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Saturday, July 3, 2004
Federer is One of a Kind
By Mert Ertunga, Sports Central
If you like watching a hard-hitting, aggressive player like
Andy Roddick, chances are you did not enjoy the Roland Garros final two
weeks earlier. If you did enjoy that match, well, then you probably
have not enjoyed watching Wimbledon where sometimes rallies last
shorter than a regular breath taken during rest.
If you are a serve and volley fan, your choices are limited to Tim
Henman and a few others on a very short list. One single tennis player
can't possibly quench the various thirsts of all tennis fans for
high-quality performance, right? Actually, one person can!
Whether you are a fan of baseliners, serve-and-volley style, or an
all-court style of tennis, one thing is certain: you will enjoy
watching Roger Federer.
Pete Sampras is arguably the best player in the history of tennis.
The word "arguably" would be taken out of that sentence in a heartbeat
had Sampras proved a little more resourceful on clay courts. Not only
did he fail miserably at Roland Garros each year, but also has fewer
clay court titles to account for in an otherwise splendid career, than
the fingers on one hand.
Most players can dominate on one surface and unlike Sampras, can
even win a title here and there on even their disliked surfaces. But
certainly no player can dominate on all surfaces, right? Actually,
Federer can!
The man has "Federer expressed" his way to an Australian Open title
on hard, only losing two sets. Then he conquered the Masters Series
title in Hamburg on clay, outwitting from the baseline opponents like
Carlos Moya, Gaston Gaudio, and Guillermo Coria whose careers mostly
depend on clay court tournament results. Oh, and as far as grass court
goes, Federer has won his last three grass court tournaments, prior to
Wimbledon.
Speaking of the best player of all times, Rod Laver accomplished
winning the Grand Slam twice during his career. Don Budge was the only
other man to complete the Grand Slam, back in 1938.
Winning all four majors is next to impossible. It is the ultimate
achievement in tennis, one that even "big-time" champions such as Pete
Sampras keep on their wish list forever and ever. Some have come close
in the past, Jimmy Connors won three of them in 1974, but was not
allowed to compete in Roland Garros, Mats Wilander won three of them in
1988, but failed in Wimbledon. Andre Agassi has won them all, but not
in the same year.
Especially now that all four majors are on a wide variety of
surfaces, it seems that no player can win all four majors. Actually,
Federer can!
He has not done it as of now. But he has several more "good" years
left. Furthermore, if anyone has the goods to reach this so-called
"pinnacle" of tennis, Federer is that man. Of course, he will need the
right breaks at the right time. For example, he will have to stay
injury-free, or he will have to have a good draw in one or two of the
Slams, or even get lucky and perform at peak levels during those eight
weeks out of the year.
Nevertheless, no single player since Laver (apologies to John
McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Sampras) has shown this much potential in
terms of winning on all surfaces and all different conditions.
Most critics claim that tennis players need to be more outward with
their emotions on the court to gain popularity. They must donate their
tennis game with a "colorful" personality, so to speak. Most tennis
watchers find tennis players boring because they do not yell enough, or
pump their fists with more flare, etc. Basically, their argument is a
tennis player can't rise to the peak of popularity unless they display
some sort of gorish behavior, a la John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors.
Actually, Federer can!
While players like Marat Safin and Goran Ivanisevic have grown in
popularity due to their outbursts and severe racket abuse on the court
accompanied with brilliant display of tennis skills occasionally, Roger
Federer has managed to tweak the interest of all tennis fans across the
globe solely with sheer brilliance in creativity, blissful movement,
and extraordinary array of strokes at his disposition. No tennis player
this quiet on the court has created this much fandom since Bjorn Borg,
otherwise known as "IceBorg."
So next time you turn on your television set and see Federer display
his talent, sit back and enjoy because I guarantee that you will enjoy
the show. How can I guarantee this? Because Federer can!
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