The Federer Magic -- But no trophy just a Plate ! Wimbledon 2019

If anyone gets so much attention in my blogs , it is this man. He just seems to defy age and logic – We wrote him off long back but he came back and won the Australian open in Jan 18 and that surprised many and then on he has remained in contention for a top place in each of the slams and other tournaments that he plays..

For a start in 2019 , Federer decided to play in the French open. Clay is not his favorite surface and with intent to protect his body and continue his active playing , Federer had been avoiding the Clay courts . This year having decided to play he did extremely well to get to the semis where he met his nemesis on clay Nadal who probably put him in to place in that match.

Transition to grass court and  preparation was smooth . Federer won the Halle open and was ready for the Wimbledon. It was smooth sailing in to the semis and the familiar opponent was none other than  Nadal again . So one thought it was the end of the road at this tournament for Federer . But Federer had other ideas. In a battle royal, with both players playing high quality tennis . Federer proved his superiority in grass over Nadal winning in four hard fought sets including the last nerve wracking game where Federer served out to win the match. In to the final and again a familiar opponent .

The match was a humdinger – Went down to the wire—The press before the match had written of Federer and indicated he just did not have the game to match with Djokovic – the defending champion – But Federer played sublime – He was ready to serve out to one of the best returners in modern day tennis . And how well he did that ?. He was not broken till the fourth set  which meant he was serving brilliantly till that game–

The first set went even before Djokovic edged ahead on tie break . In the second , Federer was magical . He broke Djokovic twice and ran away with the set . The third again went to Djokovic , again on tie breaks. In the fourth set Federer broke the Djokovic serve twice before losing his own serve but then prevailed to level the games at two sets apiece. The final set tested everyone including the players . With tie breaks available only after 24 games in case of deadlock , Federer had two championship points in game 16 and he could not convert any . I thought he lost the match there . it was unlike Federer to throw away two match points Both men defied fatigue and looked to complete the games and get to the tie break . Djokovic was always in control of the tie break as he was in sets one and set three and he gave little space for Federer. It was classic match with the pendulum swinging one way to another ( As it did on the cricket pitch at the same time )

• It was longest finals – 4 hours and 57 minutes – The match would have worn  out the viewers but not the players themselves !
• If one looks at the statistics of the match, it would reflect very harshly on Federer – everything went his way – Number of aces , lesser double faults ,more breaks of serve  in his favour , more first serves in, more forays to the net – But it was Djokovic who was the winner. Djokovic just won the three tie breaks and the title was his !
• It must have been one of the most difficult results for Federer – so close and yet so far . Will he have another chance ? Looking at his body language and the interview post the  match , it seems he will be on to his regular routines post recovery and very soon  . Certainly not easy considering his age but with what he has done in the last couple of years , you could only be optimistic that he will do what he does best – continue playing …. 
• The quality of the tennis played in both the semis and the finals were astonishing.  Rallies were longer and Federer won some of the long rallies with Nadal and that was a surprise knowing how Nadal chases down . 
• Federer was taking the ball early in both the semis and finals and that clearly gave him the edge as he gave no time to his opponents . It was evident from the fact  that it took the fourth set for his service to be broken by Djokovic who is one of the best returners of the game. 
• I was thinking what would be motivation for Federer to carry on at 37—Must be his love and passion for the sport – Nothing else – 
• And playing at this level and staying on top is not easy. Managing that and still able to beat players half his age is no joke . Some of them are not even born when Federer won his first Grand Slam . Just shows the level of fitness , focus and the aspiration to go after titles that Federer has. 
• The other thing to worry about is that all the three Djokovic , Nadal and Federer are past the thirties in age  and still in contention for titles . See no rising young stars on the horizon. And that is not good for the game of tennis 
• Looks like this threesome will compete for the fourth Grand slam of this year – The US Open
• One thing as I watched this final was that cricket final was going parallel and in many ways nail biting as the tennis was !