The Hindu : Sport : Roger Federer resumes climb up Mount Impossible

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Monday, Jun 20, 2005

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Sport

Roger Federer resumes climb up Mount Impossible

Nirmal Shekar

"I have got high hopes of doing well again. I hope I can keep the streak alive,'' says Federer

London: Roger Federer has a problem. It might be a problem of plenty, something that thousands of tennis pros might be willing to sacrifice their racquet arm to face, but a problem nevertheless.

There is no room for surprises in Federer's life, in his career. Free will is a myth. Everything about his career has already been determined. In a way, at age 23, after winning four Grand Slam titles, the world No.1 Swiss has been fast tracked into history.

He will do this, he will do that, he will do everything that any man has ever done — and something more — with a tennis racquet in hand since Spencer Gore, playing in front of 200 spectators who paid a shilling each, won the first Wimbledon title here in 1877, taking home 12 guineas for his labour.

As for Federer's titles, don't bother counting, forget crystal balls, and if you are not a tennis fan, do a Rip Van Winkle if you wish, ahead of the Wimbledon championships that begin here on Monday. Just `google search' Federer's name five or six years from now and check the records. Then again, maybe you don't even need to go to all that trouble. Be assured that the gifted magician from Basel would have become the most successful Grand Slam champion in history sometime in the 2010s!

In an age when the urge to create instant legends in sport is at once irresistible and is fuelled copiously by enormous commercial pressures, it may hardly seem ridiculous that someone as outrageously gifted as Federer should find himself facing a script that the most steely-willed and courageous of men might find daunting.

But, then, if a definitive history of Federer's present and future has already been written, and he simply has to play his part staying in the straight and narrow, then, in a way, it is the Swiss magician's fault. For, he has made the climb up Mount Impossible — surpassing Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles and ascending a peak of his own — seem like a jog in the park.

Immense contribution

He may have a long way to go to the peak but irrespective of whether he gets to the summit or not, the value of Federer's contribution to fuelling our aesthetic passion is already immense. Seldom have we seen such a ravenous competitor showcase a game of such intoxicating beauty.

Yet, both seasoned tennis watchers and Federer — on a 29-match winning streak on grass — himself would know that there are bound to be many pitfalls between unreasonable expectations and their possible realisation. And, the first two Grand Slam championships of the year, in Melbourne and Paris, crowned men who beat the Swiss master in the semifinals.

The Quixotic Russian Marat Safin, who lost a close three set final to Federer at Halle last week, and the muscular, teenaged Spaniard Rafael Nadal — who can get a job easily in any Las Vegas casino without even sending in his CV — may not pose a serious challenge to Federer's dominance on grass over the two weeks here. Yet, Safin and Nadal proved that Federer has to do more than merely wake up from his hotel bed in time to win Grand Slam titles.

But, having won here the last two years, Federer is bound to begin his defence with the sense of belonging of a house owner returning to his cherished property after a holiday and getting ready to tidy up the front lawn. The signboard — Private property, stay away. Trespassers will be prosecuted — will certainly be repainted.

"It is always special to come here. I am always going to be a heavy favourite,'' Federer said on Sunday. "I have got high hopes of doing well again. I hope I can keep the streak alive.''

Another day, another time, another great champion did not even need signboards. Pete Sampras's opponents merely ventured up to the main gate, stood there in jaw-dropping awe, and retreated reverentially.

The handful that dared to knock on the doors looked like Don Quixote at the windmills.

Federer, surely, is not in the Sampras league yet but the his main challengers here, Andy Roddick — who started well in last year's final and comes into this championship after having won his third straight title at Queen's — Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, and the dangerous Croatian Mario Ancic, will know that it will take a lot to halt Federer's march down the legendary Sampras track.

The defending women's champion, Maria Sharapova, may not inspire quite the awe that her male counterpart does. But the willowy Russian has managed to divert attention from her face and legs to the excellent quality of her tennis, which is no mean achievement in a sport where the Kournikova phenomenon — Wow, what a stunner! Who cares if she wins or loses — is the norm rather than the exception.

Highest paid sportswoman

Since collapsing on the turf on beating Serena Williams in the final here last year, Sharapova has gone on to become the highest paid sportswoman in the planet — $22.5m a year in endorsements alone — but her bank balance will have hardly any relevance as she prepares for serious tests ahead in a draw that looks rather open.

"Obviously it is going to be a lot harder to defend than winning the first time. I have heard that many times,'' Sharapova said on Sunday. "I am just going to go out and enjoy myself, not worry about anything else.''

Justine Henin-Hardenne may not have too many worries either. She has courageously battled a blood virus to reassert herself as a big league champion and the other Belgian, Kim Clijsters, has also made a brave comeback. The top seed, Lindsay Davenport, can never be counted out simply because of her experience while Serena Williams, if she can survive the first week, should turn herself into a serious contender.

Sania's match

Meanwhile, Sania Mirza will play her first round match against Akiko Morigami of Japan on Court No.17 at 12 noon (4.30 p.m. IST) on Monday.

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