Nirmal Shekar on Federer

Nirmal Shekar writes on Roger Federer:

Greatness in sport is almost always achieved in tiny increments — each little pebble consuming gallons of sweat, demanding loads of skill, and drawing from deep reserves of willpower and physical energy.

But, then, the latest instalment accruing to the account of one Mr. Roger Federer seems more like a huge Alpine rock rather than a pebble.

Shortly before 6 p.m. on a glorious Sunday afternoon on the centre court at Wimbledon, the magisterial wizard of lawn tennis pulled alongside one of the game’s legends — Bjorn Borg — and did so in front of the great Swede.

The best of sportsmen spend a lifetime searching for greatness, courting it passionately season after season. But, with Federer, you tend to believe that it is greatness itself that is wooing him single-mindedly, hiding behind the silverware to finally embrace the master at every major stop.

Next in line is Sampras’s modern day record of seven titles. After that well, who knows how high Federer will raise the bar by the time he’s done.

Like a slightly wounded gladiator suitably working up his anger and charging at the opponent, the three-time French champion fought back to give himself a chance in the sixth game of the second set. But what does Federer, down 40-15 on serve, do? What would you expect? The great man hits three straight aces and in the blink of an eye the door is once again shut on Nadal.

Then again, Nadal is not a man who wilts easily in any psychological battle of one-upmanship. He hit a marvellous winner from a hopeless position after sliding on his bottoms to the turf in the 10th game on Federer’s serve and went on to pocket the set with a superb backhand pass.
At this point there was very little separating the players although you got the feeling that the momentum was swinging ever-so-slightly Nadal’s way. But it was Federer who once again came out on top in the tiebreak.

Nirmal Shekar compares Federer with Sampras here.

Roger Federer speaks:

To play a champion like Rafa and to equal Borg means a lot to me. It was such a close match I told Rafa at the net that he deserved it as well. I was the lucky one.

He's (Nadal is) a fantastic player and he's going to be around so much longer so I'm happy with every one I get before he takes them all!

(to Borg) Thank you for coming. It is an honour to play in front of you.

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