Shhh! Quiet! Genius at work!!!

The year 2009 was one of the most memorable years for Tennis fans with drama on and off the court. The year began in great fashion with clay court champion Rafael Nadal won his first non-clay grand slam – the Australian Open. The year looked bleak for another champion. Roger Federer. The maestro had lost the numero uno position to Nadal. It looked like the steam in Fedex was gone. From the loss in the Australian Open final to the next Slam the French Open, Federer won only one major tournament, losing out in the semi-finals to those keen to grasp his position and be the next world # 1. Critics had written him off. It was said that marriage and age had caught up with Federer, and that he had lost his hunger to succeed. Sights around the tour did not look too well. New contenders in the form of Serbian Novak Djokovic, British hope Andy Murray and upcoming Argentine star Juan Martin Del Potro were all threatening him with their power and big serve. When asked in a conference before the French Open, Federer said he was confident of performing well in the grand slam, like he always did on the big stage. His initial rounds at Roland Garros saw him struggle with a tough draw consisting of former World #2 Tommy Hass, the incredible Frenchman Gaël Monfils and two other clay court specialists. When Nadal crashed out in the 4^th round to Swede Robin Soderling - the dark horse of the tournament, the tennis world said this could be Federer’s only chance at the French. We do not know whether it is true or not. What we do know is that Soderling outplayed Rafael Nadal - the world’s best clay court player in 4 sets in a best of 5; Roger Federer needed only 3 against Soderling to take home the trophy. Nadal, however, held onto his rank as the best. And, then came Wimbledon and a chance to create history. Federer was tied with Pete Sampras for the record of most grand slams at 14 apiece. Wimbledon they say is Federer’s home ground. On grass, the maestro is unsurpassable and his record of losing only a single match in 2008 since his victory in 2003 is enviable. Federer, just scraping through in the fifth set, managed to win his 6^th Wimbledon and defeat Andy Roddick for the 3^rd time in a tense Wimbledon final. The year progressed to more milestones as Federer celebrated his victory on court with his becoming a father of twins. There is already a wager that one of them would win Wimbledon by the time they are 20. Federer seemed to return to the form he demonstrated in 2005-06 and lost in 2007-08. The victory at Wimbledon saw him regain his #1 rank. In the Open era of tennis (post 1968), only one man could claim that accomplishment — Ivan Lendl. Mats Wilander ended Lendl's three-year run at #1 in 1988, but Lendl was able to regain it in 1989. Also, Federer was among the few who had managed to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back. Federer had a marvelous run in the US Open but lost in the finals to young gun Argentine Del Potro. Nevertheless, he did retain his ranking as world #1. Some facts about Federer that caught my attention were as follows. He is only the 6^th player in the Open era to win all four Grand Slams. Since his victory in Wimbledon in 2003, Federer has won at least one Grand Slam each season. He has won more Grand Slams in the Open era than any other player. The only criticism that Federer has drawn from his peers is that he cries at the presentation ceremony of grand slams. It is remarkable how he has managed to create an unblemished repute both on and off the court. The respect he ahs among his peers can be gauged by the fact that Federer single handedly organized a charity event to help the people in Little Haiti. This was unknown to anyone but the players till it was announced officially at the presentation ceremony of the Australian Open 2010,which he won bringing his tally in the slams to 16. The event was organized over-night and players consented to play on Roger’s request. With regards to tennis, the most memorable sight of 2009, however, was the Shot of the Year in the US Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic. After Djokovic brought Federer to the net with a drop shot and pushed him back to the baseline with a lob, Federer hit a between-the-legs, inside-out forehand winner with his back turned to the net that blitzed past Djokovic with the velocity of an ace. The crowd erupted; Djokovic simply smiled, shook his head and walked back to the serve. Silence was restored, as Djokovic served at match point, by banners with the Swiss Flag’s background quoting - Shhh! Quiet! Genius at work!!!