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2008 Yearbook
First Serve:
The Man Could Not Avoid Beauty
Nine Reasons Why Roger Federer is a Genius
By Bill Simons, Inside Tennis
Some simply understate the matter.
Jon Wertheim proclaimed, Roger “really has the hang of tennis.”
Some overstate it. Eleanor Preston wondered, “Is it possible that
Federer is the most perfect tennis player — the most perfect man
— in the history of everything, ever?”
Others see it as a matter of simple injustice.
“Federer has too many shots in his body” insisted yesterday’s hero
Rod Laver. “It’s hardly fair that one person can do all he does.”
And there are some who make it sound
kind of grandiose. For instance, the London Times said Federer
“gives us his Houdini, Picasso and Lao Tzu. He can be as mellifluous
as Noel Coward, as harsh as Bob Dylan. He can be as canny as Ulysses,
defiant as Hercules, as brilliant as Einstein, as brutal as Genghis
Khan, but ultimately...[he has] a character trait few possess...the
instinct for championship: the understanding of oneself, not just
as a mere winner, but as the best of all. It is something so powerful
that it more or less guarantees the occasional miracle.”
In the end, perhaps it is the humble
signs in the public square that say it best, like the church by
Wimbledon that hung a banner that proclaimed, “And God created
Roger Federer.” And then there was that Swiss fan who held aloft
the sign which read — “Quiet Genius at Work.”
But what makes a genius? What qualities
elevate the gifted ones above us mere
mortals? When we see genius, it amazes. We recognize and embrace it. It
dazzles. There is always a certain elusive quality beyond our grasp.
Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Mozart come to mind. They say genius is
an imaginative, innovative individual who both has an exceptional
intellect as shown in creative and original work and the ability
to leap forward to achieve in a stunning manner that re-shapes the
landscape.
Fair enough, but can we refer to ordinary
folk who’re athletes, who merely toss a ball or hit one over the net
— Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali — as geniuses? Can we call a mere tennis
player a genius? Musicologists deconstruct Beethoven’s power and precision.
Well, let us take a look at tennis’ genius du jour.
Okay, off-court Roger Federer speaks six
languages and calls on airtight (VP in Charge of Operations) management
skills. On-court he combines greyhound speed, flawless mechanics, balletic
grace, explosive power, flicker-fast reflexes, jaw-dropping creativity,
a much-celebrated penchant to switch from defense to offense, and the
uncanny, pedal-to-the-metal ability to either sustain his formidable
focus or switch and go to Plan B. Sorry Andy, Francisco or Lleyton,
he can neutralize your fiercest weapon and beat the field in every
which way. He long has been the best player on all the game’s surfaces,
except clay where he’s a lowly No. 2. A confident, unwavering warrior,
he’s every sports psychologist’s role model and gives new meaning to
the phrase “mentally tough.” Plus, he’s blessed with that often underrated
gift of avoiding bad mistakes, bad injuries, and bad relationships.
Yes, Fed’s record-book rival, Pete Sampras,
consistently delivered over-the-top value and surprising drama. Unlike
Lendl, Pete was far from artless. But, then again, beauty was hardly
his strong suit. In contrast, Fed lifts us to a place of serenity and
delight. Sure, we readily concede that it’s Fed’s flash: his fabled
fluidity and astounding shot-making virtuosity, his in-your-grill forehands,
beautiful (Picasso would be proud) backhand flicks, “gotcha” volleys
and delicious drop shots and lobs that capture our attention and bathe
our senses. After all, fans flocked to see McEnroe’s juicy implosions,
while they watch Fed to partake vicariously of his generous grace.
As David Foster Wallace reminded us, great athletes “catalyze our awareness
of how glorious it is to touch and perceive, move through space, [and]
interact with matter.”
Still, overall, it is the seamless combination
of many assorted elements — little and large — which craft his genius.
Roger’s sum is obviously far grander than all of his ‘Federerian’ parts.
