There is simply no 'just' in sports. And it was proved yesterday at the Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, Australia when World No.2 tennis player Roger Federer broke down in tears while giving his runners-up acceptance speech after losing the Australian Open Grand Slam final to fellow rival and World No.1 Rafael Nadal.
After relinquishing his previously held World No.1 spot to Nadal after losing to the Spaniard in last year's Wimbledon Grand Slam final, Federer was heavily touted to defeat Nadal in yesterday's final, which would see Federer matching Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles. Above all, he did have a huge fan base in Australia, and as the Master of Ceremonies pointed out- if Australia were to adopt a foreign sportsman as their own, its going to the Swiss- known affectionately as Fedex (after Fedex Courier Express..lol).
Everything about this year's Australian Open final was spectacular. Heading into the match, Federer had a relatively easy semifinal victory as opposed to Nadal grinding out a phenomenal five-set victory over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in what was the longest match in the Australian Open history (it lasted more than 6 hours). Nadal's semifinal took place one day after Fedex's semifinal, and coupled with the tiring match which lasted so long, Federer was everybody's favorite in the final given his fitness, form book and support. But end of the day, its heart, desire, and passion which counts for victory as Rafael Nadal proved. Being a Nadal fan myself, I was made to believe that Federer is still the king on Hard Court (Nadal is the undisputed king of the clay court), so it emerged as a surprise when Nadal used his sheer resilience and ability to recover a point out of nothing to defeat Federer 7-5 in the first set. According to the pundits, Federer was supposed to 'blow Nadal away' in three sets.
But I feared the worst when Nadal started looking severely tired in the second set and Federer comfortably won 6-3. The onslaught may have very well started. Came the third set, and in seemingly dead situations with the odds firmly stacked against him, Nadal constantly held serve and dragged the match towards a tie-breaker. And then another spot of bother, Nadal had his trainer on court and seems to be suffering a hamstring problem. The commentator was already saying it, at this moment, that Nadal was 'not human' because he keeps going despite the odds. Nadal shockingly swept away Federer 7-3 in tie-breaker, which means Federer will need five sets if he were to beat Nadal. At that point, it was already a moral victory for the 22-year-old Madritista for he has come much farther than anyone had though he would come.
But Federer once again played his sublime tennis and blew Rafa 6-3 in the fourth set, and again, the spectators were thinking that Fedex would win the final set comfortably. All the physical exhaustion seems to have kept Nadal unfazed, and definitely Federer was disturbed by Nadal's repeated action of rising back from seemingly impossible situations. Nadal was the one instead, to sweep away Federer 6-2 in the final set and take his own sixth Grand Slam. And it certainly stunned everyone. Not once was one omen pointing at Nadal's win before this match. His fitness, his exhaustion (remember, including the final he has played 10 hours of tennis in the space of 48 hours), the very fact that Federer is always great in hard court, the extra day's rest that Federer had, the fact that the Australian crowd supports Fedex, and above all, the fact that Nadal called his trainer revealed he was having a hamstring problem. Yet, he played, and triumphed. And Federer cried.
"God, its killing me," Fedex said while giving his acceptance speech before breaking down. What killed him was Nadal's utter determination. It hurts Fedex that the country had wanted him to win, and that with the win he would equal Sampras' record, it just hurted him further because he knew there and then that it was Roger Federer, and not Rafel Nadal, who should have wanted the trophy more badly, who should have shown more determination and spirit of fight back. Roger Federer is a great champion and a sublime tennis player, but from now on he will learn one aspect that separates a champion from a legend- the spirit of never, ever giving up. Federer was never stretched this far before in his career until Nadal came along, now he is being stretched, and should he reply with aplomb and defeat Nadal by showing determination in the future, then this man will be worthy of a legendary status that many people are wanting to give him.
As far as Rafa is considered, only numbers count now. Let it be in the Wimbledon final, where he defeated Fedex in another historic five-set thriller and stripped of Federer of his 'king of grass' title, or let it be against Verdasco in the semifinal where he kept raking up points that are ludicrously impossible, he has shown that he has the steel that has seen him participate in few of the greatest matches tennis has ever witnessed. And at 22, its all about him going on to win a certain more number of Grand Slams in order to become a true legend, and a great ambassador for a sport called tennis.
And Federer was right when he criticized Novak Djokovic for retiring in a whiff against Andy Roddick in the tournament- just look at Nadal and you will know what it takes for you to become the great champion. That is something Djokovic is a long way off becoming.
That, in the heart of the cute, muscular young man from Madrid, who hugged Federer after collecting his Australian Open trophy, consoled him and said 'you are one of the best, I'm sure you will win the No.14 Slam this year'- lies the true art of becoming a champion.
Vamos Rafa.
P.S. Congratulations to Yuki Bhambri for winning the Junior's title (finally, a future prospect from Asia) and also to Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi for their mixed doubles titles. (India's going good in tennis). :)
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