The magic of Federer

THE great Roger Federer once again had sports fans and sportswriters searching for superlatives yesterday after he won the 20th Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open.

Now that Federer has won his 20th title even a statistic like his being the only man to win five consecutive titles at two different Grand Slams, (Wimbledon and the US Open) or that he is only the third man to collect six Australian Open titles, somehow fails to capture the brilliance and the artistry of the man.

Of course, the best thing for all of us is that we don’t always have to describe him, we can simply watch him and marvel at how skilful he is on the court, and admire him for the class and elegance he brings to the game off the court.

All those qualities were once again on full display yesterday. Although Marin Cilic fought hard and deserves a lot of credit for taking the game to five sets, it just seemed that Federer had that extra special gear, especially in the first and final sets.

Afterwards, Federer was as gracious as ever and his victory speech was very moving.

His broad smile turned into a voice cracking with emotion. And then the tears were rolling down his face. It showed just what this title means to him at the age of 36.

SO WHAt about the rest of the year? Yes, injuries to Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic helped clear his path in Melbourne, but even those three heavyweights would have found it difficult to derail the “Fed Express”.

It would come as no surprise if Federer gives the French Open a miss, as clay has never been his favourite surface, but we all know how much he loves Wimbledon, and it would take a brave man to bet against him winning a ninth Wimbledon crown.

Yesterday, as always, the vast majority of the crowd were roaring and whooping and cheering for Federer. That had nothing to do with Cilic. They were shouting for Federer because they were thrilled to be watching one of the greatest champions in the history of all sports, not just tennis.