The Federer experience

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns the ball to Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol during their quarter final match in the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 27, 2014 in Dubai. Federer won 6-2, 6-2.

Roger Federer’s second round match in Dubai was scheduled at 7 pm local time against Radek Stepanek, the veteran Czech player. I was winding up an article in the press room when a renowned journalist, who has been covering the tour for 18 years, came up to me and asked me why I wasn’t out watching the match. The players were just warming up at this point, and I replied that I hoped to finish up my work before I went out. He said, “I have been writing about tennis for so many years, and I still never miss the opportunity to watch Federer play live. When he’s playing, you drop everything you are doing, and go watch him play. Because when he’s on court, magic happens.”

A Roger Federer match is not just another tennis match. It is an experience. He might be playing on any court in the world, in any country, and against any player – he will still always be the crowd favourite. Overwhelming crowd favourite, in most cases, I must add. A Federer match will always ensure a packed, full house, be it his first round or the quarter-final. There is a buzz in the air, a spring in everyone’s step. As I walked out into the stadium, I couldn’t help but feel excited myself. After all, Federer was the reason I was here in Dubai in the first place.

Watching a tennis match live is very different from watching it on TV. Every slice, every spin, every stroke is exalted; every bounce, amplified. Watching it live really makes you appreciate the athleticism and strength of all the players, characteristics that that often go unnoticed on TV. When Tsonga hammers a forehand cross-court, you can feel the power behind it even in your seat. When Stepanek perfectly executes a drop shot, you can admire the finesse with which he hit it. When Berdych slams a 210 km/hr serve down the tee, you can watch it whiz past the opponent.

When Federer takes to court, the entire experience is 10 times as beautiful. A tennis player seems larger-than-life when he makes an entrance to the court right in front of your eyes, but with Federer, that goes one step further. Federer exudes an aura – an aura of timelessness, an aura that makes the crowd chant his name even before the match starts, an aura that still manages to induce veneration and fear amongst his peers.

He wields his racquet with the same grace that an artist holds a brush. And the end product is just as exquisite. Many writers before me have waxed eloquence about the same, but watching Federer on court is like watching poetry in motion. His movement may have slowed down with age, but it still feels like he glides on court. Federer makes tennis look effortless. What makes this experience truly unforgettable is those moments of pure genius that only Federer can perform. He may have shanked a forehand on the previous point, and within seconds, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat, he will make your jaw drop. An audacious tweener that would make any other mortal twist his leg, a perfectly-timed single-handed backhand down the line return winner, a deftly-cut volley picked right off his laces on break point, an impeccable lob that just clipped the baseline – I have witnessed them all. You know a point is special when the usually stoic and impassive journalists in the media section break off into reluctant applause.

Federer’s serve has often been labelled as his most underrated weapon, but what really makes it so effective is his service motion. As a player, I have struggled with my service action, and his is one of the cleanest and most natural-looking motions that I have ever seen. It’s difficult to read his serve as he has the exact same motion every single time, whether he’s going for a humdinger down the tee or a kicker out wide, it’s almost identical. He bounces the ball thrice, tosses it into the air with his left arm fully extended, bends his knees into the ground to generate power from his lower torso, and then in one fluid step he swings his body forward, and brings the racquet down.

If I had to pick one Federer trait that I think is the most difficult to emulate, it’d be his wristwork. You realize how gifted a player he is when you watch his sublime flicks and snaps carve out angles from any position on the court. Watching it live is akin to watching it in slow-motion. That wristwork isn’t something that can be learnt or taught, it’s a talent that Federer is blessed with.

The most enjoyable aspect of experiencing a Federer match live has been the electric atmosphere. Federer fanatics have descended from all parts of the globe to cheer any and every point that he wins. When the chips are down, shouts of “Come on, Federer” and “Allez, Roger”, echo through the stadium. “Let’s go Roger, let’s go. Clap-clap clap-clap-clap” breaks out over every changeover, and sometimes, after every point. When he is playing well and cruising, Mexican waves are a common feat in the audience. The hooting and chanting has been so loud and vociferous in Dubai, I feel it acts like an added advantage for Federer.

Saying that this has been one of the best experiences of my life would be understating it. As a tennis fan, the last few days have been the most enriching and fulfilling ones of my life. I may not have been the most unbiased journalist in those media seats in the last two rows, but I have definitely been the most gratified one.