New Delhi: American novelist David Foster Wallace wrote about Roger Federer in the New York Times: "A top athlete's beauty is next to impossible to describe directly." So what is Federer's greatness and beauty all about?
The knowing smile was already in place even as he executed the winning shot in the finals of the Australian Open, a perfect 10. But the racket will not rest here. Roger Federer is 25 and has an incredible 10 Grand Slam wins under his belt.
"I tried to tell myself I've beaten him nine times out of nine, play your game, be aggressive, don't give him too many free points. It ended up working even though it was a close match. I'm just relieved and all proud I did it again," Federer says.
So, is FedEx the greatest tennis player ever? Is he even better than Pete Sampras?
Pete Sampras at 25 had won seven Grand Slams. But Federer has already overtaken him by winning 10.
Sampras held the number one spot for six continuous years. Federer has finished at the top for three consecutive years already.
Only four players have maintained the number one spot for more than 100 weeks. Federer would lead the pack if he stays at that number one spot for another four weeks.
Federer in his illustrious career has failed to win the French Open, but that even eluded Pistol Pete.
"Equalling records and doing something that hasn't been done for a long time is really nice, there's no doubt. But it was never a goal for me to do it without dropping a set. Of course now it's all over, it's great to look back and think 'Wow, having not dropped a set is quite amazing," Federer adds.
But how does Federer match up against another legend, Andre Agassi who had won all four Grand Slams a feat that even Sampras couldn't complete. And on top of are 17 ATP Masters titles. Federer is close on his heels with 12.
"I think Tiger (Woods) has one 11 Majors, but put him in that match play situation and I don't think he's won even two of those. It's a tournament where you have one bad day and you're out. But that's what we do every single week. Roger has won every Grand Slam except the French" fellow player James Blake says.
Tennis legend Rod Laver says, "I don't think the achilles heel is a part of him. He could get rid of it if he had one."
Champions have carried the tag of 'unpredictability' with them all along. FedEx begs to differ. It's Roger Federer - predictably the best.
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