Roger—Roger—Any one hear me? It’s the 8th record title!!
It is quite possible there is something wrong with Roger
Federer. Loud snorer? Lousy tipper? Doesn't turn his phone off at the movies?
But as the greatest male tennis player of this or any era
again suspended disbelief by winning a record eighth Wimbledon title one
month before his 36th birthday with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Croatian Marin
Cilic, nothing sprang to mind.
This, as much as Federer's ornate game, is what continues to
make the peerless Swiss a wonderfully refreshing presence in the often
rancorous world of professional sport.
Because Federer conducts himself in the same sublimely
serene way he plays, we have appreciated his incredible talent, his historic
achievements and now his unexpected renaissance without being sidetracked by
the egocentric strutting and ostentatious trappings adopted by so many
superstars.
Age,
injuries no barrier to Federer
That victory was at the start of a tail-wagging season in
which Federer has not merely eked out a few more titles, but played with the
freedom and flourish that seemed permanently curtailed by knee and back
injuries. This Wimbledon title was not the defiant act of some punch-drunk pug
somehow grappling opponents into submission with ringcraft and bloody-minded
desperation. Federer was at the very height of his powers, not losing a single
set on his way to the podium. Only in the first few games did Cilic have a
foothold in the final, and the green rug was pulled swiftly from beneath him.
You sense in the wide-eyed wonder Federer sometimes
expresses about his own game, he now plays tennis for the same reason Yo-Yo Ma
plays the cello — just to experience that sense of near perfection few will ever
know. There were also a few still unbroken records to keep Federer interested. With
his eighth Wimbledon title, he broke a tie between Pete Sampras and William
Renshaw (the Englishman who won his seven titles when the courtesy car was a
horse and coach).
Roger's
Wimbledon choice pays off
In a sense, Federer cherry-picked this Wimbledon title. Ivan
Lendl famously bypassed the 1990 French Open, a tournament he almost certainly
would have won, to train on grass in Australia hoping to win Wimbledon. He lost
in the semi-finals. Conversely, Federer bypassed a French Open where he would
have almost certainly lost to conserve his energy for Wimbledon, where one
after another his storied rivals, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray,
succumbed to injury and exhaustion.
But no one has earnt the right to choose his tournaments
like Federer, and no crowds could be more pleased to see greatness in their
midst like those at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon this year.
This has been the beauty and the wonder of Federer's career, the gradual —
and now undeniable — realisation that what we are seeing is better than
anything the game has seen.
The inarguable statistical case is, if anything, exceeded by the anecdotal
evidence. Over 14 years, from Wimbledon win number one in 2003 to Wimbledon win
number eight in 2017 — and the 18 other grand slam titles between — a
generation of fans has born witness to his excellence. The only relevant
comparisons are now with superstars from other sports. And even then, the
question is not whether the name Roger Federer belongs with Muhammad Ali,
Michael Jordan, Donald Bradman, Jack Nicklaus, Pele et al.
Rather, it is which other great names belong beside his.
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