The Circle is Now Complete

While watching the final of the 2009 French Open yesterday I couldn't help but think of the title for today's blog (which is a quote from the original "Star Wars"). Roger Federer's long-in-coming victory at the French Open yesterday finally allowed him to break through the one barrier that had been in his path since winning virtually every other tournament he has played in. Now having won all four Grand Slam tournaments, Federer is one of the few tennis players who can proudly proclaim to have won all four. At the ripe 'old' age of 27, he still has a number of years to go before he retires and I think that certainly means that the record set by Pete Sampras a number of years ago for the most titles won (fourteen to be exact) will soon be shattered and I for one don't think it could happen to a nicer guy.

Now I will say that there are many people out there who have proclaimed the mens draw in tennis to be boring. They will claim that finals have typically been limited to a certain set of players and that it was almost a guarantee that the same two (usually Federer and Rafeal Nadal) would be in the final against one another. However if this past French Open has been any indicator, that assumption may not always hold true. I think one of the things in tennis is that when someone really good comes along, they will hit their peak and play at that championship level for a while before someone just as good or better comes along to claim the spot of 'king of the hill'. Perhaps this is now the pinnacle of Federer's career and newer faces will begin to appear (I think Soderling could definitely be one) but what does it matter?

In most any sport there are competitors who tend to dominate the top spot for sometime before abdicating the 'throne' to another player (or team). However the one thing that I like about tennis (both the mens and womens draws) is that virtually any player who you talk to is so humble that it astounds me. In a day and age where ego dominates and players tend to talk about themselves rather than anything else, it's quite refreshing to see players who can offer up more praise for their opponents than themselves. Plus tennis players are among those whose detractors will latch onto any perceived weaknesses and will try to break down a player through criticism in the press. Case in point with Federer. Despite the fact that he has been such a consistent player, there was talk about how he was beginning to show signs of weakness in having lost the Australian Open and tournaments in Indian Wells and Key Biscayne leading up to the French Open.

But so what? Isn't that what the press itself had been complaining about? That there was no competition and that tennis became 'boring' when the same players kept winning? While there are some great players out there, everyone has their 'off day'. Not every champion plays at the top of their game for their entire career and few are the players who retire as undefeated champion but why should it matter? I think some of the current crop of tennis players are among the very best role models that young athletes could have. Humble and gracious in victory or defeat, they exemplify what it means to be a good sport. Is it any wonder then that so many fans keep pulling for them whether they win or lose?