The year Roger Federer retired

The background to this post first- As a fan of Roger Federer, kind of almost felt obligated to pen a detailed personalized to tribute to one of the greatest sportsmen of our time the day he announced his retirement. Was long planning to write this post but never really got around to completing it. Started this post in September when Federer announced his retirement but only got to write bits and pieces of it. Thought I must complete this half-left post by the end of 2022 for sure, for it to stay relevant--- a hard deadline that I have set for myself :) So here we go on the 31st of December :)

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I first started watching Roger Federer around 2005 odd. 17 years since! Time does fly.  And in a way, over the years,  its been a different Federer that I have watched, admired,  vicariously cheered,  vicariously celebrated,  vicariously felt heartbreaks with. Sport after all gives us that opportunity to cheerlead,  to take a side- passionately-- stand through ups and downs.  With people we would never meet or with people who don't know us.  The wins are great but the losses are memories too-- bittersweet ones. A fan's journey is just like every other journey and sometimes the journey itself is the point,  not the wins or the losses

Phase 1: The Federer who thought you how to dream

The Federer of the 2005 to the early 2010 period thought you to dream. Thought us the vast vast limits of human achievement . Made us think Nothing is impossible.  It so happened that this was also when I was in my early 20s. At that point in your life, it seems that there's an entire lifetime and world ahead of you.  That there would be L's from time to time but there would be more W' than L's . The optimism that you are destined for great ( greater ) things. 

Fof Federer, within this period were some great triumphs-- the redemption at the French Open of 2009 after failed final attempts in the previous 3 years, the perfection of the Australian Open 2007, the breaking of Pete Sampras' record in a nail biting finish at Wimbledon 2009 ( which incidentally left you feeling a little bad for the loser ,Andy Roddick ,as well).  

It was also probably when his game was most beautiful. That flick on the backhand side, the forehand at its most powerful, some solid defence backing up his trademark offensive game. And there were still some chinks( some of which would actually get ironed out in subsequent years though his results per se would get a bit worse). The weaker backhand wing on clay, that his great rival Nadal would exploit, for instance

Interspersed with some of those great triumphs, were some painful losses but even in that pain, there was some beauty - the greatest match ever played at Wimbledon 08, the USO final loss (from a winnable position) to Del potro (would go on to be another player I would cheer for , and who would incidentally also retire this same year -2022) and a below average year in 2008 marred by illness and surprise defeats.

Some of those losses- the one to Nadal in 2008 Wimbledon for instance, would later reveal as a sort of pattern, even if it wasn't quite as clear then. Some of his most painful defeats would also be some of the greatest matches ever played ( another would be the 2019 Wimbledon final but more on that later) and would also be some of the most beautifully poignant sporting moments that you would remember as a fan.  For with pain and hurt, also comes a certain beauty. Some of those matches would also leave you admiring the fighting spirit of the great man even in defeat.

Phase 2: The Roger that thought one how to keep fighting and persevering

If the 2005-10 period was a period that thought one how to dream, 2011-15 of Roger was a period that thought one how to fight. He was no longer the undisputed top dog, nor even the top dog for most part during this period but rather somebody past his absolute peak but still bloody good. And despite two fellow greats on his toes, he wasnt going to let them have it easy. There were some great moments - the French Open 2011 Semi Final win against Djokovic. a demonstration not just that Federer could play very well on clay , but also one of his combative spirit.  The combative spirit, a confidence and an intensity of emotion so well controlled on court--- best encapsulated by that finger wag and a primal roar when he won the match. That finger wag that would even become a meme of sorts in tennis forums and tennis circles.

There were some beautiful tennis too- in the Wimbledon 2012 final, the Wimbledon 2014 Semi Final against Murray- the latter probably one of his best masterclass of aggressive tennis he has ever played.

Beautiful tennis in defeats too-- a dominating 2 set lead in the USO 2011 v/s Djokovic, but one he would fritter away post match points. Yet again , in hindsight, was a certain beauty in this match even in defeat, and probably the defeat made one appreciate it even more. But ultimately it was a defeat and it was well, dare you say it, a choke. May be a mix of bad luck and a choke, but it is what it is.

