The Federer Express

So, I am a Federer fan. The Fed has made watching tennis meaningful again. And his stunning display of emotion after winning the 2006 Australian Open only makes him that much more of an endearing champion.

Especially when you have a stark contrast available in Justine Henin-Herdenne. Maybe she really desparately wanted to live up to the characterization of people of her country as portrayed in the comedy Yes Minister. To paraphrase, "...Common Market official ...has the organizing capacity of the Italians, the flexibility of the Germans and the modesty of the French... the imagination of the Belgians, the generosity of the Dutch and the intelligence of the Irish". I can't imagine how she could have even thought of justifying her pull out, and I am sure she did not even imagine how her lack of grace toward the eventual winner will play out. The telling moment was when a concerned Amelie Mauresmo (lets not forget, she was once dissed as being half-a-man) had the class and grace to go and talk to JHH and inquire after her health.

Someone somewhere (probably was Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated) had written that Federer looked uncharacteristically mortal at the Aussie Open, and yet found a way to win. In a way, this elevates the Fed.

Maybe even like how the boring Pistol Pete Sampras suddenly became a crowd favorite after he uncharacteristically broke down in tears during the 1995 Aussie Open quarters.

Apparently the similarties between these two great players are a lot more than meets the eye.

Oh..the sheer joy of watching tennis at its fluid best

Roger Federer stood about six feet inside the baseline on the right half of the court, waiting patiently for his opponent Lleyton Hewitt to fire a return to his side of the court. Then like a tiger waiting to attack, he pounced upon it, planting his legs so his body gave him the perfect angle he desired and fired a forehand winner, which curved a steep left and danced away from Hewitt. "Obscene angle", one of the commentators called it.

You would call it obscene too if you were watching it. All you could do then was to stare in awe and disbelief that the "artist in motion on a tennis court" Federer can even launch such winners. Hewitt, the ever so gracious runner-up to Federer conceded - his shot selection is impeccable, and he has superb reach and can make almost any shot.

Watching him play the Wimbledon and US Open finals has given me a new hope that tennis would be a worthwhile sport to follow again. Afterall, for someone who grew up watching another artist-on-court Becker and the ever gentle Swede serve-volleyer Edberg, it was getting oh-so-boring to watch baseline duels where the players would slug it out from six to eight feet behind the baseline, and points were decided by not deft movements at the net or a flick of wrist passing shot or a delicate volley, but by stupid forehand/backhand errors or shots sailing wide due to sheer pace from an opponents return. Sampras and Agassi provided a wonderful watch, but with Sampras retiring, and Agassi in the sunset of his career, tennis was getting boring.

And then, Along Came Federer..he who was a wild kid with immense potential...he who suddenly woke up and said, I can do this...he who is one of the fortunate few who has realized his potential and started acting upto and beyond it.

What is even more amazing is that Federer's amazing 2004 run at the ATP Tour has come at a time while he is his own coach. And how successful is he in being his own coach? Look no further than his performance in the Championship match at the All-England Club to capture the Wimbledon Men's Singles title. A rain delay forced the players to take a 40 minute breather, and when play resumed, he had talked himself into mounting aggressive challenges to the challenge thrown at him by Andy Roddick. Said Roddick in the presentation ceremony, "I threw the sink at him, and he went in and got the bath-tub!".

The gentle Swiss, who loves to watch the play of another artist on the football pitch, Zinedine Zidane, has the knack for that cliched term - making something out of nothing. Time and again, both against Agassi in the Quarter-finals and Hewitt in the finals, you would see him make a shot, where, when the ball left his racquet, it seemed to be headed long, only to have it drop just inches inside the baseline.

He has been gracious enough to accept the cow presented to him at the 03 Swiss Open in Gstaad. And he was gracious enough to accept the Alp-horn presented to him at this years Swiss Open. And he is appreciative enough of people's goodwill that he is raising the cow at a pasture, and also learning to play the alp-horn. I guess he is doing that so in the 05 Swiss Open, he can entrall the home-crowd to a dual symphony - tennis on-court, and music on the alp-horn.

For now though, what is here is the simple fact that Roger Federer has given milllions of us tennis fans a glimpse at the glorious past of tennis, when artistry and skill of play ruled over the brute power of serves and returns. Nothing against people who rely on their huge serves and booming forehands but I would rather watch a sledge-hammer at work rather than watch robot-machine like serves.

Good luck Roger Federer. You are already a great champion, and may you also find a way to win that elusive title on the red-clay of Roland Garros.