When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up – and for me it’s tennis.
Sometimes you have to accept that a guy played better on the day than you.
Roger Federer
Oh..London it was, yet again! I reckon this loss at the Laver Cup was rather bittersweet. It wouldn’t hurt as much as it did after the 2019 Wimbledon final debacle for Roger and fans alike.
As the Great Bell a.k.a Big Ben struck midnight this past Friday, it was time to draw curtains on an unrivaled and dazzling Tennis career. Almost quarter of a century of sublime skill, grace, versatility, temperament, perseverance, refinement, and respect. Virtually endless traits – individually seen in many, yet collectively seen in just one and only one. Federer was and will be the most complete Tennis player ever.
It was the summer of 1999 at Roland Garros, Paris. While the entire Tennis world was celebrating Agassi’s comeback win at a major, a little trivia lay obscured in hindsight. A lanky 17-year-old Swiss stretched Patrick Rafter, then world number 3, to a hard-fought four set win. After the match, Rafter quipped with a grin, “The boy impressed me very much. If he works hard and has a good attitude, he could become an excellent player.”
Rest, as the world knows, is history.
The boy did work hard, and had an extraordinary attitude, and he matured to become – not only an excellent player – but an exceptional one, and arguably the greatest of all time.
Legs arched at the knees,
ball tossed to the skies above,
racquet in the arc to thump it,
is pure artistry.
A wide-open stance,
with subtle tilt of the head,
left hand at shoulder height directing,
Wilson in the right hand stretched far,
to caress that legendary forehand,
is pure wizardry.
Lining up the mind, body and soul,
with the eyes, hand and racquet,
to whip that iconic backhand,
is pure magic.
A smile in win or loss,
A rare high decibel “Come on!”,
A face sans pressure,
A speech with gratitude and positivity,
is nothing but pure grace.
Roger, your farewell goodbye after the Laver Cup loss was straight out of the heart, and out of the park. We know your mind still strongly believes you want to continue to weave magic and dazzle on a tennis court. Yet it’s only your body that begs to differ for all natural reasons. That your speech moved and made moist eyes out of the Rafa’s, Novak’s and rest of the world shows how truly you will be missed.
Records may have been set before, and records might continue to be broken. There was never a master before, and there will never be one akin in future.
Roger Federer is the G.O.A.T. Yes, to me, the Greatest of All Three.
Roger that.
Photo Source: Google Images