Federer’s triumph truly ‘unbelievable’
Roger Federer can’t believe he’s won three grand slams in 12 months. Nor can Ian Anderson.
Marvel. Maestro. Superhuman. GOAT. There were more adjectives and superlatives thrown Roger Federer’s way on Sunday night than there were sets lost by the Swiss superstar in his path to a sixth Australian Open men’s singles title.
Clearly they were deserved, after he won his 20th men’s grand slam singles crown.
To do so at age 36 is a feat which attracts lofty praise like Federer does evening matches at Melbourne Park. They came from media and past champions. AAP said he was a marvel, while Yahoo Sports used the terms ‘great’, ‘greatest’ and ‘great’ in one article. Martina Navratilova, who knows about these things, tagged him as the Greatest Of All Time, while Pat Cash said he was superhuman.
Cash also said the feat of 20 grand slams was ‘‘unbelievable’’.
Isn’t that the most relevant word?
More than praise, shouldn’t Federer’s success raise questions? Instead of being captivated and captured by the remarkable upswing in a career which looked to be on an expected and irreversible downslope five years ago, shouldn’t we be asking how on earth this has happened?
Instead, what we chiefly read is adoration.
‘‘The insatiable Swiss is the first man ever to capture 20 grand slam singles crowns and hopes to continue rewriting the record books,’’ AAP wrote.
‘‘But, despite turning 37 this year, the Swiss marvel is offering no promises because even doesn’t know what’s around the corner.’’
The Guardian wrote: ‘‘Roger Federer has time for everyone: opponents, fans, umpires, even the media – but nowhere in the world away from his mountain retreat does the mutual love and respect between the Swiss and his followers seem louder and more unconditional than in Melbourne.
‘‘As he savoured his sixth Australian Open on his way to a night of no doubt impeccably behaved celebration, he engaged with everyone who wanted to spend even a second in the glow of his royal progress. And, when it was suggested to him that Federation Square near Flinders Street station in the middle of the city be officially shortened to Fed Square in his honour, he blushed and smiled.’’
Yahoo Sports reported that ‘‘Federer again delivered an emotional speech post-match to an adoring Rod Laver Arena faithful’’ while the Daily Mail Australia wrote that Federer overcame Marin Cilic ‘‘much to the delight of his huge following across the world’’.
The Mirror UK, while naming Federer as the greatest tennis player of all-time, wrote of ‘‘the beauty of his one-handed backhand, the ferocity of his forehand and sheer speed of his serve
‘‘He’s still got it, ageing like a fine wine, and there’s still plenty of life in the old dog left,’’ their scribe drooled into a puddle of mixed metaphors.
At least Federer asks those questions.
‘‘I don’t think a 36-year-old should be a favourite of a tournament,’’ Federer said before the Open started.
‘‘I’ve won three slams in 12 months,’’ he said. ‘‘I can’t believe it myself,’’ said the oldest man to win the Open since Ken Rosewall in
1972.
Between 2003 and and 2010, he won 16 grand slams. Between 2011 and 2015, one. Since then, three.
The fall-off between 2011 and
2015 was predictable. He turned 30 in 2011, an age at which most tennis players discover many keys to success – speed, power, fitness, footwork and the ability to recover rapidly between matches and tournaments – fade.
But since then he’s gone from a guy who had a bad back and would get knocked out in the second round of Wimbledon by Sergei Stakhovsky to a man who comes back from a knee injury to win the Australian Open, a recordbreaking eighth Wimbledon without losing a set and then almost repeated that dominance in Melbourne over the past fortnight.
‘‘How rare is Federer’s mid-30s dominance?’’ wrote Chris Chase for USA Today.
‘‘In the past 45 years, only five men have ever won a slam while older than 30 years, 10 months. None won multiple titles past that age and the oldest among them was aged 32. Federer, on the other hand, has four titles since hitting that age – almost as much as everybody else who’s ever picked up a racket since 1973, combined. He has three slams since turning
35 when no one of this, of the previous era, had one older than
32.’’
"I don’t think a 36-year-old should be a favourite of a tournament."
Roger Federer, before the Australian Open
"I’ve won three slams in 12 months. I can’t believe it myself." Federer again, after the Open
style of play – relying more on racket skills and seeking quicker rallies – leaves him less vulnerable to breaking down than the relentless physicality of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
He hasn’t avoided injury. But while his three major rivals, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray (five, six and six years younger than Federer) have also had their careers hampered by injuries, Federer came back from his time off in superior form to his challengers.
If we compare Federer with other great athletes in other sports, who do we look to?
Tom Brady? The Patriots quarterback will endeavour to win his sixth Super Bowl ring on Monday (NZT) at age 40. But Brady has never had a drop-off in his career like Federer did – as part of the Patriots dynasty under Bill Belichick, he’s never had a losing season. Brady has had aspersions cast on his success though – Spygate and Deflategate (the latter resulting in a four-game suspension) and his allegiance with close friend, business partner, and ‘‘body coach’’ Alex Guerrero.
Barry Bonds? In 1999, the baseball slugger was named as the best player of the decade, when aged 35. In 2000 and 2001, he had career-best seasons and reached his peak in 2004, when he turned
40. Bonds still hasn’t been elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Chris Chase, writing a balanced piece for USA Today, believes ‘‘no career in any sport can compare’’ to Federer’s.
‘‘The dominance of the early years coupled with the unexpected resurgence in the twilight. It’d be like if Jack Nicklaus had won the
1986 Masters and then followed it up with the 1986 US Open, 1987 US Open and a few player of the year awards.’’
What kind of questions would fans and media alike pose should Federer’s resurgence be achieved by Nadal? What if Federer was Spanish instead of Swiss? Or Russian?
But when the game’s biggest name gets applauded into the media room after winning a tournament – Miami last year – it’s hard to envisage that happening.