An ode to Roger Federer: Why the clay of Roland Garros will miss the Swiss maestro

The scent of the soil hasn’t changed one bit. Roland Garros though, will not remain the same with the proposed redevelopment and expansion of the site to cater to changing realities of the sport. The famed Bull Ring, site to several galactic battles is facing the prospect of turning to rubble, dissolving into the vortex of time.

But then, time does not stop, neither for the iconic court No.1 nor for Roger Federer. Exactly 17 years after beginning an improbable journey of longevity, Federer has missed a major for the first time since playing the Australian Open to herald a new millennium for tennis.

As much as sport is larger than its practitioners, the red shale of Roland Garros does seem less lustrous this year. The tournament and its legion of fans are dealing with a gnawing void, made doubly painful by the glaring absence of Federer and a potential demolition of that theatre called the Bull Ring.

Federer is dealing with a season of woes, complicated by a body that is finally showing signs of mortality. The great Swiss plays tennis like it were a performance inside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The 17 times grand slam champion’s claim to unsurpassed greatness is obviously built around the smooth arch of his tennis, which is nearly as soothingly musical as the timeless Hollywood classic, the Sound of Music.

One thing has lead to another for Federer this year. A freak bathing incident involving his children is reported to have hurt his knee. The injury put Federer under the knife for the first time in his career and when he came back, his body seemed to miss the magical symmetry that underlined his tennis.

And now a bad back has forced the Swiss star to abandon Paris for the relative sanctity of his home, just a few hours from the French capital. After a record 65 consecutive grand slam appearances, Federer is perhaps watching his peers dance on the crushed brick surface from the comfort of a designer couch inside his glass mansion in Wollerau.

If Federer’s view of the world from inside the crystalline windows of his palatial home appears dim, his vast legion of fans share his dim vision as they look out longingly in the direction of Roland Garros. Not even his peers are accustomed to missing Federer at a major tournament. Andy Murray, one of the favourites at this edition, shared his thoughts in a syndicated column.

“It’ll be the first grand slam tournament of my career without Roger Federer in the draw,” explained Murray in his guest column for Le Parisien. “Obviously for the fans and the tournament it’s a huge loss when he isn’t playing because fans love him pretty much everywhere.”

“The year I won Wimbledon was the year I missed the French Open so it worked out well for me in the end," Murray said. “We will just have to see now how Roger recovers. It’s still a big loss to the tournament here, and I hope he recovers because Roger is great for tennis. I hope to see him playing at Wimbledon."

The last time Murray missed the French Open, he went on to win in Wimbledon to finally break the 77 year jinx that haunted British tennis. Federer and his fans will hope that the Swiss star’s absence in Paris will help him mount a serious assault for an elusive eighteenth grand slam title.

Meanwhile, fans are being offered a taste of the soon to approach dusk. Federer has reigned over tennis fans for more than a generation. Despite the uniquely epochal careers of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the lusty affection of enamoured fans, has far from dimmed for the universally admired Swiss.

As much as Federer’s 65 major run is a staggering feat, it is already under threat. 34-year-old Feliciano Lopez has just surpassed Wayne Ferreira’s mark of 56 consecutive appearances. There are several others with a streak of their own - Fernando Verdasco (51), Tomas Berdych (50), Djokovic and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (45) are all in the chase.

It isn’t the numbers though that define Federer. It is the Nureyev-like moves around a tennis court that separate the Swiss from his peers. On that count alone, Federer shall always remain peerless.

So till you see the Swiss ignite your imagination again with his graceful manoeuvres around the meadows of Wimbledon, enjoy the enervating efforts of the remainder of the tennis fraternity as they look to usurp Nadal’s clay court legacy.