Here before us is a multi-faceted gem. Come let us reflect on the nine
components of the artist’s genius:
#1 VISION
It’s all in the eyes: Ted Williams’ eye
for the ball, Bears’ linebacker Mike Singletary’s legendary laser glare,
or the piercing stare of Mike Tyson. In tennis, no one sees it all
quite like Federer: the spin of the ball, the angles, the blur of Roddick’s
blast, the distant reaches of the court, the meaning of point and match,
season and career. Look closely — in Federer’s eyes there’s an unwavering
(“I’m in control”) certainty. And, yes, try and detect that curious
little hint of serenity.
Vision has always been Roger’s thing. As
a petulant, racket-tossing 15-year-old, he claimed, “You should be
able to play perfectly” and down every foe. Now, presumably near his
peak at 27, he calls on his unblinking vision to conquer the game’s
most coveted record and achieve his singular vision: to be the greatest
of all.
#2 IT’S THE STROKES, STUPID
Those who reflect on the Zen of Fed often
try to unwind a simple koan. What is Roger’s greatest gift? His exquisite
mind that seems to grasp every nuance, or his fearsome forehand that
so often dictates and determines? Proponents (or victims) of his go-to
shot, assert that this is the single font from which Fed mines all
his riches, a pure deep well he draws from time and again. Raised on
clay and blessed with a perfect, easy-flow technique, sublime hands
and explosive power, Fed can come over his forehand unleashing nasty
spin or just spank it flat and firm — WHAM!
It’s simply the game’s most imposing shot
- a defining stroke that allows him to crush foes, to be calm and at
ease while others scurry ‘n’ fetch. Time and again it gives him easy
short balls that he mercilessly dismisses or allows him to gain control
of rallies that inevitably conclude in his favor.
Fed’s forehand sets up everything. It is
both the rock on which his church is built and the formidable flagship
in tennis’ most feared arsenal. Sure Roger’s backhand is his attackable
side. But, so what? It is now in the top five in the game and is a
stunning work of beauty and considerable poetic variety.
Sports Illustrated assessed his game, saying,
“His one-handed backhand is pure liquid. He fires winners off both
flanks with no discernible bias. He massages his volleys, pummels overheads,
picks half-volleys off his shoes and guides them to nooks and crannies
of the court that most other players have yet to discover. His serve
is Samprasian, a silky delivery predicated more on placement than on
power [and] he covers the court as if it were glazed.”
None other than Andre Agassi noted that even
the once-mighty Pete had holes in his game: “There was a place to get
to. There’s no such place with Roger. He’s the best I’ve played.” The
end result — Roger’s foes often have to play their best just to stay
in the rearview mirror.
#3 THERE’S A KIND OF HUSH ALL OVER THE WORLD
When Roger plays there’s a hush — quiet
and prevailing.
At the U.S. Open, Lloyd Carrol noted, “The
aura of Federer looms over this place.” See it as a still confidence
or a distant cousin of mental toughness — the king of calm rarely loses
his center. McEnroe tumbled, Becker leaped, Agassi scampered, Roddick
pounds, Nadal groans. Federer glides. Head still, body in balance —
before us is a twitch-free wonder. Energy-conserving ease is Mr. Perfect’s
signature. All of which begs the question, has this guy descended from
a distant realm, a universe where athletic grace is in the air?
#4 GO AHEAD, CHUNK MY UNIVERSE
If you are not exactly up on what “chunking”
is, you might want to check out that seminal work — Herb Terrace’s
Chunking and Serially Organized Behavior in Pigeons, Monkeys and Humans.
Not intrigued? Well, just know that genius-watchers are all in a dither
about “chunking.”
Here’s the deal. Imagine playing chess for
hours on end. Well, that leads to a certain (“now I know what’s coming”)
coding that the experts call “chunks.” Just call it a kind of memory
mechanism, a way of learning by “storing familiar sequences in your
memory as a single unit, or chunk.” So we understand that Federer —
the game’s potent prince of perception with his No. 1-in-the-class
tennis IQ and years of experience — is the reigning master of anticipation
and positioning.
