Roger Federer
After the triumph at Wimbledon last year, we all wondered where Federer will be at this year’s Wimbledon. We thought he might be fighting to get on par with Pete Sampras or probably to even dethrone him considering Federer’s clay court game had also been improving and this year he was due for a French title. And to watch Federer yesterday was just pathetic.
Not that he was playing poorly, but it was just amazing to watch how much effort he had to put to get a single point. Like for one of his serves, he just changed his plan the last minute and served it short and high so that he could volley. When Nadal was serving, he started moving around like how batsmen do in the last few overs in a cricket match. I didn’t like Nadal’s game, but I think the way he kept running and returning whatever was thrown at him was super human. He just seemed to defy the uncertainty principle with his power and precision. Now that Nadal has barged into “Federer’s part” of the season, it remains to be seen how the year progresses. Normally Nadal’s game plateaus post-Wimbledon, but this year may be different.
Though the general opinion is otherwise, I somehow like a sport being dominated by a single person - an icon. I cannot prove it through data, but I feel the attention to a sport increases whenever an icon dominates it. Schumacher readily comes to mind. Even in tennis, nobody remembers the period when these non-icons win Grand Slam tournaments. It might be probably because hero worship in ingrained my psyche.
- Sports | Time: 9:50:44 AM (UTC+8)
Yeah..If you might have seen the match, Nadal won crucial points through Federer’s errors.Federer would have one of the first 2 sets easily.His first serves were not going well.Hitting first serves well would not allow the opponent get a break.He should have played his natural game. He was forced to play in Nadal’s style. But I liked the way he came back in 3rd and 4th sets. Slept during the rain interruption in 5th set.
I thought of writing about this but not in a mood because of Roger’s defeat.I like him most after Pistol Pete.Somehow I like natural players of grass court and also attitude of them on court.
Comment by Subbaraman — July 8, 2008 @ 3:46:41 PM
Interesting read,i somehow was drawn into comparison with Sampras myself in my blog.I like your point on icon and domination.good one.
- Subbu
Comment by Subbu S — July 11, 2008 @ 7:53:49 PM
I wouldn’t go far enough to characterise the performance as ‘pathetic’, he was always done and did great to fight back. I guess the Spanish torro was just too strong for the defending champion, I think age is finally beginning to tell. Anyway, I agree with the icon part. I miss Sampras for that reason
Comment by Rohan — July 24, 2008 @ 2:08:51 PM
Rohan, yeah I chose the wrong word. He was playing very well. I actually meant it was disheartening. It was just that Nadal had answers to everything that was thrown at him.
Comment by Karthik — July 25, 2008 @ 7:07:17 AM