Dear Roger

Dear Roger,

I should have paid heed to the age old wisdom of watching my words when I expressed sympathy with Rafa after the French Open final. I thought he was content being the greatest Number Two in the history of the game. I suppose you thought so too.

Looking back, the warning bells rang in the 07 Wimbledon final, when he took you to five sets. Granted, the courts at Wimby are getting slower (I am told this is a deliberate tactic – slower courts mean more long rallies and hence, hopefully, more interest in tennis – no one is talking about the quality of play of course), but let’s also admit that we under-estimated Rafa by assuming he was happy with the tag of clay court specialist, shall we?

After the disappointment at Melbourne and the humiliation at Roland Garros (forgive me, but I still cannot erase the memory of the final set), I was looking forward to redemption at SW 19 . When you lost those first two sets, I was ready to flee to the Swiss Alps. As the third set started, one thought played repeatedly in my mind – Oh God, please don’t let him lose in straight sets, please God, pleeeeeease.

Luckily, God heard our collective pleas, and you drew upon your deepest reserves to fight off the challenger. Your scorching backhand pass when Rafa held match point in the fourth set will remain a part of “Federer Magic Moments” tales to my grandkids. When you pushed the match into the fifth, I was screaming with joy – the Emperor was not going to cede his crown easily, and I was already celebrating a record-breaking sixth.

Oh what a heart breaker the last set was. Just as you seized the momentum after the first rain break, the pendulum appeared to shift towards Rafa after the second rain interruption. I suppose you were taken by surprise too – for who before this gutsy Mallorcan had dared to battle so long and so hard against The Great One, and that too at your spiritual home?
But we consoled ourselves – perhaps it was fair to the prince, given how well he had fought these two years. Did you sense then that the luck was turning away from you? I have to admit that I did not.

Things just seemed to get worse from there, didn’t they. Suddenly you were losing to the likes of a much improved Andy Murray and Giles–who-Simon. The very people who had idolized you now called for your head – he’s lost the fire, he should just retire graciously while he’s on a high. Comparisons with Bjorg were ominously invoked. I’m sure you laughed at their folly – forgive them for they know not about perfection. Yes Roger, Ed Smith was bang on when he said that your motivation is mastery, not competition. Unfortunately, this may just turn out to be your greatest liability against Rafa.

It could have been so easy for you to give up. I have often wondered – What does a gymnast do when she realizes one morning that her body no longer bides her command; what does the marathoner do when his feet do not obey his exhortations to run FASTER, FASTER! ? The fire is still there, but the midas touch is cruelly snatched away. The Gods had blessed you, but suddenly, just before the coronation, they decided to look the other way.

But then, these are the obstacles that separate the boys from the men, ain’t it? And forgive us silly mortals Roger – but we love triumph in the face of adversity. And for the greatest glory, well, a few tumbles, a couple of injuries, a near-death experience – that makes the tale so much more entertaining. If you win it all too easily, like you did, we are a bit disappointed (and jealous). We attribute it to good luck, choosing to ignore the extraordinary effort that you had put in over the years to hone your phenomenal talent. But throw in a slice of bad luck, a run of losses, and we’re back to loving you again – “what an extraordinary talent – he should have got to 20 Grand Slams by now, had it not been for ….” – we say with misty eyes.

So you valiantly fought on. And you celebrated the small victories when the big ones eluded you – the Olympics Doubles being a case in point. You still didn’t look your old self – the magical feet seemed be a trifle slower, the precision reflexes just a wee bit off target – but you persevered. Fittingly, you got your reward when you annihilated Djoker & Murray to win a record fifth US Open.

I was more relieved than delighted – The Great One was back. So were you. 2009, and a record equaling 14th Grand Slam title, beckoned.

Let us not talk about the Australian Open final, shall we? Let us not talk about faith misplaced, about the ogre in your head, about being faced with your mortality. But, dear Roger, the facts are these:

- I know you want to reclaim your Number One ranking, but it is going to be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible – not with Rafa’s current form and Murray, Djoker and the young set breathing down your neck.

