A letter to God....

Dear Roger Federer,
    As you turn one year younger or for the record, one year older, I have a confession to make and a request to demand. Let's start with the request which also shouts, screams and demands logical and rational explanations to the outrageous things you do on the tennis court. From the backspins to the tweeners, I sometimes fear that you might actually get banned for doing things which your opponent can't even think of in his dreams. Funny enough, the way you embarass your opponent is truly cruel. I remember James Blake once said that Roger will give you a bit more time than some of the top players but he will make you feel like you don't know how to play tennis. I almost fell off my chair laughing but later I tried to put myself in your opponent's shoes and I could imagine how horrible the experience must be. Even watching you play is a thrilling ride sometimes. When you hit a backhand winner early in the first set, we know you are in good touch. It relaxes us a lot and almost gives us a message that this match is not going to last for too long. But when you are having one of those days, even you know that your shots come out very ugly. That is the time when I  think that I might miss a heartbeat. The thing that amazes me that even on your bad days, you make the opponent look like an amateur. Legendary commentator Ronnie Koenig was on air when you were making a mockery of Stafanos Tsitsipas in Shanghai and how he called that match gave me goosebumps. He said-"Tsitsipas is playing his best tennis of the week, Federer is not at his best and I am not surprised he is winning this in straight sets!" 
    So my request to you is for once, please stop this and give us a break. For once, let us believe in the rational and not get carried away by the fantasy. Not everyone aged 38 enters the tournament as favourites. Just for once, do things that befit a man of your age and not an everlasting demigod. For once, let it sink in that all the laws of nature apply to you as well and even your world beating powers have limits. Even atheists have turned into believers because they had no option but to believe that only god can create a man such as you with abilities beyond one's imagination. Be normal Roger, just for once! I am sure unlike most things, you'll probably fail at this, miserably. Because you were born for the unusual, isn't it? Not forfeiting a match in a 21 year long career, really? It is not normal for any average human being, is it? You were born to gracefully defeat players much younger than you on the grandest of stages. Tennys Sandgren was 8 years old when you were good enough to beat the great Pete Sampras at Wimbledon. The same guy was facing you 20 years later at the Rod Laver Arena and you managed to beat him with a sore back, utterly ridiculous! I know it's difficult for you but I repeat. Just for once, be normal!
I think your tennis racquet is a magic wand in disguise because what you showcase is magic and not only tennis. You would definitely qualify as a magician for magic competitions and probably win it. 
    Let us be honest about it. I think only Pete Sampras has had a better serve than you in the history of the game. Does anyone have a better forehand than you? A big 'no' but if anyone does, it's Rafa! Does anyone have a better backhand, yes a few players do but is there a better tennis player than Roger Federer? No second thoughts on this! Roger Federer is the greatest of all time (full stop) 
My earliest memory of you comes from 2005 when I was 8 years old and you beat my second favourite Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon final in front of a jam packed centre court. I have followed you ever since. You have given us so many joyous moments that you have no idea how much do we owe you. 
   I used the word confession and the thing I want to confess is that you are the only sports person that has made me cry more than once. Cristiano makes me applaud. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers excite me but you make me emotional. I don't think I have ever connected to any athlete as much as you. When you lose, it's a sad day of my life and this is the least I could exaggerate it. You are the reason I started to watch this beautiful game and I must say, your retirement might be the reason I will stop watching the sport because there won't be anyone coming remotely close to your genius. I was there to support you when you lost three French Open finals in a row and also when you won 5 wimbledons to match Pete Sampras. I will keep supporting you as I have always done in the past until you call it a day! 

Yours truly,
Gandhar Sathe

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Was Sinner spooked by Alcaraz?

Is this the best Alcaraz has ever played? Yes, he said it himself and this is certainly the best he has played against Jannik Sinner. After the chaos caused by the arrival of Donald Trump, the match eventually started an hour later than the scheduled start time. Alcaraz broke Sinner in the very first game and completely dismantled him to win the set 6-2 in under an hour. The Italian had absolutely no answer to anything that Alcaraz was throwing at him. It wasn't the usual stuff though. There was no trickery from Alcaraz or hardly any sprinkling of stardust. Alcaraz rocked up and decided to play like his opponent, being very stingy and patient with rallies. Alcaraz was prepared to be boring and Sinner got destroyed at his own game in the first hour. The Spaniard had a blip in the second set, like he often does and went 3-0 down which resulted in him losing the set 6-3. In a funny way, it looked like Sinner was trying to impersonate Alcaraz when he was riling up the crowd and frequen...
Read more

Following the Greatest Of All Time!

     From pony hair to the iconic short hair, from Nike to Uniqlo and from witnessing an incredibly talented teenager transforming into the Greatest player to have ever graced the game, Roger Federer's fans have enjoyed a great time following the Swiss maestro over the past 16 years. My earliest crystal clear memory of Roger is of him beating a 20 year-old Rafael Nadal on the Centre court in the 2006 Wimbledon Final. He went on to beat Nadal again in the very next Wimbledon final before going down in 2008 to the same man. 8 Wimbledon titles, 6 Australian opens, 5 US opens and a solitary Roland Garros, a total of 20 Grand Slams is not that ordinary, is it? Most Grand slam finals, most Grand slam semi finals, most Grand slam quarterfinals, most consecutive Grand slam finals and many more such records that Roger Federer has created and holds to this date are just second to none.      But statistics and achievements are there on the internet for everyone to ...
Read more

A Sportsman that God created on a Sunday..

Manchester 15-09-2022 To Roger,          I will not ask 'why' because everyone knows it was inevitable. Many thought you might give it another shot at a slam, preferably at Wimbledon. I personally believed that you will play Laver Cup for the reunion and then hang up your boots in Basel where you have loved to entertain the adoring home fan base over the years. But then, the knee started to cause problems once again and you chose 15th September to be the day to call it. I have always wished an endless career for you and I still pray to god for a fitter Roger Federer but I know that it is the avid fan inside me that keeps on thinking about the impractical. Now that you've announced the retirement and I retrospect on the stupid wish, I understand that it was becoming just too much for you in the last 12 months. The knee had taken its toll over the years and it just could not take anymore. You always made the right decisions, whether it was playing...
Read more