Aus Open: Federer and Nadal serve up tennis lovers a feast, may be for one last time

The term nostalgia is derived from a Greek compound word consisting the words nostos (homecoming) and the word algos (meaning pain or ache), and the word was coined to describe the anxieties of soldiers fighting away from home. Nowadays, it’s more often used to describe a time in the past with happy personal associations. And for tennis fans, there are few places happier than the memories of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer slugging it out. Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, particularly when we see our sporting heroes perform again or defy time. It’s what makes us emotional when we see our childhood heroes carry out a swansong, it takes us back in time to a place that can only be accessed through memory.

On Sunday, as Federer and Nadal stepped back in time to fight it out for a Grand Slam again, one was reminded of another nostalgia-inducing match between two men who used to dominate tennis – Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. In the 2002 US Open, the two best players of their generation, faced off one last time as Sampras ran out the winner one last time in what turned out to be his last match.

On Sunday, Sampras’ heir and the man who surpassed his Grand Slam title count was back, battling against the man many consider his greatest rival – Rafael Nadal. Agassi had written in his novel Open that he pitied the man who’d play the Agassi role against Federer’s Sampras, but to be fair, not many would pity a man who had 14 Grand Slam titles. The analogy is also slightly flawed since Nadal always got the better of Federer, but that’s what made Federer’s 2017 Australian Open victory even more amazing.  

It was a breath-taking victory, a five-setter which lasted three hours and 37 minutes and made Federer the first man to secure five titles at three Grand Slams and became the second oldest man after Ken Rosewall to win a major singles trophy. It was also against his greatest rival, Rafa Nadal, who had performed his own personal miracle to come back to the final.  

Federer’s win was even more surreal since the former World Number 1 was seeded number 17, and the battle against Nadal was a fight against history, against a rival who had often trumped him and whose record against his was perhaps the only sticking point in his legacy. 

After spending six months out last season after undergoing surgery, many questioned if Federer even had the durability to come back to the top of his game. The injury proved a blessing in disguise, giving him a lengthy break away from the game and he returned rejuvenated.

Nadal too was coming back from injuries and this was his first final in three years, and the quality of his tennis will strike fear into his rivals. But the night belonged to Federer, as the Swiss maestro added an unprecedented 18^th Grand Slam to his list.

Federer started strong and looked like he was in a tearing hurry to create history as he toyed with a sedate Nadal to rush to a one-set lead. However, Nadal wasn’t here to make up the numbers and he hit back like a tearing bull in the second, going four games up in the blink of an eye as Federer suddenly seemed to forget how to hold a racket. 

Federer found his game in the second set but it was too little too late as Rafa raced to a 6-3 lead. The late surge however carried into the third set, when a majestic Federer found his forehand again, some of his shots looking like they were crafted in an artist’s studio rather than on a tennis court.  The fourth set saw Rafa come back strongly and as the match edged into the fifth, he even broke Federer in the opening game of the decider. However, Federer seemed to go into the place where only champions have access and rode on crowd support to reach 3-3 and win five games on a row as a final Federer forehand got the Hawk Eye’s approval as history beckoned for Federer.

After the match, Federer said that if tennis allowed draws, he would happily share one with Rafael Nadal who was magnificent. But even hardcore Nadal fans wouldn’t begrudge the Swiss maestro his time in the sun. As for the rest of us mere mortals who watched the match, all we can say is, it was an honour to see these titans clash again. Hopefully, it won’t be for the last time.