Australian Open 2007 Roger Federer added another victim to his bodycount. This time the victim is Swede Jonas Björkman. With his display Fedex of power he managed to shove headlines such as the riots and the immense heat to the background.
Ofcourse the extreme circumstances of Tuesday was mentioned. The organisation of the Australian Open was forced to move matches to the evening. Larry Scott, CEO of the WTA, indicated that the agreements made about playing tennis under extreme weather circumstances required adjustments.
“The health of the players is top priority. I have been worried about the risks that were taken Tuesday.”
Federer agreed and said that the heat on the courts is unbelieveable and it’s not just the sun but also the heat that comes from under the courts. According to him it feels as if your feet are on fire.
Maybe that’s why, the weather was a little clouded en therefore lesser warm. Federer kept his second round match short against doubles specialist Jonas Björkman. Björkman was unable to take a set against the unstoppable Swiss. The endscore: 6-2, 6-3,6-2.
Federer’s next match is against Russian Mikhail Youzhny who beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei in three sets 7-5,6-4,6-4.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is Great for Tennis – and Sports
Written by Alessandro Nicolo
Here’s the thing: tennis is one of those sports I play more than I watch. It’s just one of those things. There’s not enough time in a day for me to watch every sport. On the other hand if someone would pay me – trust me – I’m watching anything.
You’re reading the words of a guy who has watched curling on more than one occasion.
Tennis is a great game. The athletic demands are complimented by the technical aspects of mastering the sport. A few years ago my close friend, a former tennis player and instructor, told me that by the time he’s done Roger Federer may very well be the greatest tennis player who ever lived. I took those words seriously since my friend was not into hyperbole. More sober and sane than he they don’t come. “There no weaknesses in his game,” he said.
Well, Roger Federer won his 10th men’s singles grand slam title, winning in straight sets over a feisty Fernando Gonzalez at the Australian Open. That’s good for fifth all-time, which ties Federer with Bill Tilden. He’s two titles behind Ray Emerson and only one behind Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver.
More importantly, at 26 he is just four grand slam titles away the all-time leader Pete Sampras.
Wow.
Tennis has a problem on its hands. Through most of the sport’s history tennis was blessed with classic rivalries. Who can forget those battles in the 1970s and 1980s between Borg, McEnroe, Connors and Lendl? Sampras and Agassi had a thing going too. But who will dance with Roger?
Andy Roddick has the attitude and will to challenge him, but if his serve is off he struggles. Rafael Nadal has flair and is blessed with a more complete game but outside of clay he’s a mere mortal.
In modern tennis there is no one that comes remotely close to Roger Federer. His dominance is pure net – excuse the bad pun. What captivates me is how smooth and beautiful his game really is. He’s perfect in all aspects of the game without looking like a robot.
Let me take this a step further. Forget statistics. I’m dropping the gloves here. Forget Tiger Woods. Forget Babe Ruth, Pele, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. Forget Michael Schumacher and Mohammed Ali – to name a few.
Yeah, I may be getting excited here but I’m going with a sports junkie’s instinct here. People will always debate Montana or Unitas? Chamberlin or Jordan? Lemieux, Orr, Howe or Gretzky? Even Pele has legitimate challengers in Diego Maradona and Alfredo di Stefano. Some even swear that we wasn’t the greatest Brazilian player ever. For this they look to Garrincha.
For his part, Ali is sometimes not referred as the greatest heavyweight of all time. It’s notoriously hard to judge auto racing or cycling – though Eddie Merckx can easily plead his case as the greatest cyclist ever. Come to think of it, he Woods come as the closest challengers that I can think of. But even experts admit Tiger has some weaknesses to his game. I’ve yet ot hear that about Federer.
I know I’m mixing some team sports in there but you get the picture. Yes, tennis has had its fair share of dominant players. The consensus however has Rod Laver as the greatest and most complete player ever. Sampras has the numbers to back him up.
I recognize all that. Still…
There is a very real chance that when Federer retires he may close out his career as the most dominant professional athlete ever.
Just for that I’ll be watching. There may not be any parity in tennis (sometimes dynasties are just plain good) but Federer’s class and elegance may just enough for sports fans to forgive and forget.
Alessandro Nicolo – the hack with a knack – is a freelance writer and sedentary bon vivant living in Montreal.