Roger Federer

I am avid tennis fan. From the days of Pietrangelli,Ramnathan Krishnan, Rod Laver, Newcomb, Amritraj bros till now I have watched the rise and eclipse of so many great names in Men's tennis.Pete Sampras was the first player whom I started admiring for his game and on court and off court behaviour. Before Pete, all others became insignificant!One by one they bit the dust. Lendl, Connors,Macenroe, Borg. Wilander the list is long.But not until one youngster who was still wet behind the ears yet came form somewhere and showed the world he intends to stay there for sometime to come- Roger Federer.He started winning titles one after the other and became the cynosure of all when he defeated his own idol, Pete Sampras in 2001 Wimbledon Final.Federer wept unashamedly like he did when he lost Australian Open to Nadal almost a decade later,because he won the first Grand Slam beating his favourite player after whom he fashioned his own game. Sixteen Grand Slams and almost all amjor tournaments later his game is at cross roads. For almost 10 years he reigned supreme. The King Federer had no rivals!He won the coveted Davis Cup for his country-Switzerland. there was still one more Grandslam to be added to his kitty-French Open. Two years ago he won that too.He was 29 and Nadal was breathing down his neck.His winnings came to a trickle one here, another there, he became erratic,his powerful shots seemed to slip away losing points at the end of long rallies...well, his game no longer had the consistency which was its backbone once. I don't know how he's going to fare in 2012 Wimbledon which is going on.I saw the way he thrashed the spaniard Ramos 6-1,6-1,6-1 with some delectable shots,net drops and baseline drives.Tennis critics are wondering if he'll achieve the seemingly impossible task of a 7th Wimbledon Crown, we can't say anything now. (I myself don't see him going beyond semifinal when he is likely to meet his nemesis Djokovic) Whether he will win anymore tournaments or not is not important. The fact is he has created a special place for himself in the minds of his admirers like me. When the seeded players came to Wimbledon before the draw, everyone jostled to come closer to Federer. Not many bothered about Nadal or Djokovic. Federer didn't disappoint anyone. One young boy stammered:'' Can I be good-er sorry-like you?''Federer ruffled his hair and asked him''How good are you now?'' I was in Doha for 2011 Qatar Open. The final was between Federer and Davidenko. When Federer came to the court there was an electrified effect! All rose to give him a standing ovation. Today also, when he beat Ramos, I witnessed the same. Everyone got up and applaued him; not because he defeated a much junior player; that ovation is only for legends like him. No wonder he was the 2nd most popular person after Nelson Mandela!