I guess this was expected sooner or later. Considering how big a fan I am of Roger Federer, it was only a matter of time when I wrote a small piece as an ode to his genius.
I heard of the man during the course of Wimbledon '04. Even at that relatively early period, pundits of the game had started hailing Federer as one of the best natural talents ever to grace a tennis court. Remembering the old saying that 'where there is smoke, there is fire', I decided to follow the slam and the man. Needless to say, there was something special in him but the one aspect which really impressed me was the clinical precision of his methods. Like an experienced practitioner, the man never ever gave any indication of his emotions. It seemed to me that he had everything figured out and there was nothing at all, atleast on the tennis court which could surprise him. He ended all his matches with a small smile, a courteous handshake, a ceremonial wristband throw, and a climactic clap of his raised hands. I liked that lazy, confident arrogance which seemed to say, 'I know the result. Its just a formality'.
After that wimbledon, I have followed his matches most diligently and am happy to say that even a die hard believer in his abilities like me has been surprised by the meteoric rise that the man himself has registered in the last 3 years. From a cold killer, he has now become a silent, calculating, winning machine. And with this, he has developed a repertoire of shots, which is unparalleled in history and some of which are really beyond the wildest imaginations of the craziest sport player and fan. His version of the game has now transcended the game itself. Its more like music. A Don Bradman setup such records in cricket which might never be surpassed but his technique could never be termed perfect. A Tiger woods might go on to become the greatest golfer ever, but he sometimes lacks the humility which should accompany success. A Michael Jordan will be remembered as the best basketball player ever but he was also nasty sometimes. Federer is all of these men and more. He combines perfection with humility, a combination extremely rare to find.
For those who are not yet a fan of this man, just a look at some of his records,
Federer won all his matches against the next 10 ranked players from October 2003 to January 2005
He has won 24 straight finals. The second best in history was 12
During 2004,05,06, he lost only 8 matches, winning 180 odd.
He has won all the grand slam finals he has reached which is a record.
He has won 52 straight matches on hard court. The second highest was 35.
He has won 37 straight matches on grass and is eyeing the record of 42 this wimbledons
He is already half way through the tally of 14 grand slams of Pistol Pete and he is only 24
All of the above is quite surprising, but I like him for his rendition of the art that he has made of Tennis. I adore him for the almost spiritual exhilaration which I feel while watching him play.
I heard of the man during the course of Wimbledon '04. Even at that relatively early period, pundits of the game had started hailing Federer as one of the best natural talents ever to grace a tennis court. Remembering the old saying that 'where there is smoke, there is fire', I decided to follow the slam and the man. Needless to say, there was something special in him but the one aspect which really impressed me was the clinical precision of his methods. Like an experienced practitioner, the man never ever gave any indication of his emotions. It seemed to me that he had everything figured out and there was nothing at all, atleast on the tennis court which could surprise him. He ended all his matches with a small smile, a courteous handshake, a ceremonial wristband throw, and a climactic clap of his raised hands. I liked that lazy, confident arrogance which seemed to say, 'I know the result. Its just a formality'.
After that wimbledon, I have followed his matches most diligently and am happy to say that even a die hard believer in his abilities like me has been surprised by the meteoric rise that the man himself has registered in the last 3 years. From a cold killer, he has now become a silent, calculating, winning machine. And with this, he has developed a repertoire of shots, which is unparalleled in history and some of which are really beyond the wildest imaginations of the craziest sport player and fan. His version of the game has now transcended the game itself. Its more like music. A Don Bradman setup such records in cricket which might never be surpassed but his technique could never be termed perfect. A Tiger woods might go on to become the greatest golfer ever, but he sometimes lacks the humility which should accompany success. A Michael Jordan will be remembered as the best basketball player ever but he was also nasty sometimes. Federer is all of these men and more. He combines perfection with humility, a combination extremely rare to find.
For those who are not yet a fan of this man, just a look at some of his records,
Federer won all his matches against the next 10 ranked players from October 2003 to January 2005
He has won 24 straight finals. The second best in history was 12
During 2004,05,06, he lost only 8 matches, winning 180 odd.
He has won all the grand slam finals he has reached which is a record.
He has won 52 straight matches on hard court. The second highest was 35.
He has won 37 straight matches on grass and is eyeing the record of 42 this wimbledons
He is already half way through the tally of 14 grand slams of Pistol Pete and he is only 24
All of the above is quite surprising, but I like him for his rendition of the art that he has made of Tennis. I adore him for the almost spiritual exhilaration which I feel while watching him play.
5 comments:
really good !! thnx 4 t facts n figures on him ! waise i was wonderin how come u didnt write a blog on federer still :) it was long overdue, knowin u.. :) ek tasveer bhi lagaana uski.. :D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Federer
;)
yeh wikipedia wala article to main 20 baar padh chuka hoon :-)... waise link ke liye dhanyawaad
haha.. pata hai.. magar maine first time padha.. :)
hey..but he still dosent match up to pistol Pete's serve.n his opponents arent in the same category of petes'..
but neverthless he seems invincible!
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