(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Roger Federer is done—he will not win anything anymore!
Roger Federer is back—he just beat Nadal in a clay court final, in Spain of all places!
Every time the Swiss maestro does anything, of note or otherwise, everybody seems to have an opinion about it.
He got married and will be a father soon—he will soon retire to some lakefront property in Geneva and open a tennis academy to pass his time!
Just like everybody else, I have an opinion too. Simply put, here’s how it goes: Who in the world knows?
The first time anyone took serious notice of the arrival of this genius (yes, whether or not he wins anything more, he is clearly a tennis genius—and,correct me if I am wrong, as John Isner put it on Facebook, "If Tennis were a religion, then Roger Federer would be God!") was as a 19-year old in 2001, when he shocked the tennis world by beating the four-time defending champion, Pete Sampras, at Wimbledon.
Pete had won four in a row at the time and seven overall at Wimbledon. Little did the amazed media and public know that it would be another two years before they would see Roger win his maiden Grand Slam title—of course, it had to be at Wimbledon—at the ripe old age of 22.
Since then, until some point in 2008 (the exact point in time is debatable—the mononucleosis? The thrashing at the hands of Nadal at the French? The relinquishing of his beloved Wimbledon crown?). There was no looking back for Roger—he won almost everything in sight, with a few minor hiccups and of course, the much-fabled failures at the French.
How so many people began to write off Roger is incredible to me—if we look at the last twelve months, Roger had one Grand Slam title and three final appearances—all losses to Nadal. If you discount the hammering at the French, he could have really won three of the four—Wimbledon and the Aussie Open were so close.
For those of us who question his ability to fight hard, just take a look at Wimbledon—he could have so easily succumbed after being down two sets to love. Instead, he made a match of it!
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