pabletion
Hall of Fame
I'm in absolute awe of him, and this, coming from a NADAL fan. I have to confess Im more of a tennis fan than a die hard Nadal fan, although, I've rooted for him more for two reasons:
1. I can relate to his game, which is not as tidy and perfect as Federer
2. He was the relentless up and comer, he WAS the underdog (until he tipped the balance on his favor)
I surrendered to Federer I think back when he won his 15th Major, which broke the GS record, and, looking back, I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that he has won FIVE MORE since. I remember Sampras breaking Roy Emerson's record back in the day, and that it had been such a hard task to accomplish, then this Federer guy pops up, beats Sampras on his "home turf" and it all took off. He, apparently, set the bar at 17 Grand Slam titles, when his career seemed, to many, myself included, to wind down.
I sincerely though it was all done, that 17 was absolutely incredible and that he earned the right to play for as long as he wanted, and that everything he accomplished after that was a bonus. I wished for him to win one more, just one more, to step away with all the class in the likes of Sampras. This seemed, however, just wishful thinking, as time and again he fell to the apparently fitter, younger, faster stronger gang: Djokovic, Nadal, then even Murray seemed to catch up, Wawrinka....
Federer winning the 2017 Australian Open for his 18th major seemd to be the cherry on top of a glorious career, out of the blue like that, I mean, never count Federer out, but it was a surprise. I thought THAT was it. Fed thought otherwise. One more Wimbledon. Because that is where it should all end.
Once and again, Im wrong. Here he is, winning another Slam, his THIRD since I counted him out, almost FIFTEEN YEARS after his first.
Im beyond words. I wish he never gets tired of playing, I wish he craves the competition, kinda like Muster does, and plays till he is 50 (hyperbole), till he is loosing on 3rd, 4rth rounds, playing almost exclusivlely Majors, because, the day he does walk away, it is going to be a very very sad hard day for me, a tennis fan, who can only dream of hitting that ball as perfectly as he does.
This is his twentieth year as a pro, Im sure a lot of you have become used to him being there, probably have only witnessed tennis with him playing, but that dreaded day is not that far away. Something tells me this 2018 will be the last we see from him, makes me sad inside. Then again, I've been wrong before.
All hail King Federer!
1. I can relate to his game, which is not as tidy and perfect as Federer
2. He was the relentless up and comer, he WAS the underdog (until he tipped the balance on his favor)
I surrendered to Federer I think back when he won his 15th Major, which broke the GS record, and, looking back, I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that he has won FIVE MORE since. I remember Sampras breaking Roy Emerson's record back in the day, and that it had been such a hard task to accomplish, then this Federer guy pops up, beats Sampras on his "home turf" and it all took off. He, apparently, set the bar at 17 Grand Slam titles, when his career seemed, to many, myself included, to wind down.
I sincerely though it was all done, that 17 was absolutely incredible and that he earned the right to play for as long as he wanted, and that everything he accomplished after that was a bonus. I wished for him to win one more, just one more, to step away with all the class in the likes of Sampras. This seemed, however, just wishful thinking, as time and again he fell to the apparently fitter, younger, faster stronger gang: Djokovic, Nadal, then even Murray seemed to catch up, Wawrinka....
Federer winning the 2017 Australian Open for his 18th major seemd to be the cherry on top of a glorious career, out of the blue like that, I mean, never count Federer out, but it was a surprise. I thought THAT was it. Fed thought otherwise. One more Wimbledon. Because that is where it should all end.
Once and again, Im wrong. Here he is, winning another Slam, his THIRD since I counted him out, almost FIFTEEN YEARS after his first.
Im beyond words. I wish he never gets tired of playing, I wish he craves the competition, kinda like Muster does, and plays till he is 50 (hyperbole), till he is loosing on 3rd, 4rth rounds, playing almost exclusivlely Majors, because, the day he does walk away, it is going to be a very very sad hard day for me, a tennis fan, who can only dream of hitting that ball as perfectly as he does.
This is his twentieth year as a pro, Im sure a lot of you have become used to him being there, probably have only witnessed tennis with him playing, but that dreaded day is not that far away. Something tells me this 2018 will be the last we see from him, makes me sad inside. Then again, I've been wrong before.
All hail King Federer!