Which brings to one of the great realities of life- there are always a few critical decisions where you need to "seize the moment" so to speak. Not bottle it up. Sure, there's a lot of luck involved. And its probably indistinguishable from skill and choices. Yet considering there are no counterfactuals in life, you just have to make those one-two critical decisions right. Based on watching sports, my sense is some people just have that sense of timing-- Djokovic and to some extent Nadal for example. In Federer's case its a mixed bag. And the point is if you don't have that sense of timing to make those critical decisions right, no matter how talented you are,it can prove costly later on. But may be its just an in-built trait, so one can't be too hard, either on oneself or on one's idols :)

Phase 3: The Federer that thought you rediscovery was possible

This was the Federer of 2017 and 2018,  The Federer that thought you that fighting and soldiering on was not just an end in itself , but could give some great results. That rediscovery and a second wind is always possible in life. The Federer that finally got the Nadal bogey off his back, turning around the head to head to more respectable levels, the Federer that won two slams in 2017 and another in 2018 and got to World No 1. The 2017 Australian Open final that he won against Nadal. was as a Federer fan, one of the best sporting moments, you could have witnessed-- still remember shouting COME ON's vicariously at the top of my voice while watching the nail biting fifth set on TV ( which incidentally had some fantastic rallies from both players)

Phase 4: Heartbreak and the realization that time does call it a day on everyone

This was the period from mid 2019 to till when he retired. The initial phase of that period was defined by one tournament and in particular one match- the Wimbledon Final of 2019.

Some context here is relevant for those unaware. It was Federer going for a 9th Wimbledon, a chance to potentially get back to No 1 again, a chance to beat Djokovic and Nadal back to back at the greatest tennis tournament of them all, and the first time he would be doing that at a slam. 

Federer defeats Nadal in the semi-final, and here we are in the final, Federer is the better player in all the 5 sets,and yet he was trailing at the end of the 1st set and at the end of the third. losing it in tie-breaks. That thing about those critical moments referred to earlier in this post-- tennis with its scoring system in particular can be brutal about it --you can win the most number of points in a set and still lose it if you dont win the right points. Incidentally Federer has the record probably for having lost the most times despite having won more points in a match, something which has happened many times over with him. You can call it the sheer expanse of his talent, or well, the fact that he could choke, despite being so talented. And to win so many despite having choked so many!

Anyway back to the match itself. Federer is down a break in the 5th and at this point, it seems destined for heartbreak. Except he breaks back in the next game itself! The match keeps going on serve with Federer's brilliant serve keeping him in the match comfortably,  despite some obvious tiredness creeping in to his then 38 year old body as the match stretches beyond 4 hrs, then 4.5 hrs and then 5 hrs. 

(The serve would be a critical part of his game in later years. I have talked about his choking atleast a couple of times in this post, but its also equally true, there are plenty of times when he has played real clutch--- his serve no doubt contributing in good measure to that. It would be the most improved part of his game from the 2000s to the 2010s decade)

And eventually he breaks the Djokovic serve and he gets to match point. Not one but two. 40 15. On his serve. The match points incidentally were set up by two aces. Just one more ace and he would undisputedly be the GOAT

But it was not to be. He would go one to miss one of those first serves, make an unforced error and then on the second point , would charge the net needlessly and get passed by a clutch Djokovic

The rest of the match remains a haze for the Federer fan. He would have a few more chances on the Djokovic serve but the memory that remains is the loss yet again in the tie-break, the third such tie break he would lose in this match and this time , there would be no come back from it. And all of Djokovic's sets were won that way. Mind you Federer has a great tie-break record otherwise. But such is life!

Like the match post the squandered match points, the rest of Federer's career post the Wimbledon final, went in a bit of a haze for the Federer fan. He would eventually have another run to an Australian Open semi finals, winning two long five set matches along the way, despite battling injury in one of those matches And then came the Covid year, and a couple of surgeries. 

He would be back in 2021, after a couple of surgeries, his final come back at the age of 39.5. Among the memories of that short come back were an excellent French Open 3rd round match that he won. 

Some context on this match: it was a largely inconsequential one considering Federer was never going to be in contention for the French Open and he was largely playing it to get some match play. He's down a set and playing badly and it would be easy to give up. It was a match played at night in front of an empty crowd, given Covid protocols that were in play then. He's near 40 and playing on his worst surface. And yet he fights on! It was one of those matches that were a great tribute to the amazing competitor that he was. And the consummate professional that he was. ( There's this record of him having never retired mid match for example which also proves that). 

