Swiss genius steps into realms of tennis immortality!!

Ever since he announced his presence on the international tennis circuit in that remarkable fourth round clash with the legendary Pete Sampras on Centre court at the greatest tennis stage of all- Wimbledon in 2001, Roger Federer, the gentle Swiss seemed destined for greatness. His game had it all. He was nimble footed and endowed with a remarkable ability to glide across the court rather than hustle, blessed with the ability to make all shots look easy and above all possessed a graceful game which had long gone missing from the men's game. It was only apt that he came up against arguably then, the greatest player to grace the game in Pete Sampras. In a match for the ages, Roger Federer caused one of the biggest upsets of modern times when he dethroned Sampras who had won 7 Wimbledon titles to that day. The world knew they had seen a special talent, but the talent was only finding its feet and fine tuning itself for greater heights. Roger Federer went on to lose to Tim Henman and rather astonishingly lost in the first round in 2002 to Mario Ancic of Croatia.

People wondered if the win over Sampras had been a flash in the pan. In 2003, on the very stage that Federer had stopped the Sampras juggernaut, he produced a brilliant display of tennis to reach the finals where he met the Aussie Mark Philippoussis. The mercurial Aussie was a dangerous opponent, but in a fantastic and elegant display of tennis, Federer triumphed in straight sets and announced to the world that he had well and truly arrived. The start was slow, but he was catching up pace and the following year, he won the Australian Open by beating the temperamental but very talented Russian Marat Safin. He lost in the French Open to Gustavo Kuerten, who was a 3 time former champion at Roland Garros. But Federer showed at Wimbledon that the initial hopes about him being the next Sampras were every much justified by trouncing everybody including Andy Roddick, the 2003 US open champion in the finals. He then went on to clinch the US open by thrashing Lleyton Hewitt, the plucky Aussie in straight sets 6-0 7-6 6-0. This was the beginning of the Federer era. He had quite clearly shown that in terms of sheer ability and shot making, he had no rivals on the tour.

Federer lost a very narrow game to Marat Safin in the Australian open in 2005 after having had a match point. Following this heart breaking defeat he also lost to Rafael Nadal, the upcoming Spanish sensation in the semi finals of the French open. Undeterred, he went on to win both Wimbledon and US open by defeating Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi respectively in the process. He was dominating the men's game like none other and his sights were every much set on the two greatest achievements in tennis i.e. the Grand Slam (winning all 4 majors) and equalling, then surpassing the great Sampras's record of 14 Grand slams.

In 2006, he yet again went on to win the Australian open by defeating the fighting Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. In the french open, he went one step further but gain went down to Rafael Nadal in the finals. But Wimbledon and the US open proved to be his forte as he completed 4 consecutive titles at Wimbledon by defeating Nadal and a hat trick at the US open by defeating Andy Roddick. In 2007, he went on to win the Australian open by defeating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. He again lost to Nadal at Roland Garros in a close final. He went on to defeat Nadal at Wimbledon albeit in a much closer contest and the latest find of the tour Novak Djokovic in the US open finals.

Just like every great performer has an 'annus mirabilis', he also does have a so called 'annus horribilis' and fails to perform as well. With Federer you could not expect the same thign day in and day out. His level was so above the rest that when he did play, he sometimes used to show signs of being bored and play much below himself. He also played to entertain and never played the percentage game like say a Rafael Nadal did. So one a few days when the Federer game did not go his way, the unforced errors would result in a few shock defeats. It so happened in 2008 that he had a bout of mononucleosis and also was never timing the ball right. He lost in the semis of the Australian open to Novak Djokovic who went on to win the title. He experienced one of the worst defeats of his career in the French Open when Nadal thrashed a below par Federer in straight sets. When thy met again at Wimbledon, in one of the greatest tennis matches of all time Nadal outlasted him 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 in a classic. He also relinquished his number one ranking to Nadal. This clearly left Federer shocked and his morale was down. He however rallied to win the US open for the 5th consecutive time by defeating Andy Murray. This was to be his 13th grand slam title, just one behind Sampras.

2009 started on a bad note too with Nadal again prevailing in a five setter at the Australian open final. Clearly, Nadal was playing on Federer's mind and critics started doubting the ability of the great man. He lost in many tournaments leading to the French open but in the masters at Madrid, he managed to gain some crucial confidence by defeating Nadal. In a shock upset in the 4th round at Paris, Robin Soderling of Sweden defeated Rafael Nadal who was in the quest for his 5th consecutive French Open title. This paved the way for Federer, but he still had to deal with the huge expectations and the demons in his head. He played very much below par in the initial games and scraped through against Tommy Haas in the 4th round in 5 sets after going down 2 sets. In the quarters he raised his game and defeated local and crowd favorite Gael Monfils in straight sets. In the semis he came up against the tall and talented Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro whom he had thrashed in Melbourne earlier. This time though, Del Potro had different ideas. He took advantage of a slow federer and built up a lead. Down 2 sets to 1, Federer rallied and used his immense experience and mental strength to outlast the fighting Argentinian. Federer was through to the final where he was up against Nadal's conqueror Robin Soderling who had prevailed over Fernando Gonzalez in a 5 set semi final himself.

This was the chance for Federer to etch his name in the annals of history and step into the realms of tennis immortality. He stepped on court to resounding cheers and produced a dazzling display of tennis. His drop shots, rasping forehands and brilliant coverage of the court left Soderling stunned. Just when he was seeking some divine intervention, Soderling received some assistance in form of a supporter of federer who ran on to the court and tried to place a hat on Federer. He was whisked away but this left Federer a little rattled. Soderling managed to take the set to a tie break. Was it going to be another difficult path for the great Swiss? The genius played one of the greatest tie breaks of his careers and served 4 aces on the way to winning the second set and effectively the match. Soderling had lost the plot and ended up losing his serve at the beginning of the 3rd set and this all but put paid to his hopes of winning. Federer, despite a couple of close calls including couple of break points, served out the match with a great serve. He than sank o his knees and cried like a player who has won his first open. This showed how much it meant to him. He had equalled the great Pete Sampras and also became only the 6th man to win all 4 majors (Career Grand slam). He was presented the trophy by the legend Andre Agassi who incidentally went on to win the French open and the Grand slam 10 years earlier in 1999.

This win dispelled all doubts anyone may have had about him being an all time great. He has now clearly laid to rest all questions people posed and has countered every criticism in the way only true champions can. A mild and friendly demeanor masks an iron will and this combined with a remarkable eye and extraordinary grace and ability on a tennis court not to mention all the statistical achievements undoubtedly catapult him to the top of the league of all time greats to have graced this wonderful game.