Ted Green: Roger Federer is a great -- and humble -- tennis icon

What a picture that was, the mother of all tennis photo ops.

Like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, carved into the granite of a symbolic national structure, there were Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, the Mt. Rushmore of men's tennis.

And now Federer, that impeccably elegant, perfect Swiss timepiece, is the grandest champion of all, better than everybody else, the first face on the tennis mountain that all eyes will be drawn to.

For those of us raised on the thrilling and also childishly embarrassing but distinctly American court antics of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, Federer is an acquired taste. But well worth the time it may have taken to acquire it.

Imagine a champion who doesn't pound his chest or beat an opponent, then verbally humiliate him. What a pleasure to see such a throwback. Federer is like Joe DiMaggio, all style and substance, grace and humility. And no small postscript, his talent is totally off the charts too.

After four-plus hours and a will-this-ever-end?16-14 fifth set, in a display of power tennis that was awesome to behold, you were reminded of the "Thrilla in Manila": two great heavyweights landing haymakers until only one, the great Muhammad Ali, could be left standing.

It being staid and proper Wimbledon, in that most conservative of sports cathedrals, it seemed fair to call it a "Thrilla in Vanilla." Except there was nothing routine or ordinary about Federer's win over a palpably exhausted, emotionally stricken but awfully game Andy Roddick.

Federer's sixth Wimbledon title is his 15th in a slam, counting five U.S. Opens, three Australians and one just last month, his first one, on the torturous red clay at the French.

No slouch at gracefulness himself, Sampras flew into England at the eleventh hour to witness it. And it made the moment at the All-England Club all the more special and complete and right that Sampras was there to personally pass the torch.

Having traveled to London to cover five Wimbledons during the era of Borg, McEnroe and Connors, it's interesting to note that Federer's evenness, his calm, reserved Scandinavian temperament, is the same quality that makes him somehow boring for those fans who prefer their sports heroes wear their hearts on their sleeves.

But it is that same quality that will allow Federer, a month from his 28th birthday, which is certainly old in tennis, to continue competing at a high level for several more years. By contrast, Borg burned out from the pressure to win majors at just 26 and McEnroe, far too intense, was effectively spent around the same age.

And one final reference to Manila versus Vanilla: Like Ali, Federer is now The Greatest of All Time. Only unlike Ali in the fight game, in Fed's game, there is no one else left in the discussion.

-- Ted Green

Green formerly covered tennis for the L.A. Times. He is currently Senior Sports Producer for KTLA Prime News.

 

Photo: Roger Federer holds the Wimbledon Trophy after beating Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14, in the Men's Singles Final on July 5, 2009. Photo credit: Glyn Kirk / Getty Images.

Comments

[Geography Man]

Federer is not Scandanavian (i.e. not from Sweden, Norway, or Denmark). He is Swiss, not Swedish. Borg, however, is Scandanavian since he's from Sweden.

[Barbara Fsiher]

Congratulations on your stunning achievement, and best wishes for a long -. lived marriage and career. It is a pleasure to see a real gentlemen accomplish his goals.

[Barbara Fisher]

Congratulations on your stunning achievement and best wishes for a long and happy liife with your new wife and your career. It is always a pleasure to watch you play. My deceased husband was a great tennis buff (and also played unprofessionally), I learned a lot about the game from him and continued to watch. May you have many more triumphs. Barbara Fisher

[Ray Barnes]

In spite of Federer having the most career major victories, and being very arguably the best player of modern tennis (certainly the most durable, pace Nadal fans), I would be very reluctant to call him the greatest player ever unless he achieves a grand slam in the same fashion that Laver did, twice. Lost in the maelstrom of interviews and commentaries after his victory earlier today is that he his halfway to accomplishing this. I believe Federer will win the US Open again and set the stage for a very dramatic 2010 Australian Open, which has the potential to be the true crowning achievement of Federer's career. I am hoping for a rematch against a healthy and resurgent Nadal. If that should come to pass, let the best man win.

[TennisMasta]

Ted, this is a wonderful piece. I have read everything that is written since the match ended earlier and this is the best. Your comment "Federer is an acquired taste" is so true - we tried hard to avoid as a nation (he is also not one of our own as Frank Deford said in that famous SI piece), but couldn't help acquiring the taste because Federer's tennis (and his personality) is so good (best ever).

[Jim Stefani]

You referred to Federer's "reserved Scandinavian temperament". Last I heard, Switzerland was south of Germany and nowhere near Scandinavia.

[second opinion]

Federer is a remarkable tennis player who has delivered many outstanding moments. At his best he seemed machine perfection. He did not miss anything he should hit and made his share of improbable shots. He would be a perfect symbol of the No Drama ideal and the Tiger perfection.

