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January 30, 2006
Federer Shows He's Human After Winning in Australia
By Christopher Clarey, New York Times
MELBOURNE, Australia, Monday, Jan. 30 — It was a wet
final weekend at the Australian Open, one when all four singles
finalists ended up in tears on the court and behind the scenes for very
different reasons.
Even Roger Federer,
who should be quite accustomed to the thrill of Grand Slam victories by
now, lost his composure as he searched for words in Rod Laver Arena
with Rod Laver standing behind him. "He was a big percentage of
the reason I got so emotional," Federer said after his 5-7, 7-5, 6-0,
6-2 victory over Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus on Sunday. "To be honest,
whether I had won or lost, it would have been emotional because he was
here." Like Pete Sampras before him, Federer has an acute appreciation for the history of the
game, and Laver, the only man to complete two Grand Slams, is the
player who resonates most powerfully through the hearts and minds of
young champions. Laver was in the stands in New York when Sampras
won his 14th and final major title, at the United States Open in 2002,
and now, in the stadium in Melbourne that bears his name, Laver watched
Federer win his latest major title. The physical link to the past
seemed particularly fitting Sunday, because Federer, at this stage of
his phenomenal career, is getting more competition from the game's
former greats than he is from his contemporaries. He has now won
7 of the last 11 Grand Slam singles titles, including the past three.
This victory allowed him to pass the likes of Boris Becker,
Stefan Edberg, Jack Crawford and Don Budge, who all won six majors.
With his career count at seven, Federer is on equal terms with men like John McEnroe, Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet, John Newcombe and Mats Wilander. But
what is perhaps most telling is that he is now on equal terms with
Sampras, who won the first seven titles of his record total before he
turned 25. Federer turns 25 in August. "It does mean a lot to
me," Federer said in a late-night interview at Melbourne Park that took
place long after his tears dried. "Pete's right up there with Rod
Laver. He's just not 68 years old yet. He's definitely going to be at
one time as big as Rod Laver, because we'll be looking back at his
record and going, 'Wow! How in the world did he do that?' I'm already
fascinated by what he has achieved, and I feel very happy that I
actually got the chance to play him." Federer defeated Sampras in a classic five-set match in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001. "I
don't really care that I won or not," Federer said. "But it was just
nice that I had the chance to play him, so maybe one day we can talk
about it. How he actually went through that match and how I felt
through that match. It's just very interesting, and now having very
similar careers at the same ages, it's quite frightening actually." There
are many similarities, including the effectiveness of their running
forehands, and they are also linked by their ability to win every major
but the French Open. Sampras never made it past the semifinals
on the red clay at Roland Garros. Federer made his first semifinal
appearance there last year, losing to the Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal. This
year, Federer will return to Paris with a chance to win his fourth
major title in a row, something he is already calling a Roger Slam in
reference to Serena Williams's self-styled Serena Slam when she won four in a row between 2002 and 2003. "That would be incredible, more incredible than actually winning just the first two of the calendar year," Federer said. As
for the true Grand Slam, which means winning all four majors in the
same calendar year, Federer still considers such excited chatter
premature. "I think more of maybe winning four in a row than
winning four in a row this year, because that would be six in a row,
and that would be insane almost," he said. "I'm really just more
focused on the French. Keep it simple and just try to do well and go a
couple of steps further than last year. I've said it many times. I
think I gave myself a chance last year. It's going to be interesting
because the focus is going to be very big. It's good for the game. I
hope Rafa is back to challenge me." Nadal, still second in the
rankings, missed this tournament because of foot problems and has yet
to set a firm date for his return to the tour. The former champion Andre Agassi was also missing because of the effects of an ankle injury, although he
is set to start his 2006 season on Monday at the tournament in Delray
Beach, Fla. Last year's Australian Open champion, Marat Safin, also did not play in Melbourne because of injury. But
Federer and Baghdatis ably bridged the charisma gap, and for two sets,
their unlikely final was terrific theater, even though Federer was edgy
and far from his best. He missed forehands and first serves in bunches
as the 54th-ranked Baghdatis, a Cypriot, was the actor more than the
reactor. "I was sweating like crazy," Federer said. "Because I
had to fight so hard on my own service games that I thought, 'Well, if
this is going to continue like this, I'll probably lose.' " But
the role reversal was soon to come to an end, and the quick change was
in perfect harmony with this tournament, in which the weather and the
game's leading player blew hot and cold. Federer needed five sets to
beat Tommy Haas in the fourth round and also struggled at times against
Nikolay Davydenko in their four-set quarterfinal. But in the end,
he was more than good enough to win a second Australian Open to go with
his 2004 title. He also extended his record in Grand Slam finals to
7-0. No player in the modern history of the game has managed that. The
only other men to do it were Richard Sears and William Renshaw at
Wimbledon in the 19th century, a time when the reigning champion had to
win only one match to defend his title. Federer does not have it
so easy, but he is unquestionably in a class of his own. The touching
thing about him, as his mood on the victory stand made clear, is that
he is not taking his success for granted. Baghdatis had seen
Federer cry before. When Federer won his first Wimbledon in 2003,
Baghdatis was watching on television while playing in a small
tournament in France. "I saw him cry, and I start crying," Baghdatis said. This
time, they were both crying in the same place. "He is a great person,"
Baghdatis said. "He shows a lot. He gives a lot to the people, I think.
It's just so emotional up there. You cannot control yourself."
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