A load of crap from an idle brain

The Federer Express chugs on, merrily eclipsing all the records in his way and at the same time winning over friends and opponents with his ruthless display on the court.

Roger Federer finally broke the 14 Grand Slams record of Pete Sampras by winning the Wimbledon this weekend beating Andy Roddick of the US in a 5 set thriller.  The final set went on for an astonishing 95 minutes.

I was expecting to see another sobbing Federer at the end of the match, but it seems he managed to keep his emotions under perfect control.   An amazingly cool and composed player who very rarely loses his cool both on and off the pitch.  For a growing up kid, there is no better role model in Roger Federer.

He’s never been seen to yell either at the opponent / match officials, doesn’t spit on the ground, is modest about his achievements, but sometimes he does surprise us with his comments about the absolute confidence he has in his own game.

It would be easy to say that Federer won the last remaining Grand Slam, the French Open simply because Rafael Nadal was knocked out early in the tournament. And that Federer didnt have to meet his most decisive opponent in the finals.  But the fact is that it doesnt take away the sheen from his achievements.

Roger Federer’s Grand Slam victories

2003 – Wimbledon
2004 – Australian Open
2004 – Wimbledon
2004 – US Open
2005 – Wimbledon
2005 – US Open
2006 – Australian Open
2006 – Wimbledon
2006 – US Open
2007 – Australian Open
2007 – Wimbledon
2007 – US Open
2008 – US Open
2009 – French Open
2009 – Wimbledon

For a person who has achieved possibly everything that men’s singles tennis has to offer, it would be very tempting to either walk away from it all or to find motivation to save that one next set point or match point.   But knowing the champion that Federer is, am sure he will be back to entertain us, to show us the sheer joy of winning and most importantly that you dont need to be a brash, abusive, megalomaniac to be a champion.

All rise for the greatest tennis player ever.  Roger Federer.

Above pic source:  Din and Noise & IBNLive

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Indian tennis ace Leander Paes and Zimbabwe’s Cara Black won the mixed doubles crown at the season-ending Grand Slam on Thursday. The fifth seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair beat the American-British pairing of Liezel Huber and Jamie Murray 7-6, 6-4 in the final.

The triumph increased Paes’s  tally of Grand Slam crowns to eight. In 1999, Paes had partnered Mahesh Bhupathi and Lisa Raymond to win the men’s doubles and mixed doubles crowns at Wimbledon.

American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan won their seventh Grand Slam men’s doubles crown Friday, defeating India’s Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (12/10) to take the US Open title. The Bryans, who ran through the tournament without losing a set, previously won Slam crowns at Roland Garros in 2003, the US Open in 2005, Wimbledon in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2006 and 2007.

The defeat denied Paes a chance at a US Open doubles double, having already claimed the mixed crown with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black. Paes had claimed such doubles in 1999 at Wimbledon and the French Open, partnered with American Lisa Raymond in mixed and compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in the men’s doubles.

The victory enables the Bryans to move back into the world number one ranking from second.

News and pictures courtesy: AFP, Daijiworld

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Leander Paes & Lukas Dlouhy

Some great news in tennis for India.  Leander Paes has reached the finals of both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles at the US Open.

Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy sprinted into the men’s doubles final by pulverising Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-0 in just 46 minutes.  (Lines courtesy: Rediff)

Cara Black

Meanwhile in the mixed doubles, Paes and his partner Cara Black of Zimbabwe beat Nadia Petrova and Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-4 to reach the finals.

The last time Leander Paes achieved such a result was in the 1999 Wimbledon.  Will he be able to repeat this feat at the last Grand Slam of the year ?

Above pictures courtesy: Getty Images & Wikipedia

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