Sports Then and Now

2009 was a record setting year for Roger Federer.

Memorable. Historic. Record-breaking. Personal best.

That is how you describe Roger Federer’s 2009 season. Roger was married to his long-time partner Mirka Vavrinec, and together they had twin daughters Myla Rose and Charlene Riva—oh, yes, and he played some tennis on his way to the top of the record books…

Leg No. 1—2009 Australian Open

Unlike 2008, when the world expected Federer to complete his life’s work, 2009 began with reservations about Federer’s abilities, his resolve, and his competitive fire.

Their suspicions were quickly confirmed as Andy Murray sustained his seeming domination of Federer first at Abu Dhabi, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7, followed quickly at Doha at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open, 7-6, 2-6, 2-6. The Swiss fell to the unshakable Scot both times in semifinal contests.

Since losing to Federer in the finals at the 2008 U.S. Open, Murray had scored three consecutive victories against the former world No. 1.

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Tiger Woods was the most dominant performer in an individual sport during the decade.

As we near the end of 2009 and thus the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, Sports Then and Now is looking at some of the athletes and moments that shaped the decade.

When you look at the list of great individual sport athletes over the last decade it is quickly apparent that we are living in an age of unparalleled individual greatness. Almost every one of the athletes we have chosen as the top 10 individual athletes of the decade has a case to be ranked number one. They are all champions who performed at the top of their sport for a prolonged period of time.

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10. Phil Mickelson – When the decade began, Phil Mickelson was known as the best golfer yet to win a Major Championship. He finally broke free of that label by winning the 2004 Masters and went on to win the PGA Championship in 2005 and the Masters again in 2006. He has endured a series of near misses and collapses at other Major Championships, most notably at the U.S. Open where he has finished second (or tied for second) five times, including four times this decade. Overall, Mickelson won 24 tournaments in the decade and finished in the top 10 at a Major Championship on 20 occasions.

9. Rafael Nadal – Had Rafael Nadal been competing throughout the entire decade, he would likely have moved higher on this list. Since establishing himself as one of the premier men’s tennis players in the world, Nadal has claimed six Grand Slam titles and unseated Roger Federer as the number one player in the world for nearly a year. Overall, Nadal has claimed victory in 81% of his matches and won 36 tournament titles. He has won the French Open four times and in 2008 defeated Federer in a classic Wimbledon final to establish his ability to win on multiple surfaces. He went on to claim the Australian Open title in 2009. He also claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

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The 2005 Masters Cup Final was one of the rare times when Roger Federer was unable to pull out a clutch victory.

Roger Federer waged war with David Nalbandian throughout his junior and professional tennis career. The Argentine prided himself on being the first to have “Federer’s number.”

These were days before Rafael Nadal supplanted the underachieving Nalbandian as Federer’s chief antagonizer—preying on the mind of the Swiss Maestro.

The great Nalbandian not only possessed a keen tennis mind but was renowned as one of the cleanest ball-strikers in the game. He understood that hitting the ball flat with power deep in the corners in order to rob the Swiss of time could bring the great man down if you could sustain the pace and continue to hit the lines. It was not an easy task, but it could be done.

Nalbandian enjoyed defeating Federer—the No. 1 player in the world—more than any other player on tour. What is more, he had the game to do it.

They have met 18 times in their long and storied careers. Federer has captured 10 wins while Nalbandian’s seized eight victories. Read the rest of this entry →

Tennis players regularly have to deal with both the emotional high of winning and the emotional low of losing.

After a spectacular loss to Roger Federer in the 2007 Australian Open, Andy Roddick, said, “It was frustrating, it was miserable, it sucked, it was terrible…Besides that it was fine.”

Decades ago, for those of us in the US old enough to remember, ABC used to open a weekly sports show citing, in equal measure: the Joy of Victory…and the Agony of Defeat (using a horrible skiing accident to illustrate the latter).

The truth is that defeat, though agonizing, can often be the most inspiring illumination of character that comes out of a sporting contest.

This year, Roger Federer took two of the most spectacular losses a champion can accept, and also recorded two of the most spectacular wins a champion could ever make in meeting, then breaking, the all-time Slam record formerly held by Pete Sampras.

But this is an article about that state of grace that can sometimes be entered by a sporting champion in defeat.

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Roger Clearly at the top of his game, Roger Federer made short work of Andy Roddick in the 2007 Australian Open.

I’ve grown accustomed to your pace…

No one was more acutely aware that Andy Roddick was on a roll during the 2007 Australian Open than Roger Federer. The Swiss No. 1 had been keeping a watchful eye on the progress of Roddick through out the early rounds.

This was the man who had defeated Federer in the semifinals of the Kooyong Classic, a warmup event, a few weeks earlier.

Federer was not really surprised that in the quarterfinals Roddick had rolled over Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in about 90 minutes on Rod Laver Arena while committing only two unforced errors. He had seen Roddick accomplish such feats before—especially over Fish. They were buddies and knew each other’s games inside and out.

During his quarterfinal match, Federer, who won the Australian Open in 2004 and 2006, overcame having his serve broken four times in his 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 win over seventh-seeded Tommy Robredo. Federer would advance to the semifinals where he would meet the American Roddick who had only defeated him once in their 13 meetings.

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Even Macy's balloons like Underdog wear out over time.

How many times can you inflate a balloon before the skin gives out – before the form will no longer hold air?  Can you extend its life by only rolling it out only once a year to fly above the crowds lining the pavement during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?

I think of Underdog, somehow…always a favorite of mine.

If Underdog only flies once a year does that diminish his super hero powers when he does take to the air to save his darling, Sweet Polly Purebred?

These deep philosophical queries obviously have nothing to do with latex – but rather with the presumed deflating career of the greatest man ever to wield a tennis racket – Roger Federer.

I say this, tongue-in-cheek knowing many disagree with my assessment – understanding the comment may stir the fire again.  Such is the nature of our business – is it not?

Roger Federer is 28.  Most of the 28-year-olds I know are still babies – cloaked in baby fat and disgustingly wrinkle free. Read the rest of this entry →