Federer's French Open glory in "The Lion King" style

The most awaited and a glorious chapter has been etched. A name not to be easily forgotten for years and generations to come has been permanently chiseled in the annals of tennis history. Roger Federer, the Swiss maestro has clinched the three time eluding Coupe des Mousquetaires (French Open) trophy. In doing so he has equaled Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slam championships and also becoming only the sixth player in history to achieve a career Grand Slam by winning all the four majors at least once. He also equaled Ivan Lendl’s 19 Grand Slam Finals appearances. He created a record of 20 successive Grand Slam Semi-Finals appearances.

Let us look at Federer’s latest French Open victory in “The Lion King” movie style for a change.

The setting: The night before the finals on Philippe Chatrier while Federer was asleep. In his dreams…

The Past Greats: You’ve forgotten us.
Federer: How could I.
TPG: You’ve forgotten who you are and so you’ve forgotten us. Look inside yourself. You are more than what you’ve become. You must take your rightful place in the history of the game. Remember who you are. You are Federer, the one true king.

Just before entering the dressing room before the finals, the weather was a little cloudy and there was a cool breeze blowing across. And, Federer was with Mirka.

Mirka: What was that? The weather, very peculiar, don’t you think?
Fed: Ya, looks like the winds are changing.
Mirka: Ah! Change is good.
Fed: Ya, but its not easy. I know what I have to do but going into the match means I’ll have to fight the demons in my head and the burden of pressure. I’ve been unable to handle it for so long.
Mirka: It doesn’t matter. The way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it. So, what are you going to do?
Fed starts moving towards the dressing rooms.
Mirka: Hey, where are you going?
Fed (emphatically): On to the court.
Mirka: Good! Go on.

While Mirka was trying to get to her spectator box, she saw a few people talking to her in-laws. By the time she came close…
Media: Hey, have you guys seen Federer?
Fed’s parents: We thought he was with you.
Media: He was. But now we can’t find him. Where is he?
Enters Mirka and responds to that question...
Mirka: You won’t find him here. The king has returned.

Click here for my other articles on Roger Federer in the last one year or so.

Federer (Weatherer?)

Will there be an end to the supreme dominance of the man from mars on this planet? A question frequenting everyone’s imagination. No one dared to answer it in negation till the last year-end.

Come 2008, a new script is bared to all. So far it has been an unlike Federer year. A never imagined string of defeats, a draught of titles, accredited to mononucleosis and personal indifferent form, saw him become human. Figuring in the Australian Open semi final and the French Open Final along with the Hamburg Finals are the Oases to his deserted calendar so far. And the recent defeat against Nadal in the French Open is so battering (by a huge margin) that he figured in one of the worst defeats record ever. Round the corner, Wimbledon might just be the tournament that can bring the ‘Champion’ to his original self.

Nadal, on the other hand, has been in the form of his life in the recently concluded French Open and he looks to carry it forward into the Wimbledon and pose a threat to Federer in his own lair. Even though the surface doesn’t suit his style, Nadal has improved as an all round player, by leaps and bounds, which might push Federer out of his comfort zone. The super human strength he possesses is his best weapon against any form of Tennis and it would take a very special effort from anybody to beat Nadal, as Tsonga has shown in the Australian Open. Nadal will definitely push his limits further to have his hands around the coveted Wimbledon trophy.

Can Federer stand this rivalry is what we need to wait and see. The fact that he has reached the semis and Finals of the two Grand slams this year, even with below par performances, speaks volumes of his tennis ability (which was never in doubt). The psychological beating in the French Open Finals might have a bearing in their encounters for some time to come and he would do good to forget it at the earliest. All in all, Wimbledon seems to have a surprise package, even though, personally, I would root for Federer.