The Blabberwocky

ArindamDutta · Off the Mark! Joined: 24 Jul 2008 Posts: 6

Finally Federer’s reign seems to be Ozymandian especially after his defeat to the Luxembourgian Gilles Simon in the 2nd round of the Roger’s Masters a tornament whose name so long epitomized Federer the champion and his deeds . But it all seems to have begun on July 6 , in the blustery dampness of SW London , the light that is the tennis of Roger Federer flickered and was in danger of being extinguished in 3 sets. And tennis, indeed the world of sport , felt slightly impoverished by the likelihood of this tame going. He looked down & out, a man haunted by the memories of his straight sets thrashing at the hands of Nadal in last month’s French open final when the Swiss world no.1 managed only four games against world no.2 King of Clay. He had never been in this situation before on centre court since he became champion 5 years ago . Federer stared into the abyss and then as champions do , went about turning the match on its head . He clawed one set back, then another , saving three match points out of four in total in the process. At last the BBC can stop replaying Borg vs. McEnroe finals in the direction of infinity . Only when the Federer vs. Nadal match was all over , in the gloaming , and its truly epic nature had unraveled , could it be properly appreciated for what it was . By then , after almost 5 hours of breathtaking tennis if not the remarkable players, it didn’t really matter who had won the longest men’s singles final at Wimbledon for both men were gloriously triumphant. Before then it had rained on Wimbledon . For the first two sets it had rained on poets too . And on aesthetes , stylists and on all those with a keen sense of refined . For Federer’s the greatest player - until now at least -& the most exquisite talent the beautiful game has seen , appeared to be going out of this momentous final in straight sets . It would be brusque not to acknowledge the remarkable intensity fount that’s Nadal , his surprising pace , muscular strength & unyielding vigor. His is an aggression devoid of hostility & because there is humility about everything he does , he too must be celebrated.
Federer of course is tough enough , as he has proved in 12 Grand Slam title victories & a winning streak of 65 matches on grass going into the final at Wimbledon . But Nadal , who had won their previous three meetings this year , had been successful in infiltrating his psyche. How one wonders , will this compelling rivalry develop. This is the real battle , the epic tennis tussle . Borg-McEnroe didn’t last for long while this is already a substantial contest than that. And the great news for tennis is that it should run & run & run for some years yet.