September 2022 has already been a month of big goodbyes and bigger tributes. First Serena Williams, then the Queen Elizabeth and now Roger Federer. The Queen left for her final journey after donning her crown for 70 years as being the longest serving monarch ever. The other two are just retiring from the sport that they regaled and made it theirs. Never before I recall similar instance of seeing the last of the so many legends at the same time who have been part of our lives for couple of decades in case of the queen, much longer. Indeed, sad moment with us losing all three of them. I will keep this dedicated to the two sports persons.
Not often that you have the Queen of the Commonwealth, King of Men’s Tennis and Queen of Women’s Tennis all call it a career at the same time. Roger and Serena were interestingly born few weeks apart in 1981 and both retired few weeks apart. If they were the jewels, they would have adorned any crowns. If Roger’s tribute to Serena and vice versa were to be read, you could feel that they held each other in the highest esteem.
Roger Federer has been the Rolls Royce of the tennis world. He has imbibed and embodied reputation and credibility and sense of luxury that became synonymous with him. Roger has been the most complete player of Tennis and though Rafa and Novak have upstaged him with more grand slam hardware, but Roger is someone who if were the jewel, he would have adorned the Queen’s crown. Roger has been the one who has transcended beyond generations and has also bridged them. What makes Roger special over Rafa and Novak is that Roger also played in an era of Sampras and Agassi two of the best all-time proponents of the sport alongwith many others and Roger was the torch bearer that propelled the tennis world in the current era.
What always makes sportsmen as the stars and what elevates them as superstars and megastars and absolute icons and even demigods is dependent on three main things according to me. One, did they leave the sport richer than they when they started, pun intended? Second, were they able to influence the following generation and be the role model as a person, as a sportsman and the third, did their first name became synonymous with the very sport they were a part of and for most part, spectators flocked just to see them showcase their gamut of skills. People thronging to see the glimpse of these stars wasn’t limited to their own city instead their popularity swelled beyond the geographies. Roger and Serena both matched and surpassed those requirements on all counts.
Roger Federer to me was the greatest men’s tennis player of all time but then again, as I have said in the past, it is not right to compare sportsmen across eras or for that matter, compare sportsmen, period. Why do we need to find the absolute best when we can have more of them and make them one of the best. Roger did stake claims more than others to be appointed the absolute greatest, but that argument is for a different day. His on-court skills and off court persona added up to produce the results that are seldom seen in the geniuses, and he surely was one. His contemporaries like Novak may even surpass everyone’s personal achievements when it is all said and done but one thing, I can assure you is Novak will never achieve the popularity index score that Roger had. Novak has seen on umpteen occasions while playing Roger himself that the crowds get delirious and near hostile while rooting for Roger or rooting against opponent. He has been one of those “stepsons” who has been yearning for the love but is somehow left wanting. Rafa has definitely been higher on the popularity charts, but he lacks the charisma of Roger.
Roger’s plaudits on the tennis court also demonstrate that he was not a one trick pony and yet also won in the elusive French Open where the grass court and hard-court experts like Sampras who never could come to term with the slower paced red clay of Roland Garros. Roger personified the superhero in shorts that everyone could envision and was a sight to behold especially on the green grass of the Wimbledon. Roger also had some unbelievable and unfathomable records that mere mortals could only dream of and he was almost like that premium bottle of scotch that everyone wanted to have a dekko in their lifetime once and that event could be among the top 5 events of their lifetime.
Roger the person was loved more if not as much as the player and this was because he has been a case study in humility and family values how he went about his own career and the grace and candor with which he conducted his business. He is the quintessential brand ambassador who never spoke ill of anyone and copybook in his demeanor and he was as if born to play Tennis. Light heartedly, you can even say Gods even thought he should be given an opportunity to have his own Federer Grand Slam – as he was blessed with two beautiful twin girls and then two handsome twin boys so he can operate all types of Tennis at home and have their own competition.
Being a passionate cricket and tennis fan who grew up in India, I tend to compare Roger’s career to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s. Both had similar longevity and brevity with their careers. They both played for 24 years in their respective careers and hung their boots around age 40-41 in their respective careers. Born to a South African mother, Roger was no stranger to cricket and Sachin who had confessed that he would have been a tennis player if not cricketer had one of the most amazing mutual admiration societies. Both tried not to put a wrong step both professionally and personally and carried themselves in extremely enviable manner. These were the two poster boys of their respective sports who could do no wrong and both elevated their sport like no other and can be paid royalty just for influencing the entire generation to adopt their sport.
While Roger was the classy and finesse and man with all the skills, Serena was strong and powerful who alongwith her older sister Venus redefined the women’s tennis and boy, did the Williams sisters win some serious hardware. Richard Williams had trained his daughters well and they dominated the world of Tennis and brought a different brand of Tennis where women’s game had scaled the similar levels of popularity charts as the men’s game and Serena had a lion’s share in making that happen and that too in an era when the men’s tennis had a three headed monster gobbling up all silverware.
Serena played a huge role in making the young girls and women believe that they belong in the glitterati of tennis and they were no longer a step behind their male counterparts and boy, she was blessed with a beautiful daughter who may have the perfect role model in the upcoming years where all the sports and industries are advocating gender equity. Serena also showed how you can perform at the highest level even after mothering a child and sunsetting to spend time with her daughter. Both these legends would continue to be involved in multiple capacities with tennis but yeah, we will not see both Serena and Roger especially in the Queen’s own country where Serena won 7 and Roger won 8 titles with the royal family represented in the box.
Will just end with a play on words. Roger infused Serenity and Serena was the Queen of tennis and the Queen would have said Roger That to them. I consider myself fortunate to have lived in an era where these legends plied their trade. Such legends are not born every day. Wishing them the best in their careers and as the commonwealth anthem says God Save the Queen, the queen has earned her rest. RIP Queen.