And this was something you cant but admire and learn from. The desire to keep fighting. Despite setbacks. The discipline to do so. To sometimes just show up.

The Wimbledon of 2021 however didnt go that well. It was clear this was his last meaningful chance to get to slam no 21. However as luck would have it, he would be injured on the eve of the tournament, the dodgy knee on which he had 3 surgeries flaring up yet again. It was something he wouldnt talk about during the tournament itself--- and this was a pattern-- unlike some of his competitors, he would never ever talk about his injuries if he was playing with one.

He makes the QF of Wimbledon, though he wouldnt look much convincing. in the second set tie-break, he falls on his knees during a point and the injury /pain probably flares up again. The end of the match would be a painful 6 0. Imagine a  6 0 defeat at virtually the last match he would play as a professional at the tournament that he loved the most. There are good endings and bad endings but this was almost unfair. But such is life- There are no fairy tales most of the time.

Perhaps given this context, despite being injured yet again, he would opt to have another surgery instead of simply calling time on his career right away. But there would be no coming back this time. The body wouldnt simply play ball and his time was up at 41 years. There's only so much even the greatest could do to defy time. 

The send off and beyond

He would decide to play one last doubles match with his rival and friend Nadal as his partner, at the Laver cup before officially calling it quits.

At that time (and which incidentally was at the time of starting this post!), I thought this wasnt a great idea for a send-off but the scenes at the Laver Cup match post his retirement changed my mind. His great rivals would all be there at this match, some of them would feel some deep sadness at his retirement as well. At the end of the match, he would get an ovation from the crowd , and from his peers for what seemed like eternity. These are the sort of moments that you live for, be it as a sportsman or anyone for that matter. To felt loved and validated. TO be respected by your peers. The great farewell no doubt would ease some of the pain his fans like yours truly, felt at the announcement of his retirement.

Cricinfo had a great article "Losing my religion" when Sachin, Dravid, Sourav etc retired. ( recommend reading that if one is a sports fan) which talks about the vaccum of a 30 odd yr old when the Big 4 of Indian cricket retired. Its a sort of similar feeling for me when Federer retired. 

Personally speaking, the end of his career produced a little bit of vaccum. Watching tennis doesnt seem to be the same anymore.  And it also made me realize that I am fast getting older too and that time doesn't wait. Not for anyone.  As I get into 2023, that thought is something I just can't get out of my mind. Although I have another 20 odd years of my career ahead and many more hopefully of my life, every year or every month just seems to matter that much more when you are older.

And then there's that other bit of realization. That even someone as great as Roger Federer had an ending that wasn't quite a fairytale. When you are younger and a child, you always think there are these lovely great endings to stories.  Even  when a bit older, you are told and you think that just keep doing your best and eventually you get what the best of what you deserve. May be those lessons are not quite right

Now Federer no doubt achieved a lot, but relative to his talent, you could say he still underperformed some of his great rivals. And that's a sobering thought. And then there was the whole way it all ended, with injuries and just succumbing to time.

But there were also many other things that one could learn from him and his career. The ability to show up day after day after day as a consummate professional. The ability to keep fighting and taking setbacks in his stride. Then there's also stoicism. A stoicism best reflected ( but not just) by his demeanour on court, but its not a stoic bereft of emotion. One can't be emotionless and successful, or find desire. But stoicism is about channelling it in the right way. 

More importantly, there was also this aspect of fair play- not for Roger would there be those dodgy injury time outs in the middle of a match, or extending the time between points or any kind of gamesmanship that some of his rivals would indulge in. No talk about injuries , no excuses for defeats, no self pity. Its not for nothing that he won the fair play award by ATP voted by the fans, for nearly 20 years running. 

He had a framework, a set of values and he would play by that, no matter what. And that was admirable and something everybody could learn from. Have those basic values which define you the most. And no matter what others do, you continue steadfast with those values.

And the way he seemed at peace despite ending up behind his rivals on the slam count. You can only give your best. And as long as you have done that, and done that within the framework of your values, perhaps you can be rightly proud of yourself.

And that's a great thought on which to end 2022 and look forward to 2023 on.