So when a fast-moving left-handed spin-meister
runs deep into the ad court on break point in the final of a grass
court tourney, Fed knows exactly what the deal is. Along with Agassi,
we’d say he’s the greatest chunker in tennis history. Bruce Jenkins
asserted that under pressure Roger “drifts into an almost dreamlike
state, his every move a beacon of anticipation.” Often a Federer match
seems more like a concerto than a tennis game. A fluid dynamic — elusive,
but real — seems to come into play, as the man elevates both sensory
and situational awareness to a whole new dimension so that his grasp
of the moment, his ability to deal simultaneously with multiple tasks,
to change and improvise and to weather every manner of storm, seamlessly
transcends a single stroke or exchange.
Clearly, he sees the picture — pattern and
probability. For the guy who’s reached an astonishing 10 straight Grand
Slam finals, calls on a singular (“been there, done that”) experience
and his best-in-the-biz on-court insights to empower victory. So it’s
a rare day (flash Rafa Nadal in the last three French Opens) when a
player out-thinks or out-fights the mighty Fed.
More than any player, Roger Federer [who,
yeah, has three “ER’s” in his name, yet is always calm,] senses where
the ball, the game, the match, the tournament, the season and his career
are going. Before facing a threatening foe, others hunker down with
their coach to map out deep-think game plans. Fed says he reflects
on his opponent for about 30 seconds, sets his sights and then is good
to go.
#5 INTRO TO TENNIS MANAGEMENT 101
If mastering the small things is the foundation
of genius, let us bow in honor of the master. The guy’s peak-for-the-moment
management skills would impress the most meticulous surgeon or snootiest
of violin virtuosos. Okay, on-court he doesn’t seem to even break a
sweat, but off-court the guy does sweat the small stuff — big-time.
Asked about Fed, Agassi put it this way: “Tennis is all about not making
bad decisions and Federer hasn’t made any yet.” Yeah, this side of
Sharpova, he’s the game’s leading look-at-me ‘fashionista’.
Still, his ethos is simple, his approach
minimalist. Even if you’ve been No. 1 for a record 207 weeks, continue
to work your butt off (in desert heat, no less). Forget hangers-on
and over-the-top entourages: traveling trainers, sports psychologists
and masseurs need not hover in every port. The best player on the planet
doesn’t even have a coach — go figure.
What does matter are reliable (stay in the
same London house every year) routines and being keen and eager to
fire fast out of the gate at the big, it’s all that really matters,
majors. So at all costs, avoid mental and physical fatigue. Schedule
with a fanatical vigilance: No extra tournaments (like Rafa) permitted,
and midway through the annual grind, renew your weary self with a refreshing
(“So what if I don’t play L.A. or Indy?”) break right after Wimbledon.
Even Federer’s beloved partner — the former Swiss player Mirka Varinec,
who has long been involved in his management is not your typical trophy
gal pal.
Federer is very Swiss, so presumably attention
to detail climbs up and about his Alpine DNA. So maybe that’s why just
about everyone had a conniption when, right after winning Wimbledon,
the flawless one actually stepped into his impeccable F. Scott Fitzgerald
white pants backwards.
#6 ‘CONTENT WITH EVERYTHING’
Young Bjorn Borg walked away. Skittish
John McEnroe found the pressure rather excruciating. Placid Mats Wilander
couldn’t wait to get rid of it. Semi-solitary Sampras thought it an
imposing grind. Being a tennis star, let alone donning the No.1 crown,
can be a drag. But not for Fed. He wears his cape with comfy-in-his-own-skin
ease. It’s not just his love of the game’s history or his what-me-worry
acceptance of his show time celebrity. The guy actually relishes his
role and embraces its glitzy privileges, and accepts it’s tedious obligations.
He’s living the dream. Photo shoots, promos,
fashion week, boring delays, do this, don’t say that, sign this, greet
Tiger and let me introduce you to the vice president of ‘Where-is-that-istan’
— it’s all a withering blur. But Fed does it all with blue-sky aplomb.