- You are 27, five years more than Rafa and the Young Brigade. In a sport that gets younger each year, you are a veteran (albeit a much loved and much revered one)

- Undoubtedly, you are the most inventive player in the history of the game. But the Rafa Cavalry can read your game, and if they can’t match you on talent and beauty, they CAN blunt you with raw power. More importantly, they are not in awe of The Great Federer – they step on court to beat you, not to give you a good fight.

- You CAN still win many more Grand Slams, including the French Open (though I do not see you beating Rafa to win it – and it kills me to admit this!). You are physically fit, have looked in much better touch in 09 than the whole of 08, and you still have the fire and desire for ascendancy.

But – there is no doubt that Rafa has improved his game much more over the last two years than you have. True, your game is almost perfect, and your biggest strength has always been that you have no apparent weakness – but the Mallorcan draws out the devil in you, doesn’t he? Over the last year, you have looked uncertain against him – both in your tactics and your execution. Should you try and bring him more to the net? Maybe, but certainly not at the French Open. Should you try and outlast him from the baseline? But you like finishing your games quickly – so you usually run out of patience much before he does. As a result, you have failed to capitalize on precious opportunities and repeatedly allowed him to wrest the game away from you. In short, you have let him do to you what you have done to numerous other worthy players over a career of breathtaking brilliance.

So is there no solution to the Rafa conundrum? Of course there is. But acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step towards addressing it. And I get the feeling right now that you are simply not willing to admit that, possibly for the first time in your life, you are faced with a challenge that you cannot unravel on your own (or with the help of the former Swiss Women’s No 1).

So, why not forget the No 1, why not focus on the Grand Slams, and get some help while you’re at it? Why not get a good coach that you can stick with for a while? Why not visit a shrink who can help bury the demons? (Many years ago, you and Marat Safin had two things in common – prodigious talent and a volatile temper. You sought professional help at the start of your career – and look where you are now compared with the equally talented Russian). And why not borrow a lesson or two from your opponents, especially the one that reads “Don’t give up”?

There is nothing any tennis lover wants more than to watch you play, if possible for ever. And we would much rather see you surprise the challengers with your beauty and guile than hear your views on the WTA rankings. Bring back the belief, the glory will follow.

S F T - Scarce Fed Transmission !

Tennis-wise, this has been amazingly intense year. With all the excitement in the Slams and the recent high of the US Open, I was raring to see some more of the old Fed at the remaining hard court tournaments. But just when I was seriously evaluating the business case for attending the Shanghai Masters, Fed announced his withdrawal from Stockholm -worse, he said he may not play for the rest of the year! While I agree with the logic of his move (I strongly believe he should just focus on the Grand Slams now – the ranking race should be secondary, and exhibition matches only in India!), I feel strangely bereft.

Strong dose of Scarce Fed Transmission. Whatever will I do once he retires?

Here's looking at you, Fed

It is heartbreaking to watch a magician suddenly lose his art. There he comes charging to the net, only to miss a volley he would have usually aced with his eyes shut. The perfect forehand goes just long, the incredible angle has disappeared. The razor sharp serve is uncharacteristically vulnerable. Not just once, but again and again. The proud shoulders droop, the head nods increasingly in desperation. The heart still hasn't lost the fight, but the body has lost the midas touch.

When the agony ends, as end it must, the winner is more apologetic than ecstatic. For he recognizes that in his victory he has humbled, maybe even humililated, a master.

Today Rafa won a record 4th French Open, defeating The Great Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

During the final, ignoble set, I mailed to a dear friend telling her how disappointed I was. Here is what she replied:

What is to separate this man from the Gods? Every once a year he is confronted with his mortality and to the fact that there is one aspect of his prowess that one other human is better at, thanks to Nadal.

