Egotism ....a lifelong romance

Sunday, July 06, 2008

A little Rafa round the edges

Tennis fans have enjoyed rooting for the underdog -- who goes by the name of Rafael Nadal -- these past few years. They have reveled in the success story of a relentless youngster from a small island-town, who plays with little regard to established norms of the sport (that includes his taking forty seconds between points to dab his sweaty biceps, and bounce the ball for an eternity before finally tossing it up in the air). Also, a lot of them were thirsting to see the toppling of possibly the game’s greatest ever. Today it happened – on the cathedral of tennis itself.

A match that looked like it would be a straight sets demolition of the god of tennis turned into a thrilling 5-setter as Federer showed us what he’s made of – fighting off a 2-0 set deficit, and 2 championship points on his way to leveling the match at 2 sets-a-piece, Roger looked like he was back on the terra firma he so loves, before conceding in a thrilling 9-7 deciding set. Obviously, a less than satisfactory end to the championship for Roger Federer fans, and for me in particular.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I dislike Nadal, mainly because his game is not unlike the proverbial monkey that would end up with the collected works of William Shakespeare by randomly hitting keys on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite period of time. Similarly, while Rafa might doggedly go after every ball and end up with a chance winner every so often, his game-plan is non-existent, his finesse is wanting and his style is little more than a grinding relentlessness. Such lack of acumen defies appreciation at any time, but seems especially inadequate in the era of Federeresque artisanship.

But since I often call myself an objective Federer fan (which could just as easily mean that I have one objective – seeing Roger lift the trophy at every major), I decided to give Rafael Nadal his due. Let’s face it, I didn’t in my wildest dreams, think that Rafael would ever take Wimbledon away from Federer. And today he did, in a fabulous performance in a match that is being touted as the greatest Wimbledon men’s final in history, and one that has already made it into the record books as the longest final ever. He must be doing something right. (Actually he doesn’t do it right, he just does it, and therein lies my problem).

His movement on court is phenomenal, and there is no questioning Rafa’s fitness of course, so once he gets there, he will hit the ball - hard - and power never hurt anyone on a grass court (except the occasional unfortunate ball-boy). His serve has improved admirably so I can’t pick on him for that anymore. Needless to say, Rafa is in Rog’s head more than on the other side of the net – though it sure didn’t look like it in the third set today when Roger played with nerves of steel, and when he fought off championship points in the fourth, and several breakpoints in the thrilling decider. And what is more - considering Center Court is a nascent green at the net and a solid brown at the baseline, it plays a lot like clay, and that gives Nadal advantages as well.

Well, whether I like it or not, he’s Federer’s big rival – and nemesis. Ideally, we would have a player that’s a little less rough around the edges to fulfill that role, but then who better to show off the Swissman’s flawless artistry than a grinding, grunting, scrambling Nadal? After all, individual sport is all about contrasts. From Rafa’s ostentatious sprints on court (his excuse for a warm-up) to his bicep-flaunting tanks, Nadal couldn’t be more different from the suave Federer, who waits demurely in the sidelines prior to a match, and wears elegantly designed, yet muted Nike ensemble on court.

Besides, the emergence of Nadal along with Federer’s continued domination would leave no questions about the Federer game, which only seems to leave us mortals more bewildered with time. “What was that – a squash shot?” fumbled a commentator a few days ago, “A baseline half-volley?” another chimed in. And I can safely say that it wasn’t so much for their lack of eloquence, as Roger’s innumerable angles of contact with a tennis ball.

Regardless of what the Federer nay-sayers out there are saying, Roger is far from done yet. He’s had a less than spectacular year by his standards – which includes winning the runner's up trophy at two of the majors and making it to the semi-final of the third, during a bout of mononucleosis. He’s won two titles. He is still number one. All without a coach. He still has the US Open and Olympics to bounce back in. Federer has been on the wrong side of a lopsided win-loss record against players many times in his career; he has turned them all around to be the invincible player he is. There is no reason to believe he won’t get the better of Nadal, and get back to his infallible self – very soon.