Anand Philar
If anything, Federer is over the moon, not the hill. The relative ''ease'' with which he won the Australian Open for his 16th Grand Slam title on Sunday night, only demonstrated the fact that there is plenty still left in the Swiss maestro. I feel that he is good enough to touch 20, a benchmark that will take generations to even match, much less better.
Perhaps, there are more qualified writers than me to analyse the player that Federer is. However, you cannot question the unhurried elegance of his style that is tennis equivalent to a Russian ballet. For me, that is one of the most striking features of his game that is otherwise so full of shots straight out of your dreams.
Federer beats Murray to win Australian Open
It is quite significant that Federer spoke of his Melbourne performance this year as ''probably my best ever''. There were subtle hints that he has just about reached his peak and like everything else in life, there has to be an end. My gut feeling when I read his statements was that Federer has realized that he cannot play any much better and the clock is ticking for his retirement.
His avid fans might dub this observation as blasphemy, but considering that the Murrays of the World are fast blooming like flowers in spring, Federer finds himself spending more time looking over his shoulders than ahead. He admitted as much when he said after he thrashed Murray that the new generation was fast catching up with him and it is in this context that I read his observation of having played his best-ever tennis at Melbourne.
Great sportspersons need not be told that their time is up, for they are the first to realize it. Some might persist in their bid to chase records and sully their records, while the wiser lot would quit while at the top rather than lose to all and sundry. In this respect, Federer has a good head on his shoulders and with his kids growing up, the call of home would grow stronger by the day.
I came across a lot of blogs and statements on the net that pointed out his weaknesses besides some interesting early-career records that gave no clue to his impending greatness. The point is that Federer took his time to mature into quality player and then, having found his feet at the highest level, proceeded to improve by leaps and bounds to leave the rest chasing his shadow.
Australian Open 2010
The beauty of Federer lies in his courage to show the human side of himself in public. Rather, those tears in victory and defeat have endeared himself to his fans who easily identify themselves with him, knowing that he is not some sci-fi robot after all, but a being like anyone else on this planet!
During the Melbourne fortnight, there were moments of uncertainty in Federer's progress. A couple of matches had him on the ropes, but like all great players, he delivered in a crisis situation. Those aces and un-gettable returns, besides the inspirational shots that come out of nowhere, helped him tide over. These are attributes that are not given to all, but are something special that elevate him to greatness.
The detractors might point out that with Nadal out of the way, Federer's path to more records has been smoothened. To an extent, this is true because the Spaniard was the only player who consistently troubled Federer and even took his precious Wimbledon title away from him in 2008.
It is one thing to beat the Swiss ace in tour events, but quite different to take him on the Slams where he is always at his very best. I firmly believe that a tennis player's measure should be the performance in the Slams where the pressure is much more and the field is bigger and stronger. That probably explains Federer's imperious Slam record that alone have made him the greatest-ever tennis player.
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It is to be hoped then that the great man continues for another few years and provide us more moments of joy and magic on Sundays.
