A Fan’s Letter to Roger Federer After Semifinal Lost To Raonic
On Friday Evening, Roger Federer Lost to Milos Raonic at Wimbledon semi final in the tough 5 set encounter and this ruined Federer’s dream of winning total 18th grand slam title and 8th Wimbledon title. And reacting to this here is a letter to Roger.
“Normally, such an event would lead to a bout of depression accompanied with indulgence in the incredibly productive practice of reading every article that has the sole virtue of using the word ‘Federer’ in its title. Overtime, the pain would ease and hope would once again fill the void.But this time around, I felt no pain. Was it because I had unconsciously given up on the idea of Federer winning an 18th Slam?
Possibly. Maybe.
But why then, did I follow every game like my internet connection depended on it.
So, I mulled over it a little more.When you think about Federer, it doesn’t take much time for the word “Role model” to spring into your mind. Federer has achieved almost everything that involves striking a tennis ball. But it is only in the last few years that he has truly shown us the man that he is.
And no amount of Djokovic’s dominance can touch this aspect of ‘The Legend of Roger Federer’. It is this very realization, that I believe shields me from despair.
In my mind, ‘Roger the Man’ has overcome ‘Federer the Tennis Player’ in a tight five setter. While my admiration for his ability to defy geometry remains intact, it is his determination and love for playing tennis that draws me ever so close to him.
Until 2009, Federer, to me, was ‘just’ a tennis genius, with a couple of witty remarks up his sleeve. The 2009 Australian Open final changed that. For the first time ever, TV had gotten me close to tears. Roger’s mettle had never been under greater scrutiny. Nadal had pinned him onto the mat. Roger was thrown out of his own den (Wimbledon and #1 Rank) and then subdued by the southpaw, who had to play consecutive five-setters on a surface Rafa disliked. Just prior to uncontrollably sobbing, Roger seemed to momentarily contemplate retirement.
His words were: “Maybe I’ll try again. I don’t know. God, it’s killing me…”That was the moment that revealed his mortality, but what was to follow would establish that he is one heck of a mortal. After taking a few moments to recompose, he came back onto the podium and deliver the following lines:
“I’ll try again. I don’t want to have the last word. This guy (Rafa) deserves it.”That year, he went on to win the French Open and Wimbledon. Back to the present. After the 2012 Wimbledon (his last major triumph), the Swiss has lost to Djokovic in three major finals. Outside majors, he has been trumped by Novak multiple times. As a consequence, people have come up with multiple arguments that urge Roger to retire.What about Brand Federer?
How can he bear to keep getting humiliated by players he had once ruled over?He is not getting any younger and Djokovic has been dominant.But Federer is different.Roger Federer doesn’t feed on admiration.
He appreciates it, but doesn’t run on it.He places the love for striking a tennis ball over his ego. He doesn’t measure the quality of his life by how satisfied his ego is, but rather places a premium on what he wants. He thrives on the high of the journey and whenever he manages to reach the final destination, well, he just feels (in his own words) “nice”.
Roger doesn’t just inspire me to pick my racquet, but inspires one to keep pushing forward in life. To stay hungry. To place what one loves doing over ‘petty’ achievements and mere ego. To truly focus on what you want and not what the world expects.”
Reference: sportskeeda