Federer- Class, Charisma and Character

 

Federer- Class, Charisma and Character

If I were asked to name three of my favourite sports persons, I could do it without even blinking my eyes. They will always be- Dravid, Federer and Dhoni. If you ask me the reason for such a selection, the only satisfactory answer I can give is they possess class, charisma and character. That does not imply all other sports persons does not have these qualities. The choice is very subjective.

Out of the three, Dravid and Dhoni retired few years back (Dhoni still is a part of IPL). A couple of weeks back Federer also decided to end his illustrious career. It was not totally unexpected. Still, it took some time for me to accept the reality.

What made him one of my favourite players? For me he was, and hopefully will remain, the best on tennis court. He brought poetry into tennis. The grace and ease he exhibited, to the otherwise strenuous game, is unbelievable. Tennis always stood for power, speed and agility. Federer weaved magic into the game by introducing cleverness, elegance and swiftness. He was not the most powerful or the fastest in the court. But he had the uncanny ability to be there in the court where the ball needs him to be. It was as if the ball gave him some prior, silent signals about its movements. It was as if the ball and his racket where in love. They were inseparable.

There are umpteen number of shots he played which can be described as sublime. When he is playing, some unbelievable shots, look so easy and commonplace. With his effortless movements on court, he took the game to a different level altogether.

He was not without his flaws. When young, he had his anger, irritation and frustration to be conquered. What make him different is the fact that he was able to overcome those shortcomings with great determination. Since then, there was always a permanent smile and calmness on his face.

At the same time, he never shied away from displaying his emotions. He was not the superhuman who controlled all the emotions and projected an image of a macho man. He shed tears, unabashedly, both when he lost and won. Even while being the most popular sports person on earth, he remained a simple human being.

After his retirement, there are thousands of videos doing the round. Each one of them revealing the characteristics of Federer. I would like to mention one out of those videos.

In that video he had lost the match to Nadal and was asked to say a few words as the runner -up. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he was not able to make his speech. The whole crowd was cheering for him. So the moderator intervened and said, “While Federer regain his composure, let me invite Nadal, the champion, to come forward and say a few words”. Nadal started with apologizing to the crowd. He said, “Sorry for today”, hinting that he knew that is  not the outcome the crowd expected and the crowd exploded to a huge round of applause. Nadal continued,” We all know Federer will be one of the legendary players this game has ever seen and he will surpass the number of Grand slams won by Pete Samprass. Once again sorry for the day”. Nadal was extremely genuine. It seemed that he was really sorry for winning that match. Which opponent, after being the winner, will make such remarks. While that also shows the greatness of Nadal, that is what the personality of Federer does to you.

Interestingly, I know about Federer’s family quite well. I know how much he loves Mirka and their children. Mirka is such an integral part of his life that you can’t think of Federer without her. I would confess that I don’t have that much knowledge about the family of other sports persons. Very rarely you will find such a celebrity who could carry his personal life so openly and easily. For him the game and family are the one and the same. I don’t think he had any difficulty, at any point of time, in finding a balance between the two. He displayed his affection unashamedly, but at the same time, without being over sentimental.

And then we witnessed his final match. The spontaneous overflow of emotions and friendship was in full display. On court he was a fierce competitor. Off court, he was an effable and likeable person. He broke so many records on his way but was careful in not breaking a single heart in his career. He mesmerized us with his sublime perfection and at the same time he was ready to accept his flaws and weaknesses.

Even at the peak of his career he remained a humble human being, who, despite all his fame, we felt is approachable. We could always relate with him without any difficulty.

Records will be broken and many of his achievements may be surpassed. Nevertheless, Federer the player and the person cannot be replaced by anyone else. The masterpieces he created on court can never be bettered. He taught us grit, determination and hard work is inevitable to achieve greatness. But for me, what makes him stand apart, is his ability to illustrate that there is aesthetics and poetry even in the game of tennis.