The Return of the Titans
It really does not seem fair. This man, who ruled the roost like no other from early 2005 to late 2007, then gave up a bit of his kingdom from then till 2010 and, finally, after 2012, seemed to be fading, cannot be mounting a comeback for the ages. He cannot, at the age of 35 in a sport where 30 has generally been the cut-off point for championship aspirations, be talked about as a possible number one in the not-so-distant future.
Concurrently, the great rival to whom the aforementioned genius had to cede ground from 2008, and who—four years younger—also seemed on his way out after winning nine out of 10 championships at one particular event from 2005 to 2014, is making another comeback after what seemed his umpteenth injury and looking to win said championship a record-extending 10th time.
If by now you do not know who the two being talked about are, you probably do not watch a lot of sport and certainly do not watch even a bit of tennis. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have not just rolled back the years, they have laid down a new gauntlet for the younger players, most of whom must be cursing the resurgence of two of the greatest players to ever pick up a racket.
A bit of context.
Federer had not won a Major since the 2012 Wimbledon. When at the age of 34 he took the latter half of 2016 off because of a knee injury—his first major injury—players all across the world must have breathed a sigh of relief because they would not have to run into the Swiss maestro in the late stages of slams, and have their hopes summarily and elegantly dismissed. He had a good 2015, contesting two of the four Major finals against the runaway champ of the time, Novak Djokovic, but that was seen as a kind of swansong for Federer. There was of course always the hope of winning an eighth Wimbledon, but that was about it.
But greatness is not slave to armchair forecasts, thankfully. Making his comeback to competitive tennis in this year's season-opening Australian Open, Federer yet again confounded spectators with the absolute ease with which he breezed through the early rounds. But, with his swanlike elegance across the tennis court, he has always been too good for younger, slightly lesser players. It was when he came up against players nearer his calibre that the old man of tennis seemed to want for stamina in longer contests. But the early exits of world number one, Andy Murray, and world number two, Djokovic, seemed to have cleared the path for a fairytale comeback.
But there was Nadal, who in the mid to late 2000s made it a habit of thwarting Federer, and who had a decided advantage over the Swiss. They had also played perhaps the greatest Grand Slam final of all time in Wimbledon 2008. But with an attritional game style that punished the player himself as much as his opponents, Nadal looked on his way out even more than Federer before the Australian Open. He had last contested a Grand Slam semi-final in 2014, and he too was making a comeback from a wrist injury. But, against the odds, it was a dream Federer-Nadal final in a Major once again and a 35-year-old Federer won his 18th Grand Slam (Pete Sampras and Nadal sit second on the list with 14).
Federer then went on to win Indian Wells and the Miami Open (again beating Nadal in the final in the latter), and now has a 20-1 record in 2017. Nadal's defeats against Federer should not be very discouraging for the Spaniard. He is, after all, known as the King of Clay and we are in the midst of the clay court season. After enduring defeat in the 2015 French Open and withdrawing through injury in the 2016 edition, he is now back with full force on the red dirt, heading up to the second Grand Slam of the year. He has already won his 10th titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, both unprecedented feats in tennis. Now, he is gearing up for his tilt at the French Open -- the Grand Slam that may as well be called the Rafa Nadal Open -- later this month.
No, it really is not fair if you are Murray, who has had to suffer serial defeats at the hands of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, before finally making it to world number one and probably thinking that now is his time to dominate. Neither will it seem fair if you are Djokovic -- you may have thought that with Federer and Nadal out of reckoning you could perhaps overtake the latter's Grand Slam tally and challenge the former's haul. If you are a youngster like Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev or one of the mid-20s upper-echelon campaigners like Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori, the return of the senior citizens may as well induce you to pack your bags and leave.
But if you are a tennis fan, you are lucky to be alive to see the final bursts of utter genius of two of the greatest players of all time, and even more tantalisingly, the final throes of arguably the greatest sporting rivalry of all time.
Sakeb Subhan is a Sub-editor, The Daily Star Sport.
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