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July 14, 2006
Federer and his magic
By C Shyam Sundar, News Today
'Seeing Federer at his best
is like listening to a master pianist playing a Mozart concerto.' — Tennis
legend Martina Navratilova.
Veteran Swede Jonas Bjorkman
must have felt that way after being swept away in the Wimbledon semifinal.
Anyway, he had the best seat to watch the magician Roger Federer at work
on a day when he hardly got anything wrong.
The manner in which the Swiss
world number goes about playing the game, everyone would be tempted to
try a hand at tennis. Resplendent strokes, brilliant footwork and great
courtcraft make an awesome combination. The four-time champ at Wimbledon
was at his best in this year's edition of the tournament, which just passed
into the history books. Handed a tough draw, he was in supreme form right
through and sliced past the tricky Richard Gasquet, Tim Henman and the
others before wearing down the Spanish matador Rafael Nadal.
During the finale against
Nadal, the Swiss stylist showed that he could match his rival stroke for
stroke from the back of the court while at times bamboozling the big-hitter
with stunning angles and brilliant shots.
Significantly even during
the long rallies, never once did Federer appear to be hammering the life
out of the fuzzy yellow thing unlike his rival, who was all power. The
silken grace of the champ comes a whiff of fresh air in an era in which
new technology and graphite racquets have tilted the balance in favour
of power-hitters. Without any great effort, the modern day players generate
immense power and hence baseline hackers rule the roost.
It must be noted that serve
and volleyers are a vanishing breed, thanks to the advent of technology
and lighter racquets. Power was the in-thing in tennis and touch players
are 'finished.' However, the emergence of Federer, graceful play appears
to be still in vogue.
There is a certain gracefulness
about the manner in which Federer wields the racquet. He has so far lorded
the tennis circuit with his elegant play and only the brute force of Nadal
has proved a hurdle.
The rivalry between the Swiss
ace and the Spaniard has the makings of being a classic over the years,
primarily because of the contrasting style the two employ. However, Nadal
seems to have closed in on the reigning world number one this season and
his ultra-aggressive play swept away Federer till things changed on the
lawns of Wimbledon.
It must be remembered that
in the Wimbledon final, a virtuoso performance by Federer in the first
set made the difference. Nadal has apparently brought the best out of the
Swiss every time they have met. When the going gets tough, the tough get
going, it is said. This have been proved by Federer in ample measure. However,
for him to join the pantheon of greats and realise his dream of conquering
the slow clay of Roland Garros, it would take a lot more, what with Nadal
threatening to dominate on the surface in no uncertain terms.
The US Open next month which
would be the next battleground for the two gladiators, who have taken the
game to a higher level in 2006. For Federer, who has made a habit of dishing
out splendiferous performances, it would take more than genius to tame
Nadal in his journey to greatness.
The man from Basle is intelligent
enough to widen his repertoire and vanquish all-comers in that quest.
And, for the tennis connoisseur,
the better he gets it is fine. Federer enchants and will continue to in
the years to come.
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