The once and future king

Roger Federer made it to the Finals of the French Open. He defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6 6-3 3-6 7-6, bringing the Serb's 41-0 streak to a grinding halt.

A frustrated Novak (Photo from Roland Garros 2011)

And so, a Nadal-Federer final. Just when you begin to think the world is out of joint, something like this happens and restores your faith in humanity.

(Source)

Losing my religion

The 2008 Wimbledon men's final was more than tennis. It was human drama, awesome in its scope and intensity-- the kind of bittersweet story one craves for in sports. After four hours and 48 minutes of stunning play and frayed nerves, Rafael Nadal inched ahead to defeat five-time champion Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7. The final moment of that match was nebulous. Nadal's unbridled ecstasy. Federer's look of heartbreaking loss. The crowd rippled with varying degrees of happiness and disappointment. They celebrated with Nadal, but sympathized with Federer. Emotions ran amok.

Just as Nadal's back touched the worn grass on Centre Court, the TV winked out. It was 4am on Monday morning and my champion lost. All the oxygen got sucked out of my living room.

Nadal found the cracks in Federer's armor and bullied his way in. Brute force eventually won out over innovation. The Spaniard was simply unstoppable, persisting with rallies until he had the upper hand. Still, that same pressure pushed Federer to further elevate his game. He fought to the bitter end, shocking everyone with a beautiful backhand return winner even as his opponent served for the championship. The man went out in style.

Looking back, I realize I should have watched the awards ceremony. I should have borne the agony of watching another man lift the Wimbledon trophy. I should have, because Federer did. And did so with grace, knowing he lost to the better man. Even in defeat, he sets the example for the rest of us.

I am not alone in my grief. Eben Harrell comes to terms with the fall of our hero, saying that Federer's loss spells the death of beauty.

There can only be one

The thing about blogging is it's addicitive. More, more. I want some more!

I was too emotional to write about it then but Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal 7-6 4-6 7-6 2-6 6-2 in the Wimbledon 2007 final to join Bjorn Borg in the Five-Wimbledons-in-a-Row Club. Federer has been accused of not being able to hack it in five-set matches. But in glorious and convincing fashion, he showed us all he wasn't going to take shit from anyone on grass. Five sets of utter nail-biting, hair-grabbing excitement. Bliss.

In the fifth set, Federer had to face break points in two consecutive service games. He saved them, and went on to break Nadal. Grace under pressure. Calm in the face of near-defeat. It was a stunning display of resilience and genius from both players. Epic.

Watching a replay of history

I waited and waited but stupid Star Sports wouldn't show the Masters Hamburg final. They kept showing MotoGP and football. Good grief, there's football everyday. Couldn't I have just that one match? I called it a night and disappeared into the dark oblivion of my room. At around midnight, I woke up and decided to see if I would be rewarded a replay. I was. The waiting was oh-so-worth-it.

Roger Federer (SUI) def Rafael Nadal (ESP) 2-6 6-2 6-0

Federer rallied from a set down to win the third clay court title of the season, snapping Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay. I stayed home from work today as I have been infected by some bug. (I can watch another replay!) That's the clinical diagnosis. But I suspect it might be because the impact of Federer beating Nadal on a clay court is too immense for my puny mortal mind to comprehend.

In the decider, it looked as if Roger was up to a shaky start. Nadal was on his heels, but he found his rhythm and all that had been missing in the last five tournaments had returned. He was serving well, his forehand was point-blank, and his movements were cat-like. He kept getting around the ball to deliver punching forehands. In the final game on Nadal's serve, you could see that Federer had entered a balance. His shoulders were relaxed and open, it was like he was dancing. Ah...it was magical. Federer bageled Nadal on the latter's favorite court. Talk about getting out of a rut.

We still love him anyway

Canas (ARG) def Federer (SUI)
7-5, 6-2

Lem texted this morning to report that Roger lost to one Guillermo Canas in the first round of the Pacific Life Open. I know that Roger's going to lose to someone eventually, but everytime I hear that he lost a match, my chest caves in. My heart literally breaks. When he lost to Nadal in the Rome Masters last April, I experienced a slight identity crisis. I was re-evaluating my whole existence when I realized he can't win 'em all. I gained a nugget of wisdom that time, but I was crushed all the same when Andy Murray beat him in Cincinnati in the latter part of last year. And when he lost to Andy Roddick in January. Roger, though, takes it in stride. He doesn't smash his racquet on the court or scream in frustration. He says "Congratulations. Great match." and goes on his way. In his press conferences, he even puts in a good word for his opponent. Very diplomatic. He's a gracious loser. That's what makes him a champion.

Since Roger is too affable to act like a sore loser, I realize it is my job to do the racquet-smashing for him. I get to be unfair to his opponents and make it personal. Being the crazed fan, I can roar and cuss in frustration. I can wallow in his defeat because I can afford to. Leave it to Roger to be mature and leave it to me to be the bawling kid.

(If you want to feel better about this loss by re-living a glory moment, read this old post on Federer winning the 2006 US Open: Champions I)