Champion

Even Nadal-supporters-all-the-way felt that prick. It's the prick you get in your eyes when greatness is right in front of you, but that greatness seems different. It seems..subdued, lost. In hiding.
Worse, it seems defeated.

Roger Federer is a man most of us have never met in person, but we've seen enough and heard enough to believe that he is greatness, and I'm not really talking about tennis. It's obvious that he's incredibly hard working, and that's enough for me. Enough to consider someone as the personification of greatness. Life can only give you so much, but Federer grabbed all he had, with both hands, and any other way he could. He's been friendly, humble, sensible and a delight, even, in interviews. It's obvious that he loves what he does, and he's phenomenal at it. He even possesses a certain easy, quick grace when he plays..something most players find hard to emulate. He's a champion all the way. He even makes all swiss people look good (Haha! Yes, someone's told me that they've found the already nice swiss-people to be even nicer once they first discovered Federer is swiss)

And to watch a champion like that cry because what he wanted suddenly seemed out of his reach is a feeling like no other. People felt like it was them, on the courts, who hadn't won. The collective sadness is incredible, and it's hard to explain. I don't know if he knew, but Roger Federer wasn't alone that day.
He wasn't alone at all.

Some people say he is now officially on the down-slide, because he's been defeated five times by the other great Champion, the Spaniard who consoled him. Some people say the felt like they were watching the demise of his greatness.
I feel like the hallmark of a great champion, is his comeback.

I respect Roger Federer all the more, because he is man enough, heck..human enough, to cry in front of practically the whole world watching. I respect him not because he's phenomenal on the courts, but because he's shown the whole world that he's a human being, and he can handle it. This doesn't mean that I don't respect people who don't cry publicly, but for a champion to cry, and handle it, is just something else. Sure, I'm assuming he had no other option in this case. He couldn't dash off somewhere, and he probably couldn't control himself. It was downright misery, and I felt defeated watching him cry- I don't remember the last time I felt that defeated. Either way..just because he cried, doesn't mean he stops being a champion in so many eyes.

Its unfortunate that this has been blown out of proportion, the crying, but I can understand..I'm blogging about it, aren't I? Parents and friends cry with you when you win, or when you lose and you cry, right? I guess that's an even bigger compliment to Mr. Federer- he's got friends the world over.

Nadal is breathtakingly brilliant in his own right, but the champion is going to make a comeback. I believe that, and it keeps me going. It will keep everyone going, and more than anything else..it sure will make tennis even more interesting when it does.