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Clack, Clack, Clack. That’s the only sound which echoes around Center Court, Wimbledon. No useless music during intervals, no humming of the crowd during rallies, no hooting and whistles.If you’ve won a good point, the crowd acknowledges it with a round of applause.
This is the best thing about Wimbledon. You only hear the sound of the ball bouncing off the court. In spite of 15000 people, you feel there is no one else inside the stadium except you and your opponent. And this serene setting has been the perfect environment for a certain somnambulist to make it is his own theater or as Boris Becker says -”His own living room.”
“In this era you are either a clay court or a grass court or a hard court or you are Roger Federer”- Jimmy Connors
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8th July 2012 – Roger Federer walked on to Center Court, Wimbledon for his 7th Wimbledon Crown. Tennis players have been potrayed as nothing less than modern gladiators over the past decade or so. And amidst all the shouts of Vamos, Come on, all the racket smacking and bad blood off the court, Federer went about his business in regal style. He won 5 Wimbledon titles in a row and they said he was the greatest grass court player of all times. He won Roland Garros and they said he was the greatest tennis player of all times. In January 2010, he won the Australian Open and they said he was “peerless.”
And then things changed.
Roger Federer didn’t win anything for the rest of the year. Enter 2011 and he failed to win anything the whole year. As a certain Joker (Novak Djokovic) became an ace, all sorts of stories came up about the Federer Express. You would think that after having won 16 Grand Slams and been world number 1 for over 5 years, you must be allowed a rough patch. So what if he was still World number 3 in spite of being 30 years old amongst a pool of players all in their 20?s. So what if he had been making it to the semis of all the slams.
Federer summed up this frenzy in apt words,”I have created a monster out of myself.”
Enter 2012, and he was not even considered a favorite for any of the Grand Slams. Semifinal exits at the Australian and French Open further increased criticism. Amidst all this Federer remained calm. He is nothing but an ethereal entity on court, rarely does he stop for a breath, rarely does he scramble across the court like a Spanish Bull. Instead he glides like a king, the face remains unchanged irrespective of the fact whether he hits a winner or makes an unforced error. No shouts, no come on, no glimpses towards his family in the stands. A picture of pure concentration, a sorcerer about to conjure his best tricks, an assassin about to strike his final blow, a god about to display his powers.
And that brings us to Wimbledon 2012 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. He began the tournament in an imperial manner breezing into the semi finals. Even when his Spanish rival and pretender to the throne, Rafael Nadal, bowed out in the second round, he refused to pay any competition. Enter the semis and he was up against the current world number 1 in Novak Djokovic. With his recent successes against Federer, The Joker went into this match as the favorite. What transpired was nothing but a champion making a perennial contender dance to his tunes. Federer conjured up a class act and marched into the finals.
And that brings us to 8th July 2012, as Federer went up against the home favorite Andy Murray. The same crowd that propelled Federer to 6 Wimbledon trophies turned hostile. Every Murray winner was accompanied by a roof shattering applause. Murray even won the first set. But it was just a gracious gift from a man who was about shift gears and transcend to a level where he becomes “PEERLESS.” The crowd support or rather the lack of it didn’t matter. Federer dispatched Murray in 4 sets and claimed an unprecedented 7th Wimbledon crown. His first Grand Slam after 18 months.
“Better player, better server, better man.” – RAFAEL NADAL
Lions signal their return to power with a roar, warriors with a victory lore, gods with thunder and lightning. Federer does it with a cold and classy, arrogant stare.
As Federer collected the Wimbledon trophy from the Duke of Kent in his classic white linen jacket with 7 golden stars on it, he also reclaimed the world number 1 ranking.
As Federer’s tears fell on the trophy and his lips graced the golden surface order was restored in men’s tennis.
It was “THE RETURN OF THE KING.”
“We are witnessing the most dominant athlete in the history of sports”- JIM COURIER
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