God is to be retired. We are on our own now.
The tennis legend Roger Federer has dropped the news.
Today morning, when I snoozed the alarm, the news flashed on my phone. Roger Federer has announced his retirement.No, I did open it; I could not gather enough strength to face the news. At that moment, all I wanted was to go back to sleep again. Because, I was in absolute denial, of course. Because, that way, I did not have to know the fact and swallow it.
There are certain things in life that are inevitable and you know it’s in the air, it will likely happen at any time, but, you still hold on to the fact that it did not happen yet, and you have time. This incident today is undoubtedly one of those, for me. For an hour or two, I resisted taking the plunge, then, finally, I went to his official social media account and read his farewell letter, not in one sitting though. He has also left an audio message for us. I could not hold back my tears. The pain was excruciating.
The pain is excruciating. It will take a long time to get over the fact that we will never see The Roger Federer playing competitive tennis anymore. The rejoicing of his winnings and the mourning of his losses would never feel as intense as before. He will probably play charity matches, the Match For Africa(organised by his foundation) or similar events, as he mentioned that he would play tennis but not on tours or in Grand Slams.
With media channels and the internet inundated with the news of his upcoming retirement, I keep recalling the time of the beginning of his reign. Being a daughter of an ardent tennis fan, I remember hearing often from my father “This new Swiss guy is going places.” When he first beat Philippoussis in 2003 Wimbledon and made his breakthrough at the Slams, I remember, my mother also started liking him. Her favourite Agassi was no 1 at that time. Grand Slams used to feel like any other celebrations at our house. Then, Roger gained the world no 1 rank after his win at the Australian Open the following year defeating Marat Safin. After that, there was no looking back. When he defeated Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2004 making it his 2nd in a row, this girl got hooked, hooked hard. Wherever there was a hint of Roger, be it any newspaper, magazine or television interviews, I would devour it. When I went to the city for studies, I had my room decorated with each and every newspaper cutting and posters of that man. ATPs I could not follow that much, but, I tried not to miss the major championships. I used to manage to ask my landlady to let me use their tv room. There was one incident that I will never forget in my life. It was the 2010 Australian Open finals. My landlady had guests over, so, I could not get to their family room that day. I completely broke down. Seeing me in that state my roommate came and said to me that she might be able to arrange something where I could watch the match. She took me to her aunt’s place. Though they were not that close, she still called and asked them if I could come over with her for the match. Roger won. I would forever remain grateful to my then-roommate, Sonali di, for the kindness she had shown me that day.
One of my top five dreams was to watch the man do his wonders on the court in front of my very eyes. I was fortunate enough to be able to fulfil that, twice! Yes, those are the moments we live for; those are the moments we pinch ourselves to make sure we are not dreaming.
Roger Federer happens to be the only God who makes me a theist. We saw a tennis mystic in the balletic grace of his movements and in those wild high-tariff ground strokes. His ethereal one-handed backhands enchanted us. His style of tennis made the outrageous appear so fluid. We stopped counting the numbers long ago, because, after one point, we just wanted to soak up the ambience he created with the symphonic variety of his play.
Professional Tennis is often called the most gruelling sport, and we all know why. The decade-long champions give us other-worldly feelings of themselves on-court. But, they are human beings like us. And, Roger Federer is a true gentleman on-court and off. He is one gem of a person, a benevolent, empathetic, humble man with high regard for his on-court archenemies. Through his Roger Federer Foundation, he is greatly involved in bettering the world for the less fortunate ones. He approaches the media in low-key ways, and hardly, if ever, put his foot in his mouth. The way he and his greatest rival Rafael Nadal go along off-court, from making those funny videos for the fans to organising charity matches, shows us what camaraderie means among these true tennis legends.
Talking about the great RF and his stature would not be complete without mentioning the one constant of his life, Mirka. Mirka and Roger Federer are one of the most adored couples in the tennis realm. Roger never stops acknowledging that he would never have been where he is now if it were not for Mirka, that how thankful he is for having her as his companion, who stood by him through thick and thin. They have two sets of twins and how pretty darn unlikely that is! Well, it’s Roger Federer, so, wonders happen, I would like to say.
A 13 years old girl was standing beside me when I was waiting on the side of the entranceway in the Seattle Key Arena for Roger to get his signature when he leaves. The players entered through that side, so we were kind of sure that they would also leave that way. When John Isner left first, I forwarded my RF hat and he signed. I like to think that he did not see the engraves! We were screaming Federer’s name and waving hands, jumping, hoping he would come now. To our greatest disappointment, he took his leave from the other side of the court. We both were in tears. I treasure the hat to be one of my prized possessions and I continue hoping that, someday, God (read RF) will grant me my wish and sign it.
Roger, thanks for keeping me going. Thank you for the spells you cast on and off the court. Thank you, Maestro and thanks to the amazing supportive family and the team that helped you do magic and bewitch us.
To say we will miss you would be an understatement.
All the very best for the Laver Cup. As always, wish you good health and good life.
- Love and everything,
A worshiper
