Today one of the greatest Sportsmen of the modern era, Roger Federer, signalled his intent to retire from professional tennis next week after 24 years, 1500 matches and 20 Grand Slam titles. It’s hard to encapsulate Federer’s legacy in a short post, so I won’t attempt to. Besides, Chris Clarey of the New York times covers the ground comprehensively in his book “The Master”. What I do want to try capture here is the genius of his play.
Although third in the race for all time grand slams, I believe a metric like this dampens his brilliance. The word genius gets bandied about in popular culture and sports often loosely. The definition of a genius in the dictionary is:
“A person who is unusually intelligent or artistic, or who has a high level of skill especially in one area”
This is a definition that Federer lives up to in every respect. The racquet was an extension of his arm. Almost as if the tendons, nerves and vasculature had grown into the racquet handle itself. In soccer the equivalent of this is was Maradona, who’s control and mastery of the ball was so complete that he could hit the crossbar at will and even juggle random objects like a water bottles as though they were a ball. If you’ve ever studied how Kyrie Irving handles a basketball, you see something magical and creative, that it isn’t just dribbling, it’s art in motion. This is what Federer possesses.
Like many of the greatest athletes, his visual perception and processing seemed to be faster than his peers. He saw the ball coming off the strings of his opponent earlier and computed its trajectory in milliseconds. This accelerated processing allowed him to move towards the incoming ball far earlier and made it seem as though he was at the ball waiting at its eventual landing.
His court movement was second to none and he often appeared to be gliding with no effort, covering the entire width of the court with a few hops. This is a tribute to his fitness and economy of movement. In terms of his strokes, they are hard to describe mostly because words don't truly do them justice. They appeared smooth, like flowing water, with almost perfect relaxation and tension. In my opinion he revolutionized the slice backhand with a high take back and a pendulum motion that allowed for so many rpms that it cut like a knife. His shot selection and tennis IQ are among the highest in the game, if not the highest.
There are countless clips of Federer playing but as a fan of the sport and a player, there is one clip buried in the internet that for me truly captures the genius. That is of him practising with former British number 4 player, Alex Slabinsky. The camera operator himself, a pro player, is court level and just a few feet away from Slabinsky. Here you can feel the immense power and spin of his shots from Federer. It literally sounds like a nail gun going off with every strike of the ball and it is here that you get the sense that he is nearly unplayable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCdpjHVPgTc
Federer’s fitness and will to win was impervious to distraction, and like Becker, he summoned that perfect shot in the highest-pressure moments. That is what made him a champion. But above all Federer displayed this athleticism with elegance and class both on and off the court. He was as much an artist as an athlete and the game will miss this rare combination.
Like Jordan, Woods, Maradona, Brady and so on, He transcended sport and his legend will live on far beyond his playing days. As a tennis player and fan, I know I will miss watching this true master of the craft.
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