That said this article is riddled with hype. There is no shortage of grace and good manners in tennis. It is the rule not the exception and most of the top players have fit that mold. And despite lesser records one suspects McEnroe and Agassi are among the few who will be recalled clearly in most minds a generation from now not for their cool machine like approach but rather because they had heart and spirit. We might honor the perfect but we tend to cheer the fighter.

This finals is already a memory and with an asterisk. It was long but hardly brilliantly. Roger was far from perfect, his Decline is noticeable as it has been for a couple of years. This was the type of serve and over tennis that made Lendl such a monotonous champion. 50+ aces is far from my ideal. Virtually no breaks, very few and unremarkable rallies. It all reminded one of the star not on the court - Rafa. Roger in all likelihood would be stalled at 14 if he did not go down and Rafa's less perfect but more dynamic approach would be the talk of tennis. As it stands once he returns and barring injury it appears almost certain he will roll up most of the Federer legacy in the next 5 years.

Roger remains the most perfect tennis player I have witnessed. He is not the most exciting and probably not the best. So maybe carving in rock is his destiny. I would rather see incredible athleticism and endless fight.

[Bill]

Good article....

But "Scandanavian temperment" ?

I believe Federer is of French/South African extract...

[Bill]

Or excuse me....he is of Swiss/South African extract

[Holly]

Humble? Seriously? I don't think so...and of course there's someone else. There's the current World #1 that has the winning record over Fed...Rafa Nadal, remember him?

[Yus]

"Scandinavian temperament" ???

What Federer has to do with Scandinavia? He's neither Swedish nor Norwegian or Danish.
Have you confused Swiss with Swedish that so many Americans do?

[Robert Klein]

Scandinavian temperament - is wrong because he comes from Switzerland - not a Scandinavian country like Norway, Denmark or Sweden see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia
needs not to be published just corrected

[Elayne Wehrlin]

PUHLEEZE!!!! If I can find North Dakota and Idaho on a map of the world, can someone help Americans to figure out that Switzerland is not Sweden, and is not anywhere near it. Just to focus your minds, it happens to be the oldest, continuous, working democracy in the world - since 1291 - I have heard Condoleeza Rice say the USA was! Geneva Conventions anyone? SWISS! There are only 7 million of us. Please don't give our beloved Federer to the Swedes.

[Elayne Wehrlin]

Forgot to say that Andy Roddick was truly wonderful yesterday. I am a dyed-in-the-wool Federer fan (goes with the Swiss passport, I'm afraid) but it broke my heart to see Andy lose yesterday after the terrific performance he put in. And what a thoroughly nice bloke he is, as well. Go Andy, you can win another one!

[Linda]

I enjoyed this article, although I disagree with one point in particular, and with some of the comments. My disagreement is with the description of Federer as "reserved". He maintains a stoic demeanor on court, thus giving his opponent no indication of his inner frame of mind. But his playing is passionate in its intensity -- especially on big points -- and his emotional reaction after matches shows how much it means to him. Finally, I think Federer's style is far from "machine" like -- unless you are talking about a machine like a Porsche or Ferrari. His grace and fluidity are legendary; he makes impossible shots look easy. He did not bring much of that quality to the match yesterday; he won more on guts and mental strength. But, he still has a beautiful game. As for Nadal, Federer has a winning record against him on all surfaces other than clay. They have played most often on clay, because Federer has made it to the finals or semifinals in more clay-court tournaments than Nadal has made on hard courts or grass to date. There is no doubt that Nadal is a clay-court genius and a wonderful player on other surfaces. When he returns, I hope he and Federer will have many epic battles. Add Roddick, Murray, Djokovic, and others to the mix, and tennis will be very interesting in the next few years.

[Ted Green]

For all of you most excellent geography majors, thanks to my superior, even stupendous UCLA education, which was an amazing value when out of state tuition was only $400 a month, I DO know that Switzerland is not in Scandinavia. Nor is Federer Scandinavian, of course. I was referring to a type of temperament. Like Borg, who IS Scandinavian from Sweden and whom I covered extensively, Federer has that same demeanor: calm, cool, unflappable, stoic, poised, unassuming, understated. That is what I meant by Scandinavian type of temperament. But if I offended anyone from Switzerland, I love chocolate, watches and remain neutral when I vote at the U.N.

--Ted Green

[niloofar]

great article...
Roger is really modest & humble looking at what he has achieved. one just needs to read his post-match interview after the final.even on-court where he called his victory:"LUCKY"

[niloofar]

Roger is truely modest and humble looking at what he has achieved. one just needs to read his presser after the final.even on-court he called the victory:"luck"

as for his game,it was far from his best in the fianl. he would hardly get a B for it.but he was mentally tough and deserved to win in the end.I hope we can watch more of his beautiful tennis and not the B game from now on.just hope so.