Wimbledon is all about order. Strawberries, cream, the 1 p.m. start for the men’s defending champion Roger Federer.
Today was to be no different. Federer, with six glistening Wimbledon trophies, would for the seventh straight year open another splendid Wimbledon and win yet another Grand Slam match — the 200th of his career. And, of course, it would be nice and tidy as it always is — just in time for Roger to take in the Switzerland-Spain World Cup. Yes, he was up against the same type of foe he last lost to at Wimbledon, a left-handed Spanish speaking player. But Alejandro (“who’s he?”) Falla is no Rafa Nadal. He had never won an ATP title, he hadn’t reached the third round of a major until this year’s Aussie Open, he hadn’t beaten a top 10 player since ’07. he was 0-4 against Federer, and unless you were a fan of Colombian Davis Cup battles, you had never heard of the fellow.
True, Falla and Federer are right next to each other in the media guide. But that was about all the proximity these guys tennis resumes had in common. Just two weeks ago Fed had demolished the Colombian 6-1, 6-1. Commentators even joked that his name meant fault.
But, on this earth shaking day their was little to fault in the Colombian’s game. Pinning Federer to the backhand corner, unleashing cross-court backhands, serving with punishing conviction, it was Falla who made the King of Centre Court was look like a pauper, as he broke in the tenth game of the match and promptly closed out the first set 7-5.
Okay, every great actor can feel opening night gitters — no problem. But, Federer is no ordinary actor. The last time Roger failed to get out of the first round at Wimbledon was back in ’02 and since then he’s reached every final.
But on this day — like many days of late — there was something Roger could not reach: his “A” game.
His movement was suspect. His usual balance seemed askew. His forehand failed to impose. He faltered at key moments. He shanked too many groundies and netted too many volleys. His second serve returns had little conviction and his backhand was a mess. He failed to step up on his strokes and couldn’t step up on his confidence.
True, Federer’s parents were in the front box of the Royal Box. But their son was playing like a commoner. The Colombian took advantage. Punishing Fed’s backhand on the serve, blasting power forehands, hitting inspired down the line backhands, adeptly reading Fed’s serve and playing inside the baseline, the seemingly unfazed challenger-level journeyman challenged the game’s greatest player on the game’s greatest stage.
Before the worms on Centre Court could even scurry for cover, scored another break (at 3-3 in the second set) which propelled him to a seemingly commanding two set lead.
The man with 16 majors, who we last saw on this court with a blazer that announced his noble achievement, was now edging towards infamy.
From Henman Hill to the (see and be seen) Tea Room, one heard the whispers: “what’s goin’ on? Would this be the biggest upset in Wimby history, in tennis history?”
Defending Wimbledon champion and No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt had lost to Ivo Karlovic in first round in ’03. But this was of a different magnitude. A Federer loss here would be unthinkable, tectonic, astonishing.
At 4-4 in the third set, Falla was up 40-0, with three break-points in hand. But Federer smashed a forehand, yelled “com’ on, ” won a delicious scramble point topped off by an acrobatic backhand overhead. At last, Fed called on a suddenly discovered grit that served him well as he dramatically saved four break points which enabled him to win the third set 6-4.
Now on the scoreboard, his serve in gear and his foe dealing with a groin injury — surely Fed would now roll with ease. The calvary had arrived. But Falla broke early in the set and found himself serving for history at 5-4. But on this momentous opening day, we were to realize there was a reason why the South American with a scrubby beard has had scruffy career with career high ranking of 79, while the serene and sublime Alpine whiz had reigned, usually supreme. The wily Federer —refusing to be beat — took advantage of key Falla errors and went to his favorite shot of late, the drop shot, to score a key winner, which he backed up with a Federerian forehand to break back and tie the fourth set 5-5.
Federer exhaled. The fevor broke and Fed at last prevailed as he swept through the fourth set tie-break (7-1) and collected the anti-climatic fifth set 6-0. Never mind that on this day tennis almost came off its axis. Never mind that Federer’s game tilted. Never mind that he converted only one of nine break points and he looked decisively ordinary.
Never mind all that.
In the end, Roger showed us the extraordinary.
You could call it the “Just Do It” mindset of his sponsor Nike. Or the “Winning Ugly” mentality of his former coach Brad Gilbert. But ultimately, it was the survival instinct of our game’s greatest performer, a soon-to-be 29-year-old who would not go away, who would not be beaten, who would not be denied — not on this day, not on this court, not at this tournament he loves with every fiber of his perhaps shaken, but still very considerable soul.