Even his girlfriend Mirka is impressed. “I can’t imagine anyone,” she
confesses, “waking up every morning being so content with everything.”
#7 LADY LUCK
After being overcome by Fed at this year’s
U.S. Open, Nikolay Davydenko sashayed into the media room and, with
a straight face, proclaimed that Roger was “always lucky.” Say what?
thought the stunned press corps. But, in a way, the Russian had a point.
Inexplicable events — luck, if you will — have a role in many an endeavor
and just this year the rain delays at Wimbledon played flawlessly into
Fed’s hand as he rested at home without a worry, while others were
stranded in the locker room, anxious to know when they’d play. On a
grander scale, some voices of the past claim Fed’s fortunate to have
played in an era with a relatively soft field. Boris Becker contended,
“He hasn’t got any competition. In the days of McEnroe, there was Borg.
I had Lendl, Agassi and Sampras. Now, on grass, do you see anyone who
can beat him?” Sampras sounded a similar theme: “No one is looking
to come in and put any pressure on him, so he’s able to dominate...He’s
playing in a generation where I don’t see as many great players...He’s
not up against three or four serious threats. The game is probably
stronger across the board. But at the top, outside of Nadal...it is
a little bit thinner...I was facing multiple Grand Slam winners...For
the next four or five years, his competition will be the record book.”
No wonder these days his foes sort of sound
like “Desperate Rivals.” Roddick, who admitted Fed made him “look like
a Buick,” said, “I just want another crack at Federer until my record
is 1-31.” Of course, it’s not Roger’s fault that he is playing against
what some consider a suspect field. Okay, he hasn’t won the French
Open, the Davis Cup or an Olympic gold. And in ‘07, he endured a handful
of pesky upsets, and Rafa [“Didn’t he get the memo on how fab Fed is?”]
Nadal still remains more than a bother, especially on clay. That aside,
the guy has dealt with everything Agassi, Roddick, Safin, Hewitt, Nalbandian,
Djokovic et al, have thrown at him.
#8 ‘I’M ROGER FEDERER AND YOU’RE NOT’
Yeah Roddick dubbed Roger “the most talented
player ever to carry a racket around.” And the ATP brass rarely make
a key move [canceling the round robin experiment, downgrading Monte
Carlo] without consulting Fed, the most politically powerful player
in the game. So it’s not exactly shocking that the guy has a bit of
a (“I’m Roger Federer, and you’re not”) ‘tude.
For starters, unlike most top guys he only
plays Davis Cup for his country on a spot basis. More importantly,
instead of an updated version of that humble ‘Agassian’ modesty which
endeared us to Andre, we often get a blunt, immodest honesty — low-key
and disarming — which nonetheless hints of arrogance. So before the
Aussie Open Roger informed us, “I don’t see why I should be vulnerable.”
After a win over Roddick, he gushed, “I was unbeatable. It’s just unreal.”
As for his career thus far, he confided, “All these Grand Slams since
‘03, that’s what’s really scary, how many I’ve won.” Then again, wasn’t
it Muhammad Ali who informed us that “if it’s true, it ain’t bragging.”
Beyond this, there are times when Fed’s off-the-cuff
candor cracks the door open for those who dare claim he’s smug or even
narcissistic.
• When asked about those ranked right
below him, he said, “I guess Nadal is still No. 2; No. 3, doesn’t matter
much; it’s No. 1 that matters. That’s how it goes.”
• When asked what advice he’d give a player
about to play him: “Don’t even try, pal. You’re probably not going
to win.”
• When asked whether he thought Lleyton
Hewitt, who had lost to him eight straight times, would change his
tactics, Fed quipped, “He could, but then again, he could run
into the knife more brutally.”
Clearly, Fed knows who wears tennis’ brightest
crown. He takes few prisoners and reportedly told his fellow players
not to look at him when he goes into the locker room. On the other
hand, he is widely celebrated for overall being quite the class act
and is widely favored in the locker room. Indeed his opponents have
been accused of being far too deferential.
