“The end of an era?”
That’s what I keep hearing from people and media around me. But as a hard-core fan of FedEX, I don’t want to digest it so easily.
The voice of the skeptics got stronger after the recent demolition of Federer by his archrival Rafael Nadal (Rafa) in the recent French Open final. So the most favorite topic in the tennis circuit gained momentum, Rafa-FedEX rivalry.
Federer has been my favorite player in recent time, mostly because of the versatility of his style. I have been fan of many previous stars (Sampras, Becker, Agassi). I loved the powerful serve of Sampras and his volleys, Becker’s volleys and fighting attitude by trying for all the points he can reach into was mind boggling, Agassi for his great baseline play and the way he makes the ball hit baseline all the time. I was amazed when I saw all the qualities in a single player, Federer. I became an instant fan of him.
He soon started demolishing his opponents and quickly moved on to become world number one. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised. The player of his caliber deserved it. He has been dominating men’s tennis since then. Well, it sometimes becomes monotonous, but with a player of his class, I am never bored of seeing him.
This year 2008 has been different. Federer has struggled to match his own class and lost many matches (statistically speaking, 8 which is quite a bit for him), two of them in the majors (Djokovic in Aus open and Nadal in French). So the question obviously comes, is this the end of the king, FedEx?
I have a different take on this whole issue. I believe only way to beat a classy player like Federer is by sheer power. Federer has been in the international arena for quite some time now, and the younger guns are catching up with him, not to match his class but to exceed his power. This is evident from his failures in the slower surfaces (like clay) where his opponents nullify all his awesome shots. So I would partly agree of peoples catching up with him, but matching his class would take some more time for the kids in the block.
So fellas, do not get bogged down looking at the statistics you see in the news and media, the king is here to stay. I think he will silence his critics by winning the title in his favorite hunting ground, Wimbledon.
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