Hi there.
I’ll like you to take note of the title of this article, because you’ll be seeing it henceforth every week. Obviously the only change you’ll get to see is the personality in question. Yet another innovation at GLORIOUS.
So, today, I’ll like to talk about a personality in a game which I love so much. Obviously not a popular game here in Nigeria, but nonetheless, one that has brought me laurels, popularity and excitement, especially during my school days in the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Delta State. I started playing Lawn Tennis at quite an early age, probably about 6, when I was able to hold a real racket, given to me by my dear uncle, Dr. Emem Umoh, who was a great player at the Uyo Club.
I kept at the game, though I played only occassionally on a real court when I went for Christmas hols at my uncle’s. I never had the opportunity to play in a real tournament until 2000 during my higher education years. I dominated the court and won everything there was to win, singles and doubles, for the next three years. That was when I can say I developed my game to the status of a pro (Nigerian-speaking now, haha).
I’ll tell you something though; I always had this fantasy that my game was so good I could beat Pete Sampras, the then world’s best. That guy was my idol. Pardon me though, it was only a fantasy. But today’s not about my exploits, it’s about a man whose name has already gone down in the sands of times. It’s about someone who Pete Sampras himself has declared ”the greatest ever”. It’s about a 27-year old young man who’s taken the game of tennis by storm. It’s about ROGER FEDERER.
At long last...the French Open Title
On Sunday, Federer finally achieved all he had probably be dreaming of lately, the one thing that evaded him even as World No. 1 for many years. Federer finally overcame his nemesis – the dreaded Roland Garros Clay Court in Paris. And would I say, fortunately for him, this year, his human nemesis – Current World No. 1, Rafael Nadal – was not on hand to haunt him, as he has done for the last three finals. Surprisingly, Nadal was knocked out of the tournament by Roger’s eventual opponent, Robin Soderling; guess that made the victory as sweet as beating Nadal himself.
Roger Federer beat Robin Soderling in straight sets to win his first French Open and equal Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slam titles. He becomes only the sixth man to have won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments, joining Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as a winner of all four Grand Slam titles and matches the record total of Sampras, who never managed to win on the clay of Roland Garros.
Federer’s victory never came easy though. All through the tournament, Federer’s eventual conquest seemed doubtful. Infact, his five-set semi-final win over Juan Martin del Potro came after a titanic struggle. Who ever said victory was going to be easy?
It is important to note that many sports analysts had come to a conclusion that Federer’s career was headed for the rocks down, with the fast rising profile of Nadal.
However, I guess Federer has now proven what Richard Nixon said:
Defeat doesn’t finish a man–quit does. A man is not finished when he’s defeated. He’s finished when he quits.
George Lorimer also said:
Because a fellow has failed once or twice, or a dozen times, you don’t want to set him down as a failure till he’s dead or loses his courage–and that’s the same thing.
I suppose that would mean that had Pete Sampras not quit the game, perhaps he could have added the French title to his kitty. Anyway, that’s a discussion for another generation.
Indeed, Federer’s eventual conquest of the Roland Garros Clay Court has indeed that:
Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.– Denis Waitley
Approach every problem you face with this mentality, and you’ll discover that, one day, some day, victory will be yours.
See you at the top!
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There were times you thought it would be Roger Federer’s year to win in the French Open. When he cried pathetically (they call it ‘weep’) in the Australian Open after defeat to Nadal (especially because this was not clay), I felt for the man. He was going to retire. He had lost his last ball magic touch.
Then…just then…it started like a joke…A certain Soderling wins Nadal, a certain Soderling gets to the final beating 2 of the top 5 players, a certain Soderling was one-on-one with Federer (who was still fumbling in parts) in French Open final…
Here’s a true man. We celebrated his victory at home with a huge scream as though he were a Nigerian (or Chelsea). Now, I’ll keep him on my laptop wallpaper for a long time.
He still cried…and yes, he deserves to cry.
Pretty cool post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say
that I have really liked reading your blog posts. Anyway
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you post again soon!
good post. I will be putting a bet on roger fed to beat nadal later today at ATP Madrid.