The name's Federer... Roger Federer

I know writing a blog 'on' a person sounds very strange. But since I've started following (& understanding) lawn tennis, I've never viewed Roger Federer as a person. He's a phenomenon. He's an enigma. He is, in fact, what every sportsman ever dreams to be, no matter what his trade be. Now, of course, there are others in that elite league as well. We have Sachin Tendulkar, we have Tiger Woods, we have Valentino Rossi, we have Steven Gerrard, we have Kobe Bryant... all great coeval players in their respective fields (leaving the veterans for the historians.... no offense!). And then, Valentino Rossi's 100th MotoGP win, did prompted me to write something, but then I found Federer's story a little more spicy and a wee-more inspirational. (no offense to Rossi again... you're my favorite biker 'DOC'!)

Sunil Gavaskar quoted, "The spirit of the true champion is to perform his best in the most adverse situations and come out on top". Seeing Federer's successive defeats at Roland Garros, and his bad run during the last year, apprehension were raised about culmination of his peak era. But again, he showed (and not proved.. because he doesn't needs to), what a champion player he is. First, the French Open to equal Pete Sampras in the number of Grand Slam titles. And then, the coveted Wimbledon, he broke Sampras' record, who had specially flown to London to watch the final. It was the longest match in the history of Grand Slams, in terms of number of games played. The 5th set, which was a grueling marathon of aces, drop shots, cross-court slashes and deceptive back-hands, was the longest ever in the record of this game. 16-14, (just because there is no tie-breaker in the final set), was how long the game went. A fantastic display of brilliance and chutzpah from both players. The heart-beats were shunting between the zenith and the nadir with each minute towards the end of the game. And if this was for the audience, imagine what must be going through the minds of those two in the middle. But, one held his nerves a little longer.

I logged onto my facebook homepage after Federer won the Wimbledon final and found that my 'wall' was full of status updates related to the final. "Hail Federer the King", "Welcome to #1, Roger", "Kudos to Roger, but my heart feels for Roddick" were some of those floating on the top. If Roddick was fighting for glory, Federer was battling for his pride. No doubt, both the finalists played their hearts out, but still rules are always cruel to the runner-up. One had to win. The world is happy to see its favorite, and indeed one of the greatest tennis player of all times, back at the apex position. We will celebrate, pop-up champagne bottles, text our friends, hug our dear ones, update our facebook pages and not to forget, write blogs on the enigmatic champion. But Federer's win, the manner in which he won, the circumstances under which he won... offer a little more than just another reason to celebrate. It gives us a story of inspiration. A story of struggle. A story of self-conviction and pulling yourself together in the bad times. A story of TRIUMPH.