“Everyone is afraid to criticize him,” claims
France’s Guy Forget, “because he is such a superstar.” And, as his
foes wither in light of his embracing aura, they implicitly elevate
him and kind of give him a bit of a pass, enabling him to begin play
with a leg up. But George Vecsey noted, “If the naughty Jimbo [Connors]
had run into a serene force like Federer, he would have aggressed the
gracious Swiss or upended the potted flowers or bent the rules about
bathroom breaks or trainer visits, just to disrupt the flow.”
But then again, who among us has come eye
to eye with the player who recently called reaching a Grand Slam final
“almost routine”; who inevitably slams the door shut when it comes
to dicey tie-breaks or big finals; who’s won Wimbledon and the U.S.
Open back to back four times in a row and has been No. 1 since Elvis
died, or so it seems.
#9 A BEAUTY APART
Athletic genius relates only in part to
career earnings and rankings. Rather, it is more about the joy of play,
the delight of improvisation, the dance of imagination, the elation
of victory. This is what kindles Federer’s fire. We see it flash when
he unleashes a dipping, out-of-nowhere backhand or an (“Oh my God,
did you see that?”) cross-court winner.
Roger’s pre-eminence since winning the ‘03
Aussie Open has been so stunning that there is a cottage industry on
how to beat the guy. His prime human rival isn’t even a tennis player
[i.e. will Tiger break Jack Nicklaus’ record for most golf majors ever,
before Federer breaks Sampras’ mark.] And ultimately his real foe is
but history itself.
Lendl, Becker, Nadal, and Roddick are/were
all mighty muscle men. But Roddick himself noted the obvious, saying,
“The advantage I have is just hitting the crap out of the ball. Federer
has flash, feel, artistry.” Borg, Edberg and Laver were all inspired.
Few called them geniuses. Sampras was a dominant and fearsome power
player who moved well, but was a modest force on clay. Ilie Nastase
was an inspired shot-maker, but was sabotaged by oversized flaws.
In fact, the annals of modern tennis are
crowded with iconic figures [Think: Billie Jean King/loud feminist-pioneer;
Chris Evert/apple-pie princess; Jimmy Connors/raging gladiator: Bjorn
Borg/quiet knight; John McEnroe/enfant terrible; Arthur Ashe/voice
of conscience.] Even still, Federer — the Baron of Beauty — stands
alone. The man brings it all together — from the different surfaces
he wins on to all the different challengers he’s rebuffed in oh-so-many
ways; from his MBA-like management skills off the court to his NBA-like
athleticism on court.
Yet ultimately what prompts us to pause in
wonder is his innovative virtuosity. Do you recall Federer sprinting
far off court to strike, on the run, a leaping overhead winner off
of a Roddick overhead? Unbelievable! Or maybe you can picture the 47-stroke
rally with Hewitt at Indian Wells. Breathtaking!
“He makes it look so effortless,” noted the
adept tennis analyst Tiger Woods. “But it’s not. He creates shots and
angles and [does] things no one in history has ever been able to do.”
“Federer’s moments of aggression,” added the Guardian, “are so pure
that his opponents seem almost incidental to the proceedings.”
No wonder Sue Mott suggested, “It cannot
be long before our dictionary writers are asked a to absorb the verb
‘to Federer’ meaning to demolish with gasp-inducing precision.’”
In the end, we are left to ask, is it true,
as Paul Weaver claims, that “Federer remains...[the] champion of all
sport, for no one in any other arena can match his style, panache,
his aesthetic appeal”?
Maybe so. And maybe that’s why Simon Barnes
compared “Our Roger” to the father of all geniuses. “It is becoming
increasingly apparent,” he noted “that Federer was Leonardo da Vinci
in a previous life...[And] while Leonardo was perhaps the last man
on earth to understand the entirety of Western thought and culture...Federer
seeks only to defeat other tennis players, but to do so in a way that
avoids beauty is beyond him.”
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