Roger Federer famous sobbing words at Australian open 2009 final

It is surely will be one of the most enduring scenes in the history of the Australian Open, which ended last Sunday with the best Men’s Singles final in memory, contested by evidently the best two players on the planet. The sight of a grown up man, a 27 year – old sporting icon, a man who dominated tennis at the world’s highest level for five years, a man who at a stage appeared unbeatable when he was in his element, breaking down in very public glare, infact before the whole world, after receiving his runner-up trophy certainly “wasn’t pretty,” in the words of John Esangbedo MD, in a seemingly unsympathetic text message soon after the painful episode. I will revisit that text message later in this piece.

In all my followership of tennis around the world, spanning more than four decades the only scene comparable to Federer’s very public emotional display was the presentation ceremony after the Ladies Singles final of the 1993 edition of Wimbledon, when the Duchess of Kent offered her shoulder for the Czech Republic’s Jana Novotna to cry on. For the records, Novotna was serving with a 4-0 and 40-0 lead in the third and final set of the Ladies Singles final, when she was suddenly overcome by nerves or as Americans love to put it, “choked” and amazingly lost a match she was in complete control of. Her eminent opponent and defending champion, Steffi Graf of Germany, cashed in on Novotna’s “choke” and reeled off six straight games to win the match 7-6, 1-6, 6-4. As they say, the German snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

When Novotna was called to receive her runner-up prize from the Royalty, she openly broke into tears, and the sympathetic Duchess drew her nearer and helped soak the understanding tears on her Royal shoulder. That scene will never be forgotten in UK, indeed the whole of the tennis world. A near-similar occurence happened sixteen years later in Melbourne, Australia. The first 5 sets Men’s final since Mats Wilander of Sweden defeated “home boy” Pat Cash in the 1988 men’s final, was memorable enough because of the sublime tennis exhibited by 27 year-old Roger Federer of Switzerland and 22 year -old Rafael Nadal of Spain, for much of the contest which went into the fifth hour. But even the thoroughly enjoyable final managed to be upstaged by a singular episode which somehow dominated the presentation ceremony following the spectacular final which was won 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 by world number one Rafael Nadal.

Like Novotna on the lush green courts of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet club in London following her unlikely loss to Graf, Federer was called to receive his hard-earned Silver Plate runner-up prize from the legendary Australian Rod Laver, many times himself a past winner of the title. What happened thereafter to the 3 times former champion (2004, 2006, 2007) will for ever remain one of the most enduring emotional moments in Australian Open history just as the 1993 Wimbledon has been. It is no longer news that, on receiving his trophy and was about to address a hugely partisan record 23,000 crowd (in Federer’s favour), the great man broke into tears, this time with no Royal shoulders to soak his tears on.

Just before he broke down, he managed to mutter a few words: “I’ve felt better. Maybe I’ll try later. God it’s killing me.” The man cried, and it was hard not to cry with him if your heart is not made of stone. The sight of Federer’s lower lip trembling would have been enough to start most soft-hearted observers off, but by the time his tears started flowing, a very large proportion of the capacity Rod Laver Stadium Court crowd, and the millions watching around the world on television were probably reaching for their tissue cleaners too. If that would not move the stone-hearted, then the sight of Nadal putting his arm around his beaten opponent in friendly consolation would at least have set off a worldwide outbreak of sniffles. Australia, as I found out especially during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and many years of coverage of the Australian Open in Melbourne, values comradeship or mateship, perhaps more than any other nation on earth, and you will not see a better embodiment of that than the sight of one great champion comforting another.

Australians without a doubt love Federer as if he were their own, and this is confirmed in the words of Geoff Pollard, President of Tennis Australia, who, just before the presentation Ceremonies began, said of the Swiss: “Australians loves Federer. We wish we could adopt him as our own. There can be no better ambassador in any sport than Roger. For what you have done all these years, the quality you have consistently brought to bear on our Grandslam event, all Australian love, you, and I have their permission to tell you.” Pollard’s message was greeted with another of the series of standing ovations from an appreciative crowd during and after the memorable and high quality final.

