6th July 2014 was a very special day for all tennis lovers but even more so for Novak Djokovic and his friends, fans and family but something really special happened that day, you know what? I am sure you do, I am sure you have heard it, or read about it, I am sure you are inspired by it. I am talking about the ageless legend Roger Federer.
I wrote about his 2014 season earlier where he started with an imperious record and Edberg effect was visible and his new racquet as well helped him. To be clear, it was his fitness that got him through these 2 weeks of Wimbledon with amazing results. He was fit after a long time and for a 32 year old tennis player, he was athletic and matched Djokovic toe to toe for the entirety of the gladiatorial match as described by many. The only instance I think where his age shows is the recuperation time between tournaments and his backhand returns being shanked way too often, but hey, he still was so close to beating Novak who played his best grass match ever in an epic final. You have to love Novak for being so humble in his post-match speech and conference as well and thanking Roger for letting him win it in the end. The man may not have the grace and right to be called the greatest ever but Novak did justice to the occasion by playing absolutely scintillating tennis. It is only fitting that all recent great Wimbledon finals include Roger Federer. No surprises there. As mentioned earlier, it is an honour to play against him and to win, is just the cherry on top of the cake.
This was one of my favorite moment as a tennis fan and a Roger Federer fan. I am sure everyone including the anti Federer bandwagon and the ‘new’ Djokovic fans that suddenly appeared were left in awe of him. Novak won the game, but all I saw were people posting about Roger. You little fan favorite, involuntarily spotlight hogging legend, you! Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer for a blinder of a final and Novak for the win. He is going to be a father and is going to marry soon as well. It seems he is winning it all. Good luck Novak on your new life as a husband and a father and good luck to Roger on staying fit and being awesome. The old guard is slowly but surely changing but Roger Federer still has some aces up his sleeve that the ‘new kids round the block’ admire and want to learn. It is the love of the game that drives him on and that is the beauty of it. To sum it up, Roger Federer (already a crowd favorite ) won the crowd all over, Djokovic won the game.
Most awkward moment of the match: