Column

Maybe it’s fun to be superstitious sometimes. When Leander Paes and Cara Black won the mixed doubles title in Australia, it was the third time in four finals in this tournament that the No 1 players in the world had come through — joining the Bryan brothers in the men’s doubles and Serena Williams in the women’s. The only exception was in the women’s doubles, where the champions Serena and Venus Williams were seeded 2 against Cara Black and Liezel Huber, who were seeded 1.

So when the No 1 male tennis player in the world, Roger Federer, walked out on Rod Laver Arena to play No 5 Andy Murray (though he will move up now to 2) in the men’s singles final in Melbourne on Sunday evening, let’s imagine that that’s the only reason why the odds were stacked in his favour. Let’s pretend that he did not already have 15 Grand Slam titles, 61 titles in all, a career Grand Slam, and all the other records and accolades he had collected till that moment. It was all down to his No 1 ranking and the edge that it gave him in some totally pointless statistical tally.

If only life were so simple or matches won on such simple odds. Instead, what we had was a finely fought contest with a champion and a young challenger fighting toe to toe to make their mark and win the crown. Murray carried the weight of a nation’s expectations of what — 150,000 years, or is it 74? — lightly on his shoulders as he attempted to once more get the better of a man he had beaten six times in their 10 meetings.

Murray had played a superb tournament until the final, barely breaking a sweat as he swatted his opponents with his grit, his retrieving power and his drive.

Then there was the great man himself, Roger Federer. Many had written him off — as they are wont to do — in the beginning of the year itself. He would never win another Grand Slam, said some; others pointed to the depth in the field and his difficult draw heading to the final.

Possibly, Federer hadn’t heard them because he seemed unaware that his career was over, that he had lost it, and that he might as well give up now and concentrate on changing nappies. Because he just danced through the tournament with his characteristic elegance, brilliance, and startling array of shots. Sure, he dropped a couple of sets here and there along the way, but when he came back into the match it was the Dominator again. Ask Nikolay Davydenko, Lleyton Hewitt, or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

With Murray in the final, Federer did not make the mistake of dropping a set. And when he dropped a game, he made sure he got it back. The third set tiebreak was tight, but that’s when championship mode kicks in. And after see-sawing between set point and championship point, the match went to the champ. You can’t blink in a Grand Slam final. It comes down to that.

Still, the stats and numbers are fun and they tell us that Roger Federer has 16 Grand Slam titles, more than any other male player, and his first as a father. Now that’s a number to ponder over for the pundits.