Movies shows you the greatest comeback stories. The protagonist always overcomes seemingly unsurmountable obstacles to acheive the ultimate success against all odds. Its always a hit formulae with the thrill and drama to keep the audience at the edge of their seats. Sometimes reality even matches the thrill of a movie and rarely it manages to even surpass the thrills of a movie and give you an unforgettable experience. We witnessed such an unforgettable sporting event a fortnight ago unravel at the Rod Laver Arena in the Mens Australian open Final between the two legends of the game , Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Much has been written about this final but why it took so much time for an ardent Fed fan to write about the same? Well it took some time to sink in this unbelivable feat. The significance and the magnitude of this magnanimous win is humungous. It is the greatest comebacks the sport has ever seen.
Six months away from the game " The Fed" loves and cherishes , after a knee surgery , at 35 yrs old, after three five set matches, with a new groin/ quad injury defeats his greatest rival , 17th seeded Roger Federer overcomes his hardest obstacle, to lift 18th Major , can anything be more dramatic and surreal?. This 18th major in a list of already unparalled achievements in a glittering career , simply stands out to be the greatest milestone victory.
What made this happen? When you talk about Federer you always think of how talented he is , how easy is for him to hit forehands , backhands , half volleys. In Andre Agassis words " I love how he makes such a physical game look so effortless and graceful" . But we forget the hard work he has put in his entire career to make his style of play look so effortless. After the recuperence of the knee injury in the Wimbledon 16 semifinal he shut down his season in order to get healthy and prolong his career. He started with mountain trekking to strengthen his kness. Later he spent time in gym to strenghen the back. After that started his training with long time fitness coach Pierre Paganini. Then started to play some light tennis under the watchful eyes of coaching duo of Sverin luthi and Ivan ljubicic with fitness trainer Daniel Troxler . Slowly and steadily the training picked up pace and by the end of December last year "The Fed" was ready to go. The intensity and hard work in the training was evident from the live half an hour practise session which Roger broadcasted on social platform periscope.
Then in his own word this unbelivable win at the start of the season which no one predicted.Rafael Nadal, the ultimate warrior of tennis, the greatest fighter, was up a break in the fifth set. Federer had to overcome an injury which was much more serious than his knee injury, it was between the ears ,in his own brain, the telling blows which Rafael Nadal inflicted with his grand slam victories over the years. Of the 14000 odd people in the Rod Laver Arena and millions following the game , everybody lost hope , but only one man believed, the man which mattered the most, Roger Federer himself. Down by the early break of serve, federer produced winner after winner , shot after shot, it was pure magic, which Nadal had no answers . After 3 and a half hours of pulsating high octane tennis, federer lifted the Norman brooks cup for the 5th time and by securing his 18th Major perhaps settled the GOAT debate once and for all.
But more than the win it is the manner of winning which spellbounded the audience. Its once again made us realize what we missed in this six months of Exile. Hugh Clarke of the magazine "The Roar" explained this beautifully.In his words,
" In an era of muscles, grunts, and baseline thuggery, Federer's game hums quietly in the forecourt with deft touches and impossible angles.
‘Poetry in motion’ was a term coined well before it had reference to Federer, but I doubt there is an example more apt. He moves like water and creates shots that leave opponents - and the crowd - utterly puzzled.
He plays the brutal modern game with the style and grace of a throwback gent. In the tense cauldron of big matches Federer's poise is still evident, captured in photographs and videos. In real time all we see is dancing footwork and blurs of his racquet snapping through the ball like a liquid whip. Enough to mesmerise us still, but there is so much more, so much genius hidden in the confines of a millisecond.
It is the way Federer won that transcended the sport and captured our attention. And this is ultimately what sport must do, entertain and inspire. The tennis he produces has style, power, and genius beautifully meshed together to form a mesmerising show. Win or lose, he provides us with more than a result, it is an experience. Unforgettable.
What Roger Federer does with that wand of a racquet is the greatest show in tennis, and possibly sport. And that is why he is the greatest."
This win has done one thing to his doubters , those who always ask about his age. They will never ask his age again because they now know " You never ask God what is his age, as he will remain God irrespective of his age" . Roger is ageless.
Martin samuel of "Daily Mail" has this wonderful take on the season ahead.
"And what do we say now, after No 18? What is there to say except, perhaps, thanks. Thanks for that. Thanks for a final that may come to define the career of one of the most remarkable athletes tennis, or any sport, has ever known.
Thanks for the encore. Thanks for that last set. Thanks for another glimpse of a talent so beautiful, so perfect, yet rooted in such extremes of determination and athleticism that we may not see its like again. If this is the last hurrah of Federer he has given us more than enough, but his last gift is hope; the hope that we will see him tread this path, or one similar, again.
For if Federer can win in Melbourne at 35 years and 174 days — and he’d have felt every one of them at some stage, no doubt — then what might he be capable of 119 days from now when the French Open starts? "
He has given every reason to BE19VE more. Federer is scheduled to play his next tournament in dubai in a couple of weeks. Fed fans, for now lets enjoy this extended video of the Unforgettable Australian Open. "Video Credits: lehunterpro ". Also haters (if any) watch this, this is your chance to redeem yourself.
Video link:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IaN3MOPpnIw
