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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Once an awesome champion will always be an awesome champion!
Roger Federer showed exactly what that meant on Monday, 8th of September 2008, as he claimed his fifth US Open Men's championship trophy – putting .JPG)
a distinction to himself as the only tennis player who won five straight championships in both the US Open and Wimbledon! As he received his 13th major title in the US Open this year, he moved up merely a beat closer to Pete Sampras’s 14 career majors… and he’s only 27 years old! More than anything else, his US Open win this year puts all doubts to rest that El Maestro is over and out. These speculations mushroomed following his back-to-back defeat in Roland Garros in Paris and in the All England Club in Wimbledon by Rafael Nadal, who in the process snatched the Number One in the World spot from Federer, after a record breaking 237 straight weeks at the top. Federer will continue his run for history - that’s for sure. He said it so himself, “One thing's for sure, I'm not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible.”
A few months back, I was ranting as a disgruntled fan, trying to understand the lack of brilliance in Federer’s usually awesome game at the 2008 French Open… which is not to belittle Rafael Nadal’s talents because surely he has the heart of a champion, too. But it was hard to accept how, without a warning, the distinct Federer backhand got slapped back by that do-or-die ball scavenging machine called Rafael Nadal, the dangerous forehand became less lethal - even on grass later in Wimbledon, the graceful passing shots became awkward attempts at passing the shots, the entertaining variety turned to disturbing volatility, the out-of this-world Federer accuracy was reduced to “normalcy” that was definitely less than his gifts, and the usually intelligent game became a less inspired attempt to stay in the game! It was perplexing to say the very least. But what disgruntled me the most was how he showed signs of giving up when the going got tough in Roland Garros, because what makes him the greatest champion ever, as far as I’m concerned, is his ability to stay calm and will himself to winning matches – big or small, regardless of pressure… not just for the sake of winning, but more so for the love of the sport. Any tennis fan could discern how Roger Federer’s heart beats for the sport as he follows the ball with his eyes every single time that it approaches his end of the court, hits his racket, and fly down the line on his opponent’s end of the court. The sheer awesomeness of his talents and how he uses such talents to perfect every single stroke that he does on court can make every tennis enthusiast fall head over heels with the sport. Add to that the cool confidence, which is always balanced by wit and sense of humor, that he displays on and off the court makes him indeed the best ambassador that the sport could ever hope for!
On Monday, I saw the brilliance shine forth in the magnificent Arthur Ashe Stadium once again… not quite as exhilarating as last year, but it was there just the same. Andy Murray, with all his own talents and strong will to win was simply overpowered – and he made no excuses either. Perhaps, a precipitation from his men's doubles stint at the Beijing Olympics where he and Stanislas Wawrinka captured the gold for Switzerland, Federer’s added confidence at the net as he tackled Murray showed how he has added yet another number in his repertoire that he could summon when the need arises. Only time will tell how this would help him fetch more of the championship trophies that are up for grabs in the sporting seasons to come. With all the challenges that he endured throughout this season to reach the finals of the US Open and how he celebrated a big point won over Andy Murray with a fist pump and a mighty bellow that reverberated over at Arthur Ashe as if that was the very first time in his career to win a big point like that, perhaps, he discovered a new meaning of the sport that no one else but himself would ever understand. And that might just up the level of his game to yet another high - more awesome than awesome!
People may continue to speculate on his "shaky" stance on court these days, but one thing is for sure, El Maestro still reigns in the tennis world. He understands what winning means and can still will himself to win especially when winning means more than just lifting the victor’s cup, but also about keeping the faith of the multitude of believers in the sport, including himself. He may not be the Number One in the World at the moment, but to me (and without a doubt to many others, too), he is, and will always be, the best tennis champion in the world - ever. Roger that!
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(Photo: Catching tennis fever in Malaysia with new and old friends. I traveled to Malaysia in November 2007 to visit a good friend and to catch the Federer-Sampras exhibition match. In the process, I made new friends. My friends and I couldn't catch El Maestro in the flesh after the match, and so we settled for the flattened larger-than-life version on the wall to take photo with.)
