Champion Unlimited....

Roger Federer is the tennis avatar of the almighty. Endowed with supernatural skills, he WINS time and again. This time at the NASDAQ-100 Open (was played yesterday and me was glued to the TV set despite an early morning bus trip from mumbai to pune!), he came back from 2 sets down to beat a mercurial spanish named Rafael Nadal.

Nadal, a mere mortal, threatened to snap the Swiss GOD's impressive record of 17 straight final victories when he grabbed the first two sets in a high-quality contest. Nadal tried to emulate Hewitt with the irritating grunts and the clenched fist come-ons. He caught Federer napping with a high energy first set win (6-2). Then clinched the next one resisting Federers belligerence on the tiebreak. Federer appeared hampered by blisters on his foot during these two sets. His forehand and volleys were both missing their mark and he notched an uncharacteristic 20 unforced errors in the first set.

Probably the avatar wanted to prove a new point. Federer always run through his opponents (Andre Agassi cant agree more with his seven straight loses to federer). This time he let
the Spaniard (who played like a gladiator throughout the match) dream of a win in the final. Roger wanted to show the world that he can come back from a total hopeless situation. In the third set, like the second one, Nadal was on hiw way to the crown. But
the Swiss took the set when a Nadal backhand sailed long in what proved to be the turning point in the match. Having won the third set, Federer found his rhythm and his forehand became increasingly dangerous. An early break in the fourth set ensured a deciding set and with Nadal's self-belief draining away, Federer assumed control in the fifth.

He swept to victory after three hours and 42 minutes, greeting the moment with clenched fists.

I managed to keep my eyes open throughout and when Federer exalted on his victory point, I dropped off from my couch onto the floor only to be woken up by my mom at dawn!!

I bow in front of the lord. IN every generation there are such stalwarts. There was John Mcenroe, Connors, Martina Navratilova, Graf and Sampras. I have watched most of them and doted them. But no one, NO ONE is as good as RF. He is simply the best, much better than all the rest. I am sure when he retires, he would be like Schumacher or Bradman or Tendulkar or Nadia or Mohammed Ali...with unbeatable records and unbeatable memories for his fans to savour.