PARIS — At 9:37 p.m., the lion roared. Roger F
ederer, the greatest player in the history of the game, blasted a screaming ace, held a single finger skyward, looked to his wife, Mirka, and friends, and roared in delight as the dusk of Paris descended.
Ultimately pride matters.
The man who pundits ignored — too old, too flawed, too distracted — made his statement: “I was King, I am King.”
Now the glorious streak of a Serbian slugger — 41 straight wins in 2011; and 43 straight dating back to his 2010 Davis Cup heroics — laid tattered in the red dust of the world’s foremost clay court. Not only would Novak Djokovic fail to gain the No. 1 ranking he has cherished since he was seven, records by the formidable John McEnroe (42 to start a year) and Guillermo Vilas (46 in a row overall) remained in place.
And as the hot afternoon first gave way to golden light, then hints of darkness, the Court Centrale throng roared. The definitive player of our generation, the man who has won 16 Slams, who had flicked aside one challenger after another, again showed why he has been compared to the greats — da Vinci, Picasso, Baryshnikov — pick ’em. But in the end, Federer was simply a mean linebacker — intense, on a mission. His mother, Lynette, said his greatest attribute was determination.
Was this his greatest win? Of course not. It was just a semi. Still, with so much on the line (including a date with Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final), the battle between the best player ever and the best player these days was compelling drama.
“That was as high a quality tennis match in that fourth set as can physically be played right now,” said the Tennis Channel’s Justin Gimelstob. “That was two of the greatest athletes tennis has ever seen at the highest possible gear. People have counted Roger Federer out and they’re crazy. There is a lot more in the tank and today was a statement, not only of his past greatness, but of what he is still capable of producing.”
Relaxed and calm, moving with ease, he slapped many a forehand winner, protected his backhand and at times unleashed striking winners off his weaker wing. His net forays, though few, had purpose. This, in a way, was the Roger of old. Not the recent trooper with a crooked ranking and slight signs of decline — the .387 hitter who was hitting just .301. No, he hadn’t reached a Slam final since the ’10 Aussie Open, but on this day, we saw his variety, his will and a serve that many consider his best stroke. With power, spin and guile, he continually called on it as a weapon or a bailout in a match that had wild momentum swings and service break after service break. One of the great frontrunners in sports — Federer is now 175-0 when he’s up two sets in Slams – the Swiss felt comfortable once he established a 7-6(5), 6-3 lead. Plus, the French crowd — chanting “Raah-ger, Raah-ger” — had his back throughout. Despite the loss, Djokovic felt relief that the tournament was over and announced that he will be pulling out of the Wimbledon warm-up at Eastbourne.
“It was best five months of my life, my tennis career,” Djokovic told reporters. “I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it’s coming. Unfortunately, it came in the bad moment. It was a big match today.”
For his part, Federer honored his foe, saying the Serb was unlucky in the first set, that it was a pleasure to play him. “His record speaks for itself, how great he’s played already this season, and it’s not even over yet. He can still achieve so much more this year…We played some great tennis…The way they back me her in Paris is just an amazing feeling…I’m privileged to live this in my career.”
And so, too, were over 16,000 ecstatic onlookers and millions across the globe. After all, The Mighty Federer had returned. Long live the King.
