Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Roger and Out??

There was once an albatross.. Personified in dynamic soaring, scaling heights hitherto unheared of, swooping down on its prey, exhibiting a ruthlessness that was savage... yet so graceful..Its reign on top was unchallenged.. A flight record so unblemished.. The skies went silent.. Not wanting to meddle with its mantle..
But the universe is witness to paradigm shifts of power centres.. And times can be brutal..The weather suddenly started seeming nebulous.. And then, there was a flash.. a lightning one.. Accompanied by a deafening thunder... A genesis was born... Call him Genesis or the Albatross' nemesis...Ya Fed... Your reign is under challenge...

Anybody who had been engrossed in the epic battle downunder would have been stumped, watchin the Swiss king's hard court supremacy being dethroned.As a matter of fact,during a pre match interview Sampras,Mcenroe,Laver,Borg , all legends of the game predicted a Fedex victory. Little did they know, he was to be denied that night.

Rafael Nadal is the Man of the moment. His Wimbledon victory,dismissed as a flash in the pan, it took him this victory, a statement, to prove his detractors otherwise. This, after playing the longest australian open match in the semis
less than 40 hrs ago.No wonder hez called 'The perpetually moving human wall' which keeps returning whatever is thrown at it with equal force and it has brute written all over it. Dispelling notions of him getting physically bruised,he gave Roger a mental bruising.

Tennis has a rich history of great rivalries. Mcenroe-Borg,Edberg-Becker,Sampras-Agassi and now Nadal-Federer.The greatness of the game lies in the richness and variety that these rivalries bring along with them.Mcenroe's tantrums to Borg's Icy coolnes, Edberg's textbook backhand to Becker's booming serves,Sampras' volleys to Agassi's returns and now Federer's grace to Rafa's power.Viewers have always enjoyed their money's worth.

But the magnitude of this occasion was epitomised by what happened as soon as the match got over.Federer,overcome by emotions, broke down. Those were tears not for his loss.Those were tears not for his inability to win. Those were tears which eulogized his conquerer. So true.. Sport can be so cruel..But then.. Where would beauty be without cruelty?.

Fedex may be jinxed at 13 grand slams.. Whether the jinx is the numeral 13 or Nadal, is something that time would tell.But is the time ripe enough to say "Roger and out"??..Certainly not!!..

2 comments:

Samba said...

I have never liked Fed or Rafa.

They are great players, yes. But there is something missing when they play.. Magic.

You can say what's going to happen with the game at the end of two serves. You can just feel it.. It's no longer that unpredictable game, when people bounce back from 1-5, super-hero-style, and win the game.

Brute force rules the game. Two forms of it, one hidden behind grace, and the other.. doesn't care much about camouflages.

Let Murray stop these children. :) Things are gonna get better then..

Adithya said...

Add Djokovic n Verdasco to the list!! :)... I loved the semis!!:)