TRANSCENDENCE

ROGER FEDERER takes on RAFAEL NADAL

Perfection, Godliness, Immortality are only myths by far. On Sunday, the 29^th of January 2017, ROGER FEDERER, the mascot of the said phenomena, shall give everything to procreate the myths into reality. RAFAEL NADAL, the man of oceanic determination and tungstic will-power shall leave no stone unturned to win the combat which is the hot potato across the planet earth right now. Roger Federer with the single-handed backhand shall stand up to the high tsunamic tides of the Left-handed Top-spinning Rafael Nadal’s Cross-Court-Forehand, the crucial pattern of play that explains everything about them. 

Contrast is what defines Federer-Nadal, ‘FEDAL’ what the Tennis fans fondly quote it. Rafael Nadal was the man who solved the unsolvable Federer puzzle in the latter's zenith and made him look human to our surprise. Roger was back to the drawing board every time Rafael posed a challenge and comes up with the best thing since sliced bread; as a result of it is the evolution of their games towards the ineffable, inconceivable and implausible. From the number of balls taken to Serve, to lifting the trophy, contrast is what exists between Federer & Nadal, which is the sole reason for positioning it as the biggest rivalry in history of sports for that matter. If Nadal has the muscle, Federer has the nerve. One holds the games at the drop of a hat and other doesn’t hesitate to bite the bullet to hold his games. Roger is an artist with equanimity with a method to his madness, Rafael is the Devils’ Advocate, a ruthless warrior with tons of emotion. Both of them most revered & experienced. Roger Federer aptly asked the world not to under-estimate him or his rival Rafael Nadal to not be at their best anymore. Analyzing about one-self accurately is itself a life-time achievement but they understand the greatness & resilience of each other so well even in their Nadir. Cut to the chase, only after six months, do we realize that it is reality.

Two days before what can be called, the Match of the Gigaannum, knowing the magnitude & intensity better than anyone else, ‘’I’ll have to leave it all out here in Australia and if I can’t walk for another five months, that's okay” said Roger Federer, the words that have the power to shake buildings away.  The victory of Roger Federer on Sunday shall state that he is perfect, he is Godly and he is immortal by cementing it with a proof. To have and witness a man of Roger Federer’s mindset, determination, will-power and character is a boon to the Homo sapiens. The species are even fortunate to witness another man, Rafael Nadal with the same grit, determination and will-power at the same time, in the same generation and more co-incidentally battling against each other.  The level of Tennis that Federer & Nadal can produce on-court even in their 30’s cannot be reproduced by today’s best players in their 20's, to say the least.

The FEDERER-NADAL rivalry inspires, thrills, enlivens, exhilarates, stimulates, excites, electrifies and moves us. It breaks boundaries & geographies and is just bigger than the game of Tennis itself, an impossibility by all logic and law. The passion, love and unimaginable love they have for Tennis is ununderstandable by any means. Impeccable aggression meets unbreakable defence. Accuracy battles precision. The Mind versus the Body, both of them equally good in each aspect. The rivalry got more interesting from the very first shot they played at the Masters event in the summer of Miami way back in 2004. The King was challenged by the Warrior and as is in 2017, posing a stiff battle on Sunday.

The Nature has put it in such a way that every possible very few minute weakness in Roger’s game can be explored, sensed, tapped and played to, by his rival Nadal’s imperious strengths as a result of the match-ups that are a result of several evolutionary phenomena. Champions have the ‘Champion-Mind-set’ that makes them Champions. Champions make it a mental game when one usually has a better play on a given day and emerge victorious mentally and eventually in the match. Roger’s hardship is in such a way that he has to fight every minute thing against Nadal in the game, technique, and tactics and even in the Champion-mind-set. Every victory that he earns against Nadal is equal to 10 victories of Nadal against Federer. It is the biggest possible match against the worst possible opponent.

The spirit of the Final is so high. Tennis-lovers & followers are sleepless with its fever imbibed with the only thought, feeling & emotion about it. Roger Federer’s mind is the most happening thing in this second with the best thought-process and strategising under process and his heart beating for Tennis. Less said, Rafael Nadal’s mind is the factory of determination and for sure revises and strives to establish in the zone to play his rival.

There is no word to describe the greatest achievement a man can attain. It needs to be coined if the outcome of the match shall be in his favour. In the battle of the titans, ROGER FEDERER’s triumph is what this planet’s best experience can be ever since its formation.