|
What is in a Champion? Why is Roger Federer so special? |
|
|
|
|
Written by Sergio Cruz
|
|
Jun 13, 2008 at 12:14 PM |
Some of you may think because I did not stand-up for Roger Federer poor preparation for the French Open final that I do not like Roger!
You very far from the truth. Since Pete Sampras and before that John McEnroe, there is no other player that pleases me to watch play tennis more other than Roger Federer.
When I am critical of Roger it is because I believe he is capable of a lot more on the clay and because I sincerely doubt that he has ever prepared himself physically to win a clay court tournament such as Roland Garros. My perspective is simple, Roger has based his performances at Roland Garros on his talent and not in the hard physical work it takes to win a tournament that will take you well beyond your mental, tactical and physical resources.
On the other hand, I also accept Roger Federer as a human being and therefore with flaws and imperfections that are so common to all of us. So his mistakes are part of life in the greater picture.
Often when I watch Federer play, I ask myself did he really do that? Yes, because what he produces as shot-making sometimes looks so easy, but, it involves a level of complexity and difficulty that if you did not play high level tennis, you can hardly appreciate or really understand what you are watching. If we were talking compulsory exercises in gymnastics we would call it a perfect 10+.
In the last five years since Houston 2003, Roger has become the dominant player on the ATP Tour and has staked an enviable record of Grand Slam tournament wins as well as an almost flawless winning record on the majority of the competitions he has participated in. Of course this has elevated public expectations to a level never achieved by any other player in the last 15 years. In other words Roger has spoiled us and now we demand more even when we know it is beyond delivery.
This last defeat in Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal was particularly humiliating because Roger had made a point to publicly show that he was specifically preparing to win the French Open and Nadal completely blew him off the court. Many will say Roger is now in decline and many will be able to defeat him, but I do not have such an opinion. Roger is a champion and champions are special, they are learning all the time and I will go as far as saying that they even learn during the course of a tennis match. Federer will bounce back, this last defeat will make Roger a stronger person and a better player and I will not be surprised if we see Roger at Wimbledon and US Open holding the winners trophy.
There are several elements to my argument, one of them is, Roger is a more mature player who is now reaching the peak of his career and the last two year period he spent with Tony Roche as his coach, helped Roger further develop three major elements of his repertoire:
- The volley
- The serve and volley
- The attacking 2nd service return
Those three combined with the rest of Rogers game will make him a very confident player on the Wimbledon grass and on fast hard courts.
Whenever Roger used his attacking skills on the clay courts in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and even in the French Open, his opponents were dominated and reduced to mere vassals at the command of Rogers racket. Experience tells me that these past clay results will translate into total domination for Roger and a 95 percent sure chance he will win Wimbledon.
It is very unlikely that Roger Federer will be playing tennis at age 42 or 44 like Ken Rosewall or Pancho Gonzales did, but one thing is for sure, he has the skills that even at that age would be a challenge to players 20 years younger then himself, in spite of all the hype created by the pundits about those players in 2024!
This is what is hiding within a champion. Few have it, Roger Federer definitely does!
Sergio Cruz
To really appreciate Roger Federer one must see him play, here is a video for you to enjoy.
Video Copyright © bbc.co.uk All Rights Reserved.
Do tell a friend about this website it will take you just a second of your
time.
Support the TennisCruz site…Do visit our link sponsors, that is how this website will stay free for you.
Tennis Cruz Main Page
Text Copyright © Tenniscruz.com®. All rights reserved.
|
Tennis Articles 
