Federer is One of a Kind

If you like watching a hard-hitting, aggressive player like Andy Roddick, chances are you did not enjoy the Roland Garros final two weeks earlier. If you did enjoy that match, well, then you probably have not enjoyed watching Wimbledon where sometimes rallies last shorter than a regular breath taken during rest.

If you are a serve and volley fan, your choices are limited to Tim Henman and a few others on a very short list. One single tennis player can't possibly quench the various thirsts of all tennis fans for high-quality performance, right? Actually, one person can!

Whether you are a fan of baseliners, serve-and-volley style, or an all-court style of tennis, one thing is certain: you will enjoy watching Roger Federer.

Pete Sampras is arguably the best player in the history of tennis. The word "arguably" would be taken out of that sentence in a heartbeat had Sampras proved a little more resourceful on clay courts. Not only did he fail miserably at Roland Garros each year, but also has fewer clay court titles to account for in an otherwise splendid career, than the fingers on one hand.

Most players can dominate on one surface and unlike Sampras, can even win a title here and there on even their disliked surfaces. But certainly no player can dominate on all surfaces, right? Actually, Federer can!

The man has "Federer expressed" his way to an Australian Open title on hard, only losing two sets. Then he conquered the Masters Series title in Hamburg on clay, outwitting from the baseline opponents like Carlos Moya, Gaston Gaudio, and Guillermo Coria whose careers mostly depend on clay court tournament results. Oh, and as far as grass court goes, Federer has won his last three grass court tournaments, prior to Wimbledon.

Speaking of the best player of all times, Rod Laver accomplished winning the Grand Slam twice during his career. Don Budge was the only other man to complete the Grand Slam, back in 1938.

Winning all four majors is next to impossible. It is the ultimate achievement in tennis, one that even "big-time" champions such as Pete Sampras keep on their wish list forever and ever. Some have come close in the past, Jimmy Connors won three of them in 1974, but was not allowed to compete in Roland Garros, Mats Wilander won three of them in 1988, but failed in Wimbledon. Andre Agassi has won them all, but not in the same year.

Especially now that all four majors are on a wide variety of surfaces, it seems that no player can win all four majors. Actually, Federer can!

He has not done it as of now. But he has several more "good" years left. Furthermore, if anyone has the goods to reach this so-called "pinnacle" of tennis, Federer is that man. Of course, he will need the right breaks at the right time. For example, he will have to stay injury-free, or he will have to have a good draw in one or two of the Slams, or even get lucky and perform at peak levels during those eight weeks out of the year.

Nevertheless, no single player since Laver (apologies to John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Sampras) has shown this much potential in terms of winning on all surfaces and all different conditions.

Most critics claim that tennis players need to be more outward with their emotions on the court to gain popularity. They must donate their tennis game with a "colorful" personality, so to speak. Most tennis watchers find tennis players boring because they do not yell enough, or pump their fists with more flare, etc. Basically, their argument is a tennis player can't rise to the peak of popularity unless they display some sort of gorish behavior, a la John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors. Actually, Federer can!

While players like Marat Safin and Goran Ivanisevic have grown in popularity due to their outbursts and severe racket abuse on the court accompanied with brilliant display of tennis skills occasionally, Roger Federer has managed to tweak the interest of all tennis fans across the globe solely with sheer brilliance in creativity, blissful movement, and extraordinary array of strokes at his disposition. No tennis player this quiet on the court has created this much fandom since Bjorn Borg, otherwise known as "IceBorg."

So next time you turn on your television set and see Federer display his talent, sit back and enjoy because I guarantee that you will enjoy the show. How can I guarantee this? Because Federer can!