I’m a great tennis fan. I play it as a player, and I also love love to
watch it, but not all tennis is pleasing to the eye. I predict my interest in
men's tennis will fade when the game gets too muscly. There’s been an increase
in alpha males slamming and screaming the ball over the net. Not that there's
anything wrong with powerful tennis but if it isn't accompanied by the
well-rounded game and versatility Roger Federer has, in my humble opinion, it
stops being tennis. Brute force doesn't thrill me unless it's a freak shot for
the fun of it. I grew up watching Borg, McEnroe, Sampras, Gerulatis, and back
then, men's tennis was more about skill, tactics and alignment, than wrestling.
Over more than a decade I've tuned in to Roger Federer’s matches, and
there's always something to take out of his games even when he loses because
he's so graceful. He brings an otherworldliness to the court and I honestly
think this is a major point of focus that a lot of other players overlook. I
don't like seeing 'more powerful' muscle-tennis players beat him purely because
they have faster legs and bigger serves (Raonic comes to mind). As much as he
can rise to those challenges (and has done many times) a true winner is the
player who stays connected to the inner game of tennis with grace and superior
tactics.
Intelligence on the tennis court is a very powerful thing and when it
gets brutalised by opponents who slog hard in a standard fashion, to me there's
something amiss and it would be a shame for future generations of players to
adopt that style over everything Roger has brought to the game. I say that with
all due respect to every professional player. I'm fully aware of the dedication
required on every level to become pro, so this isn't a stab at individuals per se, more of an observation of the
direction tennis can take when the point is missed. No pun intended.
Everyone knows Roger Federer makes it look easy but I wonder if they
ever asked themselves how? Maybe it's personal. I can assure what he does on
the court he’s anything but easy. Maybe it's a reflection of who he is. Maybe
there's another side to tennis that hasn't been explored by coaches. Maybe it's
the inner life of the game that he brings to the court, and if it's discovered
and tapped into on an individual level by coaches and players alike, it might
be safe to make the assumption that muscle-tennis only represents the very
coarse outer layer of tennis itself, no matter the fitness or the tactics.
There could be a whole other world to this game that everyone can benefit from.
Maybe the mental game of tennis needs adjusting so everyone involved
won't miss the opportunity to learn what Roger Federer possibly came to teach,
whether he's aware of it or not. He's incredibly balanced in every respect and
highly intuitive. Could be a good place to start for anyone wondering why their
shots are slamming but they can't get ahead, or they beat the more graceful
players on brute force alone. When the desire to win takes precedent over
playing quality, connected tennis, well that's just corporate tennis, for want
of a better term.
And so ended another Aussie Open. I was looking forward to watching Roger
Federer play in it for all the reasons mentioned above. I still believe he has
another Gland Slam in him. Hopefully everyone will learn from him no matter
what happens on the courts.
It can't be that hard to pay attention.