The wisdom of her words made me think - what about Rafa? Everyone talks about Roger Federer and how Roland Garros would be the crowning jewel in his coronation as the Greatest Tennis Player Ever (if not the greatest athlete ever). We all sympathize with TGF for being repeatedly denied the only major title to elude him for four successive years by this ONE man (for everyone acknowledges that were it not for this kid from Mallorca, Pete's 14 and Andre's Slam would have been conquered years ago). The French crowds, delighted with TGF's charm and fluency in their language, have unsuccessfully rallied behind him against the defending champion. But had it not been for Fed, Rafa would have undoubtedly been Numero Uno in men's tennis. For now, however, he has to stay content with winning at Roland Garros and being the best Number Two ever in men's tennis.

So in a way, they each take away from the other, and in that taking away, add to each other's greatness. Their evident mutual respect and affection only adds to the allure of this great rivalry. Shakespeare could not have scripted this better - for in the decades to come, no mention of The Great Roger Federer will be complete without naming Rafael Nadal. And this is how it is, this is how it should be.

Watch Agneiszka Radwanska

Justine Henin's untimely exit from women's tennis, though unfortunate, has made the women's draw at Roland Garros much more exciting. The Williams sisters, true to their erratically scintillating form, have lost to rookies. Sharapova seems to have lost the razor sharp brilliance she displayed in Melbourne, and has relied more on her shrieking grunts than her shot making to get through to the 4th round. Ivanovic and Jankovic have been consistent, but frankly, they present minimal threat to Henin-Williams-Sharapova on a good day. Kuznetsova, Dementieva, Chakvetadze & Safina can always spring a surprise, but the greatest thrills have come from watching the under-19's in the main draw.

I haven't caught too many of the matches, but two girls I am really impressed with are Suarez Navarro and Agneiszka Radwanska. I saw parts of just one match of the former - the 4th round match against Penetta (who got rid of Venus Williams in the 3rd round). S Navarro boundless energy reminds you of Sanchez Vicario, but she is fitter and much more lethal - with a one handed backhand that makes you wish she would play against Justine Henin, the queen of the single handed backhand. Will Suarez Navarro go on to become a Djokovic, or remain a one Grand Slam wonder aka Tsonga? - only time will tell.

But the one who really caught my attention is 19 year old Agneiszka Radwanska, voted the emerging player of the WTA tour in 2007. Yes, she lost in straight sets to Jelena Jankovic in the 4th round, but did she give Jelena a scare! Radwanska has a good game of course, but what gives her an edge over her contemporaries is her tenacity, level headedness and surprising physical stamina, her frail frame notwithstanding. She just did not give up against Jankovic, keeping her kool and saving several match points to force the second set into the tie breaker. Had Radwanska made better use of her serve, Jelena would have been under serious threat of not making the QF's.

Fortunately, Radwanska has time on her side, and if she gets the right guidance and manages to stay fit, we'll surely see much more of her on the women's tour in the later rounds.

Simply the Best !

Real men also cry. Even when one of them is possibly the greatest player in tennis history, and has just equaled a 27 year old record held by another all-time great. So it was when Roger Federer won the All England Lawn Tennis Championship for the fifth consecutive year, beating his nemesis Rafael Nadal in a final that was complete paisa-vasool for tennis lovers.

(This post has been WIP for too long, for Fedex has since gone on to win the US Open against the precocious Djokovic, despite being decidedly less than his usual brilliant self).

It is not easy to write a dedication to Roger Federer, for whatever I say about him would have been said before, and better. Anyone with even a mild interest in tennis acknowledges that the Swiss does not need to equal or surpass any more records to prove that he is the greatest player ever in the game of tennis. For His Royal Highness Roger Federer’s claim to greatness is not his ability to break and create records at a breathtaking pace – it is that he has brought beauty and elegance to a game that had begun to be too strongly associated with bulging muscles and nerve wracking grunts. He glides on court like a ballerina from the Bolshoi and uses his tennis racket to orchestrate the most breathtaking shots that the game of tennis has seen in a long while, using his talent, intellect and intense concentration to unsettle even his strongest opponents. A lethally reliable serve and a tremendous repertoire of shots notwithstanding, what impresses me most about Federer is the manner in which he conserves and optimizes his energy, raising his game by several notches in the rare instances that he is behind.

