Another fable to the legend of Roger Federer

Pratik Dogra What transforms mortals into legends? It has to be more than the fact that they are most successful. After all, with so many yardsticks defining success… half the world (if not more) would be legendary by now! May be success that inspires others, helps creates a legend… still unconvincing? Okay… legends are born geniuses who do what they must and by their sheer wizardary, captivate their peers, capture the imaginations of the masses and then perform the final transition of being the most successful of their times… to being the greatest of any era! (Phew) The person around whom I drafted this definition of a legend was Roger Federer, or simply, FedEx. So, Federer is a legend; is he? Of course he is! A look at his mind boggling numbers tell us the stuff he is made of.He has won a RECORD 15 Grand Slam singles titles between 2003 till present… six of them at his favourite Wimbledon surface, including five on a trot! He has three Australian Open titles, five US Open titles and a solitary French Open title, which he bagged last month, that complete his record haul… and he has an Olympic gold medal to boot… besides the numerous ATP titles, 237 consecutive weeks as the top-ranked player.... and so on. Where Federer is concerned, the number game would require a write-up in itself. But this piece concerns itself with the greatness that prefixes Federer. I read somewhere that the ‘true test of greatness lies on how a person responds during an adversity’. So, here is a flashback to 2008. Federer had endured a fairytale career conquering the world of tennis by his strokes of genius, almost unchallenged. But a month after being demolished at the French Open final by Rafael Nadal (clay had always proven to be Federer’s Waterloo until last month), he was deposed of his Wimbledon crown by the same usurper. His number one ranking was taken away. Worst followed when he was knocked out early at Olympics in singles. His pride was hurt as people started writing him off. He already had a dozen Grand Slams to his name. He had stayed at the top for more than four years. He had practically achieved every thing that can be achieved on a tennis court. So what if he could not win the French Open… he `was` a great player but it was a matter of time before he would be overtaken by the likes of Nadals and Tsongas and the Djokovics. His era had ended - ran the general perception. The ‘was’ a great player snide apparently did not go well with Federer and he plotted his revival at the Olympics itself. A pumped up Federer teamed up with Stanislas Wawrinka to win doubles Gold at the Olympics. Playing for his nation’s pride, he resembled a wounded tiger in his ferociousness to make amends for the season’s reversals. He ended the year with a US Open title, but still number two behind Nadal. The year started on a promising note and even though he lost the finals of the Australian Open (to Nadal again), after which he famously broke down, his game suggested that all the predictions pertaining the end of the Federer era had been premature. The turning point for Federer this season was when he finally buried his ‘clay demons’ at Madrid when he beat Nadal in the finals of an ATP event. His determination was palpable at the French Open as well where he resisted the temptation of getting distracted by his nemesis Nadal’s shock early exit to beat giant killer Soderling to clinch his first ever French Open title, in the process equaling Pete Samparas’ record of 14 Grand Slams. He kept up his intensity and focus and fittingly, it was at Wimbledon where he scaled the summit. A crowd favourite everywhere, Federer is held in high regards by all past greats as well as his rivals. While Samparas thinks that Federer is a stud, Nadal can barely hide his guilt everytime he beats Federer. Even as McEnroe and co never tire singing his praise, the young crop literally hero worship him. A great player and even a greater human being, his single minded pursuit of perfection promises to add a lot more glory to the legend of Roger Federer. Who says perfection is boring. In case of Federer, it`s just the beginning!