Learning from Defeat, Federer Reigns As Champion

In life, we will all fail. Some of us will fail at our jobs, others as parents, others in relationships, but inevitably, we will all fail at some point. It is not just failure itself that we all have in common but also the fear of failure.

We are often afraid to take a risk or think about the future because of the uncertainty that lies with these things. The possibility of failure exists, and it scares us.

However, it is that fear of failure, coupled with failure itself, that makes us all human. The working class individual is no different than the billionaire business mogul in the sense that at one time or another, they have both failed in some area of their lives.

Although we are all privy to this common characteristic of humanity, there are still those who we expect never to fail. In our eyes, they are immortal, perfect and flawless. These human beings from whom we expect inhuman acts are professional athletes.

Gods of the sports world, they are subject to constant criticism because they are the best at what they do, and as a result, should never fail.

Sometimes an athlete comes along who truly does make us believe that he is immune to failure. The inevitable forces of age and fatigue are, in our eyes, absent from his body. He is what we all want to be: the man who does not fail.

That man was Roger Federer. He was that man who did not fail. He would just win. Without flash or even the slightest form of boasting, Federer would win tournament after tournament and major after major.

When he did lose, it was not his fault. The inability to win the French Open was not a failure on Federer's part but instead the result of other elements at play. 

"Clay courts are not like other surfaces in tennis," we would say. "But nevertheless, Federer will win it one day." 

There was no failure for Federer, and if he did happen to lose, there was always a reason why. 

When everyone tells you that you are perfect and the greatest there ever was, eventually you begin to believe to it, and it is at this moment that you become neither perfect nor great.

It is hard to say whether Federer believed it, but when people offer such praises after every victory, it would be hard to blame him if he started listening.

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