in the fifth set. I seriously did not think Nadal could pull it out in the 5th and Federer is going to feel this for a long, long time.

4 hours and 23 minutes.

If the Wimbledon final hurt Federer, then this one will be even harder for him to take. Rafael Nadal is showing that he is incredibly talented and mentally much, much stronger than Federer. What a player. I am not sure how he can be defeated on clay, so going into Wimbledon, he ought to be halfway to a calendar Slam.

Now, let me go and eat some of the words I have been harping on all morning!

The Grand finale

A long time ago, I likened Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to a matador and a bull. Today, in a few minutes, they shall meet for the 19th time (Nadal holds a 12-6 edge, so far) in the final of the Australian Open. I shall keep a running diary of thoughts as they flash through my mind during the match.

Before the match starts, here's my prediction. Federer is going to win this one. The only way Nadal wins is if this is a 3-setter. And it has nothing to do with fatigue. Nadal is 22 years old and has had a full day to recover. He can easily play a 5-setter today and not feel physically tired. It has been more than a year since Federer last beat Nadal, and if Nadal lets Federer win a set or two, the Swiss-meister's self-belief will kick in and he will finish off Nadal. I am going against conventional wisdom with this statement, but there you have it. The next few hours will be highly entertaining.

Note, the time now is 2:30am in the US and my prediction was made before the match started...

Random musings - 1 - updated

(In this column of I shall put forward thoughts that course through my mind - too small to be separate blog posts but too long to be passing fancies).

Why was Aamir Khan's character in Ghajini left-handed? Aamir is not left-handed, and there was no earthly reason for the character to be one, was there? (Check out the footage from the 3:51 mark in this video).

My new cricketing hero is MS Dhoni, especially for his play ever since he became the captain of the ODI team. I am losing count of how many times he has taken India to the finish line during a chase. Next season, I am modeling my game on him, right down to the way he stands while surveying the field.

Would Slumdog Millionaire have been nominated for 10 Oscars if everything had been the same except that the director was Indian? I don't think so. It would have been lucky to even sniff the Best Foreign Film category.

Why do Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals remind me of Stan Humphries and the San Diego Chargers of 1995? I hope the fate of the Cardinals in this year's Super Bowl is entirely different from the one that befell the Chargers in SB XXIX.

Am I the only one who still remembers that when Mohammad Azharuddin "retired" from cricket he was the world record holder for most 50's, most runs, most not-outs, and most catches in ODI history? It boggles the mind to think that after his spectacular debut Test series, the analysts begged for him to never be included in the ODI team as they thought that it would "ruin his technique".

With his win against Andy Roddick in the semifinals of the Australian Open, Roger Federer has added to some already gaudy numbers that he possesses. He became the only man to reach the final at all 4 majors (Australian, French, Wimbledon, and US Open) at least three times. (On the distaff side, Steffi Graff is the only person to have won all four majors at least 4 times apiece!). By beating Roddick in straight sets, Federer has now won 152 out of 156 matches (152-4) when he wins the first set in a major. Tennis history's best front-runner on the games biggest stage, by far. (By the way, just for kicks, as of today Rafael Nadal is 76-1 when he wins the first set in a Grand Slam tournament!).

Lotur Rotak

In four Grand Slam events this year, this is how three players performed:

Player A: Semi-final, Win, Win, Semi-final
Player B: Win, Semi-final, 2nd round, Semi-final
Player C: Semi-final, Final, Final, Win

Not much to choose from between A and C, except that A has one more win (at B's expense). Yet, almost all the talk this summer has been on Player C - Roger Federer - being in a (potentially) career-ending slump. Some slump! Apart from the above results, he also won the Olympic doubles gold medal.

His "slump" year is better than EVERYONE else on ATP tour, barring Rafael Nadal's!

Having said that, he has looked more vulnerable this year than at any time in the past 5 years. I had a tete-a-tete with him earlier this month during the middle weekend of the US Open. Looks like my tips to him paid off really well.

You're welcome, Rog! Keep coming to the net and you will be just fine.

El Matador y El Toro

Watching Roger Federer play Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final was one of the highlights of last weekend.

Nadal impresses with his never-say-die, in-your-face, abrasive attitude that rattles opponents who are unable to match his ferocity and single-minded determination to chase after the ball. Almost at the opposite end of the spectrum is Federer. Cool almost to the point of being casual, he oozes talent and grace. Watching him play is like watching a composer lead an orchestra. Very rarely is he flustered or thrown off his game. The only player who manages to shake his confidence is Nadal. After a sublime first set (6-0), Federer let Nadal wake up and it took three well-fought sets for him to finally tame the beast...barely for now.

Watching the two contrasting, yet highly riveting, players is like watching a bullfight, as a friend so aptly pointed out. No prizes for guessing who represents the Bull and who the Matador in this rivalry.

A very interesting hardcourt season looms ahead of us. I can hardly wait for them to resume their battles.