By Rahul Banerji
Think Tiger Woods and golf. And think Roger Federer and tennis. The difference between the two is Tiger never had a Rafal Nadalesque opponent dogging his footsteps in the pomp of his career. He ruled supreme.
At Wimbledon on Friday, Federer and Nadal played a gladiatorial, riveting contest over three hours and three minutes before the Swiss maestro squeezed into his 12th final at the All England Club.
The speed, athleticism, precision and power on display belied their combined 70 years of age. It was a level of tennis few in the modern game can aspire to or reproduce, with one possible exception, Federer’s opponent in Sunday’s final Novak Djokovic.
The Hispano-Swiss rivalry now even has it’s own title – Fedal. Friday was Fedal 40. The scoreline, 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Federer, now 37, has long been at the receiving end of Nadal’s power tennis and relentless ball-chasing. The last time these two met at Wimbledon was in the 2008 final, and the seven-plus hour match is ranked among the great title battles of all time.
Master class
On Friday, however, Federer put on a master-class of the sort only he can produce. He dismantled Nadal’s game piece by piece, playing the waiting game from the baseline in long rallies marked by thunderous shot-making, counter-attacking when he needed to, and using his silken touch to devastating effect.
It is to Nadal’s credit that he stretched the match over a hundred and eight-three minutes using all his court-covering skills and ripped forehand top-spin returns to great effect.
What he failed to do was change gears when needed, relying heavily on Federer’s perceived weakness, the backhand.
But this is Federer reinvented. Two years ago, the smooth-stroking Swiss took his game back to the drawing board, knowing new weapons were needed to counter the passing years and likes of Djokovic, Andy Murray, Marin Cilic and others of the power generation.
What we are seeing now is that recalibration coming to full fruition. Thus, Nadal’s attempts to cash on in the Federer backhand backfired badly, with the eight-time Wimbledon winner producing a combination of clever sliced returns and angled baseline-deep shots with the classical aplomb only he posseses.
Closing a circle
It took four sets, and five match points before Federer closed out the match, and closed the circle of 2008, the previous meeting between these two on Wimbledon’s lawns.
From the days of Martina Navratilova and her oversized racquets to the modern day power purveyors, the stylists have struggled to hold their own. The likes of Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, and Stefan Edberg were the leaders of that school which found its full flower in Federer.
Probably the greatest of the touch artists and Grand Slammer, Rod Laver, was on hand to appreciate the quality of tennis in Friday’s semi-final.
“My great friend & GOAT @rogerfederer – the undisputed Master of Wimbledon – produced one of his greatest performances there today. Rafa also played some unbelievable tennis and it takes two to produce a classic. Roger can go all the way, it will be a final for the ages,” he tweeted after the match.
“I’m exhausted. It was tough – at the end Rafa played some unbelievable shots to stay in the match,” Federer told the BBC later.
“I had spells where I was serving very well and probably the biggest points in the match went my way. That first set was huge, to get the lead and try to protect it. It was a joy to play.”
Joy to play, and a joy to watch for not just a packed Centre Court, but millions around the world. How much longer we will be privileged to see them in action is unclear, but the way both ran down everything they possibly could showed there’s power in them thar legs yet!
Also read: Forty-five minutes ended India’s dream at ICC World Cup
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