As hard as Federer, ever so sportmanlike and a decent gentleman, tried not to take the limelight away from his conqueror (Nadal) at the moment Spain had its first Australian Open champion, the victor in a match of such enduring quality, and winner of his sixth Grand Slam title at the age of just 22, the Swiss master’s was a scene-stealing performance nonetheless. As Nadal, himself a great and humble champion, like Federer, said in his acceptance speech, “Roger is one of the greatest players of all time.” But the truth is he (Federer) came second on the night, and that hurt like hell. As the Swiss said before the sobs took over, “God, it’s killing me.” This is a statement not totally understood by Mrs. Alero Edu of the Channels Television. What exactly did he mean by that? Mrs. Edu, herself a tennis faithful and Federer devotee, wanted to know in her text message.

To be sure, that statement is pregnant with meaning, and it needs a lot of analysis, which although, I am neither Federer, nor his counsel (he has no coach) and so unqualified to read his mind, I should try my utmost to decipher. Let me confess to readers outthere that, like Mrs. Edu, I am an unrepentant fan of Federer, and like Alero, I have no apologies for clinging to something that has been giving me boundless joy all these years. It’s like asking me to apologise for not denying myself the joy which British singer Elton John (now Sir) has been giving me for decades. The way I feel about Federer is the same way I felt about American John McEnroe in his days. I love people who bring pure art to their trade, like a painter with the brush. That may explain why I’m a Manchester United fan (since 1958) but who has a space in my heart for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal’s enduring philosophy of exotic passing game. I am also a tennis traditionalist scholar, historian, and an addict of the one-handed backhand a la Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten a.k.a GUGA, Federer, Richard Gasquet, and lately Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, one of the revelations of this year’s Australian Open. But I’ll postpone anything just to watch Federer play, and I am not alone.

God, what’s killing Federer? His place already secured in history as one of, if not the greatest player of all time, Federer, while entertaining those of us who appreciate smooth and elegant striking of the ball from anywhere on court, and ballet-like movement about court, for many years has won 13 of the last 23 Grand Slam tournaments, his first dating back to Wimbledon 2003. Of his haul of 13 Grand Slams titles, only one short of bossom friend Pete Sampras’s record, three were from Australia, five at Wimbledon, and another five at the US Open, while he has never won at the French Open, and probably never will if Nadal is in the draw.

His five titles at Wimbledon and the US Open were successive ones. Federer thus had left the rest of the world to share the remaining ten Grand Slam titles- six for Nadal, and one each for Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio (French Open 2004), Andy Roddick of USA (US Open 2003), Russia’s Marat Safin (Aussie Open 2005), And Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (Aussie Open 2008).

Federer is therefore the “king” of his generation. What then is killing him? Money, for sure, is the least of his problems, after having won nearly 50 million dollars in prize money, and twice as much as product endorsements in his illustrious and storied career. To separate himself from past legends like Sweden’s Bjorn Borg Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, USA’s Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Germany’s Boris Becker, Federer needs to win the French Open to have a shot at the Tennis Grand Slam in the same calendar year, a feat last achieved by Rod Laver, and unattainable by any of the above. Federer obviously knows that, at 27 , and with the current exploits of the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gael Monfils, time is not on his side.

What could also be “killing” Federer is this gigantic issue of reclaiming the world number one ranking from Nadal, who is busy widening the gap between him and the nearest challenger 14,260 points to Federer’s 11,000 points after Sunday’s final. But the greatest “killer” is the possibility that he (Federer) may never again be able to beat Nadal, and on any surface too. One can understand Federer’s cry of frustration. In my opinion, he raised the level of his game higher than I ever saw him do (aside the service off-day), just to snap his loosing streak against Nadal. Yet, he ended second best.

What else must Federer do to beat Nadal, and how can he equal Pete Sampras’s record? At this point, perhaps the only way to win another Grand Slam title is to hope some other player upsets Nadal. That way, he would not have to face the Spaniard in the final. As it has turned out, time and time again, Nadal has Federer’s measure. It may well be in the head or the mind. When he is up against Federer, Nadal is ready to put everything on the line, including risking body damage, and playing with pain. Nadal invites Federer to hit out-of-the-world winners all the time. And God has not created anyone who is faultless. And Federer cried, in frustration. Well, he is only a human being. A Californian judge, Larry Seidlin wept during the celebrated Anna Nicole Smith court proceedings the other day. Federer, take heart. A man who does not make a mistake is a man who has not tried anything. You are forgiven for showing your emotion in public. You’re only being human. To me, you are the greatest ever. Thanks for all the memories . This view is shared by many around the world.