Sports Articals

This week confirmed in my mind that Federer is deep into Stage 3 of the stages of greatness. It's absurd to suggest that he can't win another major, perhaps three or four. But it's just as wrong-headed to argue that he's the same player he was pre-Wimbledon, 2008, or that his place at the center of the tennis universe is reserved until he declares that he's ready to move on. He's moved on. He's been pushed on. Now, only one thing remains to be seen: how hard he wants to fight for what he wants, or thinks he owns. This is going to tell us a great deal about whether Federer looks at his place in the game as some form of entitlement, or an honor he's going to have to fight to keep....
.
There's a new degree-of-difficulty in play here, and that's why issues like the Darren Cahill misfire, or the lack of any outward sign that Federer acknowledges the change in the direction of the wind, must be somewhat distressing to his fans - at least those of them who are not merely content to worship at his altar.
.
Let's keep a few things in perspective here: Pete Sampras went through a period of disarray before he bagged his 14th Grand Slam title. He had the puzzling losses and triggered many of the same speculations as Federer is now facing, in the third stage of greatness. But some of Sampras's problems resulted from the pro-active approach he took to winning that last major at the US Open. Here was a guy who bloodlessly fired Paul Annacone, who had shepherded Sampras through his glory days, because he was looking for something fresh, something a little different, something new that would help him realize the conviction that he had at least one major statement left to make....
You know the old expression, Pride Goeth Before the Fall. . . But just as pride drives the very best players early in their careers, it can also be a formidable obstacle in the final stages. A champion who isn't willing to sacrifice his pride is a champion with a fatal flaw. Who can forget Jimmy Connors acting as if notching a win over Paul Haarhuis was the crowning moment of his career? Sampras making that phone call to a man he hurt and perhaps wronged, Annacone? Boris Becker, caught red-handed consulting with his trainer in the loo at Wimbledon? Low farce or high drama, such incidents just go to show the lengths to which the warriors will go to have one more shot, one more hit of the glory.
.
These days, Federer's game looks ragged, drained of commitment. He seems torn between desiring change and resisting it, and succumbing to the seductive tune of denial. He can drift on to Miami, convinced that he's just a little rusty and short of match play. In the short term, because there's nothing much he can do to stop the bleeding before Maimi starts, that may be the best attitude. But I think his best play will be to leave Florida, with or without the trophy, realizing that the game has changed, and he needs to change with it.

I for one have been waiting for 3 yrs for Roger to do something different on clay to tackle the Rafa hurdle, but he hasn't done anything much. Each yr he has looked a paler shadow of himself on clay. As Bodo says, he should put his pride aside and think with a clear head as to what has to be done. Going out there with the same game plan, but expecting a different result is plain delusional. Hoping he proves me wrong this time "atleast".