Tennis was never a beautiful sport, but watching Federer play sometimes tempts one to draw comparisons with a Chopin composition, a Van Gogh painting or a Somerset Maugham character - quite simply, it moves you emotionally in a way that one would never associate with a rough game of sport.

So it does not come as a surprise when great tennis players, current and past, discuss him in reverential undertones and writers like David Foster Wallace write tomes on Roger Federer as a religious experience. "He just plays you, trying to make you play your worst and he plays his best. He matches up his strength to your weakness unbelievably," said Federer’s first round opponent at the US Open. If Federer continues the way he has, a DVD on Federer moments will soon become a must-have for tennis fans.

I had saved my ode to Roger Federer for the 2007 French Open. Watching the maestro play throughout the tournament, I was confident that this was the year of his Grand Slam. Yes, there was that little matter of disposing Rafa, two time champion and king of clay, but that could be taken care of. The official crown of The Best Player Ever beckoned Roger.

Unfortunately, the feisty Nadal cares a dime for reputation or greatness, and denied Federer that opportunity, stamping his authority over the World No 1 for the second successive time on clay.

So I told myself – going by the measure of records as a measure of greatness, Federer is not the greatest player in tennis, at least not yet. After all, when you contrive to lose a Grand Slam final in 4 sets despite being ahead and having several break points against your opponent, you still have some work left to do.

And then came Wimbledon – Nadal & Federer once again. Emperor versus a worthy pretender. Already, it appeared that Nadal was much more comfortable on grass than Federer was on clay. And then there was his youth, power and tenacity, not to forget that he is one of those rare players against whom Federer has lost more matches than he has won - this was indeed going to be a dream Wimbledon final.

True to form, the match did not disappoint. Both players played breathtaking tennis – sometimes winning a game at love and at other times clawing from behind to clinch a game, made some unexpected unforced errors, and came up with some near-impossible shots – battling each other with that rare hunger and tenacity that distinguishes the great from the good. Hawk Eye also played its role, with a rare outburst from the level headed champion. When Nadal won the second set, Commentator 1 said of Mika, Federer’s girlfriend: She looks nervous. “So does he (Roger Federer)”, quipped Commentator 2.

Two sets later, Commentator 1 of Mika: “She had some nails 2 hours ago”.

But after over four hours of breathtaking brilliance, HRH prevailed, palpably lifting his game in the final set to deny Nadal the opportunity of dethroning him. And in a telling demonstration of the tremendous respect that the world’s best two tennis players have for each other, Nadal embraced the champion at the net. Meanwhile, a particular sequence in the game stays with me. At one set all, Federer is serving to level the 3rd set 6-6 and take it to the tiebreaker, when an ace fired by him is challenged by Rafa – who has successfully challenged several Federer points before, much to the champion’s chagrin. Federer shakes his head in disbelief, as if to say - you dare challenge an ace fired by ME? The shot is called in, Federer wins the point, and backs it up with two unplayable serves to win the game. Just in case you missed the point – no one challenges Roger Federer.

But men’s tennis is changing. For a legion of youngsters – Djokovic, Murray, Baghdatis - are joining forces with Rafael Nadal to challenge the world number one’s complete domination of the game. The Emperor has mercilessly destroyed his opposition in the battles till now, but some say that he has hardly been challenged, except possibly by Nadal. So as the boys throw the gamut for the war ahead, will the ‘aging’ Federer succeed in stamping his superiority once again? If that is so, as most of us hope it will be, the best in men’s tennis is yet to come.

But as the competition draws closer, Federer appears to be in no mood to relinquish his crown. For as he said at the press conference after the US Open final upon being asked to compare Djokovic and Nadal – No 2 or No 3 does not matter, what matters is being Number 1.

From anyone else, that would be arrogance. Coming from Roger Federer, it’s simply confidence.

For now, a closing glimpse. At the post match Wimbledon press conference, the presenter asked Federer: 15-40 down twice in the second set, and you still won (the final)?

Well, you get lucky sometimes, he smiled.

Champions are also humble.