Jimmy Connors summarises the versatility of the Swiss genius: “In an era of specialists, you’re either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist, or you’re Roger Federer.” The sky is the limit?
Roger Federer… the man needs no introduction, does he?
The most successful tennis player, with a record 16 Grand Slams in his cabinet, a champion who dominated the sport for more than four years, reigning the top spot for a record 237 consecutive weeks and one of the seven players to hold a career slam.
And yes, not to forget, a record five ATP World Tour Finals and an astounding 17 Masters 1000 series.
The Olympic gold medal in doubles (with his partner Stanislas Wawrinka) in Beijing 2008 just adds a feather to the cap of such an illustrious career.
“The stranglehold of Roger Federer is yesterday’s news”, “Is 2011 going to be a Rafa-Nole showdown?”,”The end of the Roger Federer era” and so on.
He is no longer the numero uno in the tennis arena. His number two spot got usurped by some Serbian named Novak Djokovic who is on a fairy-tale run this season and still to lose a match.
Five losses already in 2011 and the last one to Jurgen Melzer – an unheralded Austrian who had never got the better of the Swiss in any of their four previous encounters.
For the first time in eight years, the maestro is without a Grand Slam trophy in his pocket.
What does such turn of events signal?
Lost aura of invincibility? Changing of the guard or the perfect time to call it quits for the former world number one?
Undoubtedly, the sport is no longer monopolized as it used to be.
The younger generation is faster, stronger and taller, ready to challenge the older one and prove its own supremacy.
But Federer is, after all, a mere mortal.
Going with the conception that the losses inflicted on Federer in recent times do take a large chunk away from his imperial accomplishments, would be utter foolishness.
Doubts still linger about his goat-status because of his losing head-to-head record against his arch-rival Spaniard.
Critics argue that the period of his dominance in the sport got accelerated against a weak backdrop with no “real” contenders to challenge him.
And the talented next generation has exposed the chinks in the armor of the Emperor.
Well, stats never lie. Do they?
Roger Federer is one of the most complete players born ever to grace the tennis court.
With an all-round baseline game, his power lies in his forehand, tagged as the “Greatest shot in our sport” by John McEnroe.
One of the best volleyers of the game today, he is armed with a serve marked by pin-point accuracy and precision.
With a one-handed backhand, he is left with a variety of options to use the slice to draw the opponent to the net or a “flick” backhand to generate pace for a passing shot.
His second serve is one of the best in business.
An adroit at serve and volleying, his jump-smash, backhand smash, drop shots and half volley are equally effective.
Gifted with exceptional athleticism (often under-rated in this category) and fluidity, he makes the most intricate shots look effortless.
There is hardly any shot that is absent from his armory:
– A record 16 Slams (four Australian Open, six Wimbledons, one French Open, five US Opens) at his disposal, a feat scaled by none.
– 67 career titles – fourth in overall rankings in Open era.
– 237 consecutive weeks as world number one, February 2, 2004 to August 17, 2008 (total 285 weeks).
– Five ATP World Tour Finals (ties Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras).
– 17 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
– 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals reached (previous record was 10).
– Five Wimbledons and five US Opens in a row.
– Career Slam achieved in 2009 with Roland Garros triumph over Robin Soderling.
– Olympics gold medalist in doubles (with partner Stanislas Wawrinka) in Beijing 2008 Olympics.
– Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for record four consecutive years (2005-2008).
Every ascent is followed by a descent. Wins may not come as easily to him now as they once used to be.
The frequency of the losses may have risen manifold.
He may even strive hard to capture a single Grand Slam in future, despite having had his name carved in three out of four Grand Slam trophies for three years some time back.
The rust on the winning machine may leave permanent scars on it.
His records may even get broken sometime soon.
And yet, he has set the benchmark for others to follow.
For the great champion he is, who has generated superlatives at the same rate as his titles, even the dictionary lacks adjectives.
An epitome of grace, elegance and panache, let us cherish the fairytale story of this virtuoso’s quest for perfection as the one which drastically transfigured the dimensions of the men’s tennis, the one which entertained the spectators with the most beautiful tennis, which redefined “consistency” and “dominance.”
As Bjorn Borg puts it: “He simply does not have any more weaknesses left in him. It is such a pleasure to see him play. To me, Roger Federer is the right model for anyone aspiring to be a tennis player. It is such a pleasure to just watch him play. His shot-making has got better and I doubt there is any shot he cannot make in any part of the court…
“All records will tumble when it comes to Roger. He is such a complete player that I do not see anyone getting better than him for a long time from now.”
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