American writer David Foster Wallace wrote a memorable article about Roger Federer in The New York Times in 2006. He titled it “A Religious Experience” and today, on the day the Swiss teacher’s resignation was announced, this article stands as the pinnacle of sports journalism. “Beauty is not the goal of competitive sport, but the highest level of sport is the perfect setting for the expression of human beauty,” wrote Foster Wallace, who related his idea to a type of kinetic beauty represented by Federer like no other.
This article was published at the peak of Federer’s career, if that’s possible in a career that lasted another 15 years on the courts and added 12 more Grand Slam titles to his tally. Federer had just defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon final, the first accessed by the Spanish player who had defeated the Swiss champions at Roland Garros. It wasn’t hard to guess the rivalry to come, one of the brightest the sport has ever seen or one of the most complex as Novak Djokovic’s collapse meant an amazing three-way battle.
Federer is retiring at the age of 41 but fans have been anticipating his retirement for months. Age and injuries had finally taken their toll on a player who for 20 years seemed immune to the erosion of time, perhaps because his style highlighted an air condition that contradicted Rafa’s more grounded, physical abilities – Nadal or Novak Djokovic.
In many ways, Federer was a wonderful con man, an esthete endowed with all the resources of a puncher on the rough, pro field of tennis. Federer flew like a butterfly and stung like a bee. No other athlete is better defined by Muhammad Ali’s famous phrase. In his ethereal tennis, he kept an arsenal of resources, of shots that mesmerized by their delicate beauty and the terrifying effect they created around him, anchored in an impressive track record: 20 titles in 31 Grand Slam finals that he played, 103 titles in total, 1,251 wins in professional games, including 369 in the four major tournaments…
Federer’s numbers are staggering, and yet in memory they will act like a statistical file that will not even remotely explain his impact on the sport as his teaching stretches far beyond the confines of tennis. Its transmission capacity broke all limits and reached the furthest from tennis. For years, Federer has been calling the whole world to enjoy unparalleled style.
With all certainty, tennis players, coaches and experts in this game will be able to classify the myriad qualities of Federer and some of his slight flaws, the shots that his opponents have been able to exploit, the small weaknesses that only Nadal and Djokovic have been able to spot. , but this will be for the picky eaters. People will remember him as an impeccable champion whose excellence is underscored by the pleasure he generated.
When the mantra of winning is the only thing that matters, it’s worth turning to Federer. It won everything, it conquered everyone, and it brought us the immense good fortune that Foster Wallace referred to: the captivating importance of beauty.
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