The Standpoint

Federer breaks Roddick, and record

By

Abhishek Mukherjee

Roger Federer had to be aided heavily by lady luck for his record-breaking 15^th Grand Slam title when he scraped through the sternest of tests by the skin of his teeth from Andy Roddick in the men’s singles final here on July 6. It was advantage Roddick from the start of this cliff-hanger of a match as he probably gave it more than his best for his first Wimbledon title, breaking Federer twice in the match and having four set points in the second set for a two sets to love lead, only to be denied by destiny.

The American lost 7-5, 6-7(6-8), 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 14-16 in an epic final that lasted 4 hours and 19 minutes. It was a matter of a single break of serve in the final set, which did not happen till the 30^th game of the set. All of Roddick’s shots were more than a match for Federer, who was invariably always saved by his serves – he conjured up 50 aces in the entire match.

The Swiss now holds the record for holding the most number of grand slam titles in history, breaking Sampras’ record, which stood at fourteen.

“I thought Andy played great,” said a relieved Federer. “It was so different to what I have experienced in the last few years against Rafa. Today it was a serve-and-return game which is more classical for grass. It's frustrating at times because I could not break Andy until the very end. So satisfaction is maybe bigger this time around, the fact that I came through after not being able to control the match at all.”

Sampras, however, had to concede that the man from Basel was the best in the sport. “I have to give it to him,” he said.

For much of his career till 2007, the man they called ‘magician’ stood victorious in almost all the tournaments that came his way, holding the No.1 spot for a record 237 weeks straight. It was the Spaniard Rafael Nadal who proved a thorn in his way thereon.

In the last two years, the Swiss has merely won three grand slams, two without having to play his nemesis.

Just as Nadal started to prove to have conquered all surfaces when he won his first Australian Open title 6 months ago, he lost to an upbeat Robin Soderling in the third round in the French Open this year. The loss was a shocker but it was later found out to have been because of his long term knee-injury, for which he withdrew from Wimbledon. Federer made most of it to claim the title in Paris.

He might not have expected much of a fight in the finals of the Championships Sunday evening, only to be proved wrong by a rejuvenated Roddick.

The big-serving American took the first set and was on the verge of claiming the next one, being 6-2 up in the tiebreak, but did not have the luck to claim the set and eventually the match. The missed backhand volley, which could have given him the set, must have played in his mind a million times after the 4 hour marathon.

It was evident that his game has undergone a huge positive transformation from before. His forehand was much heavier and effective and his serve was bigger and better (they had always been big). His backhand, which was a liability earlier, proved to be a lethal weapon – he was consistently able to invent passing shot winners from almost any part of the court. It was a delight to see the spring in his step, the desire to win and the self-belief that he could exploit cracks in the champion.

This was his best chance of claiming a grand slam after 6 long years, during which he faced criticism and even despair as he had once thought of giving up his career. In 2004 and ’05, he had faced Federer in the finals here. The Swiss was almost untouchable then, unchallenged and unmatched by anyone – he was completely taken off-guard this time.

“I’m sorry Pete, I couldn’t hold him off,” said Roddick, dignified in defeat and understandably disappointed.

The exhausted 15,000 crowd, which had come to witness history being made by their favourite champion, went home with the idea that the best player did not win. It was Federer’s deep reserves of cunning and stubbornness that allowed him to out-last Roddick. They kept chanting the name of the American after the match.

Roddick vowed to come back to win the title next time. With the Rafas, Djokovics and now Roddicks breathing down his neck, Roger Federer’s reign has all signs to be short-lived.