Roger “His Royal Highness” Federer
The very name brings to mind a non-assuming personality with a trophy cabinet, which keeps getting bigger and bigger. The very name strikes terror in the hearts of other tennis players other than arguably Nadal. With Mt. Sampras surmounted, the question is then-“Is Federer the greatest player to have graced the tennis courts?”
When this player burst onto the scene at Wimbledon when he beat Pete Sampras at the hallowed courts of Wimbledon in 5 sets with an astonishing display of tennis which the then master of grass courts couldn’t handle ending Pistol Pete’s 31 match winning streak in the tournament. Many said the next king had arrived. However, it took much longer for the heir in waiting to fulfill his potential. It was not until 2003 that the throne of grass courts was finally handed over to Fed-Ex when he won this first grand slam defeating Andy Roddick with another display, which left everyone, spellbound. This started a period of domination in grass courts which ended only when an even greater force (I will say brute force because that’s what it cost Nadal to finally overcome the grace of Federer) overcome master in 5 grueling sets in a match that ended well after the sun had set.
His domination was not restricted only to grass courts but also in hard courts. He won five consecutive US Opens and three Australian Opens from the period 2003 to 2008. The only grand slam where he was not able to assert his domination was the French Open. Nadal’s supremacy on clay meant that Federer wasn’t able to even come near the winner’s trophy. However, as fate would have it, in 2009 Nadal wouldn’t make it to the final and Federer grabbed the opportunity with both hands and won his first French Open.
The list of records the man holds is phenomenal. Wikipedia has the following link dedicated to just his records. The list speaks for itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Roger_Federer
Now to the question is he the greatest of them all. My answer would be yes. He has won the most number of grand slams-the summit, he has won on all surfaces-the versatility, he has reached 24 consecutive grand slam semi finals (only behind Jimmy Connors)-the consistency. Last but not the least he still has a few years left and God knows how much the higher the summit will be for the next person looking to emulate him.
All said, the humility and the grace with which he handles himself both on and off court means that he will linger in the hearts of all tennis fans long after the sun has set on his career. All hail “Sir Emperor Roger Federer”.