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Federer fights for place in history

He has never looked so mortal. Because of it, Roger Federer has never looked so much like an immortal.

By Gary Shelton
Published July 9, 2007

Switzerland's Roger Federer holds the trophy and gestures signifying his fifth consecutive Men's Singles Championship after defeating Rafael Nadal on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.
	[AP Photo]

WIMBLEDON, England

He has never looked so mortal. Because of it, Roger Federer has never looked so much like an immortal.

He has never been in this kind of trouble. Not at Wimbledon. Not when it was time for winning.

Federer was against the ropes, reeling. He was grumbling to the umpire, angry. For the first time in a Wimbledon final, he was facing an opponent who was not afraid to hit back. He won, but not before he stared the alternative in the face.

Because of it, because he fought it all off, Federer has never looked more like a champion.

History is not supposed to be easy, and a Wimbledon title is not supposed to come without a strain. So recognize that the Federer who won this tournament again (also: again and again, again and again) was a different Federer, a better Federer. This time, he had to find something deep inside, the way champions are supposed to, before the nearest available duke shoved a trophy into his hands.

For years now, winning Wimbledon has been a lazy Sunday afternoon for Federer. He would show up at the court, and some outmatched opponent would be waiting, and it was over so quickly that Federer might as well have kept the car running.

Not this time. This time, it took five sets and key serves and big winners. For a change, Federer wasn't stepping on pebbles. This time, he was climbing a mountain. And as they say in the legends business, the bigger the opponent, the brighter the title.

"That was a big occasion, " Federer said. "Maybe the biggest occasion of my life so far on a big stage."

Federer had to be terrific Sunday, because Rafael Nadal was just short of it. In two different games in the fifth set, Nadal had double break points. Had he won any of the four, the result might have been different.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God, it's slipping away from me, ' " Federer said, grinning. "It was a tough moment to be in. From the baseline, he kind of had the upper hand toward the end of the match. But I served well and played smart. That's what it comes down to."

In other words, great players are at their best in the big points. Not that Wimbledon had tested Federer a great deal beforehand. In his previous four finals, Federer had lost only two sets. Nadal took that many Sunday. There for a while, it looked like he was going to take more.

That he did not, that Federer found a way to restore order when Nadal looked ready to steal his afternoon, says something new about Federer. It says that on those days when he does not overwhelm an opponent, he can outlast him. You know, the way Bjorn Borg used to do.

What must Borg have thought as he sat in the Royal Box looking over Federer's shoulder as his modern-day record of five straight Wimbledons was tied? After all, this was the type of match Borg used to win all the time. There were matches when great opponents were having terrific days, and when calls were all going the other way. Then the big points would come along, and Borg would wear out the corners, and he would grind his way to a five-set victory.

To be like Borg, in other words, Federer had to be like Borg. Fitting, don't you think?

After the match, the two embraced in front of the wall of champions. Not that it was ever easy to read Borg's emotions, but he seemed happy about Federer's feat. At least, the 51-year-old resisted pulling out an old Donnay racket and challenging him to a match on the spot.

They are much alike, Federer and Borg. Both are superb athletes who seldom seem out of control in a match. Both can win in a variety of ways. On the other hand, Federer did swear aloud Sunday. And at the end, those were tears running down his cheek.

It is an imposing task, trying to hold off an upstart and chase down a legend in the same afternoon. Federer has been No. 1 in the world for 179 straight weeks, but for the last 103, Nadal has been No. 2. Considering they have met in the finals of four of the last six Grand Slams, we may have a rivalry on our hands.

For those who wish to compare Federer with Pete Sampras or with Borg, it's about time. The remaining argument for Borg is that he faced better competition in his Grand Slam finals, and the one for Sampras is that he has more overall Slams (14). But Federer is in the photo finish now. As former champion Boris Becker said Sunday, Federer is "12 to 14 months away from being the best player of all time."

Matches such as this one will help. This was terrific stuff, athletes and acrobats, laser beams and light sabers, a match to be compared with the great finals the tournament has seen. And it forced great moments out of Federer, such as three straight aces when he was threatened in the second set, such as an amazing running forehand when it seemed Nadal had hit a crisp backhand volley at the net in the fifth set.

"He's still playing unbelievable, " Nadal said. "If he's going to win 14 (Grand Slams) or 15 or 13, the tennis level is the best of history."

By the time Borg was Federer's age, 25, he was nearing the end. Federer, however, says he's thinking about Sampras' record.

"Obviously, it's on my mind, " he said. "But it's not like anything where I say I have to beat this record otherwise it's no good. Pete Sampras is maybe the best player we've ever had. So to break his record, it's not the easiest thing.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep it up, you know. But I definitely feel like I'm mentally and physically fit to go on for many more years to come."

Somewhere down the road, you figure, Sampras awaits.

Nadal, too.

[Last modified July 9, 2007, 00:45:02]