
12.07.2012 / Arts & Culture
He is legend
He conquered his seventh Wimbledon title after winning every major tournament, breaking almost very record in tennis history and getting 20 million British spectators glued to the TV to support his rival Andy Murray.
Still, Roger Federer – now back to number 1 in the World Rankings and almost 31 years old – is not done with History yet. In a few weeks time, he’ll be back on the British courts to try and gain the Olympic gold medal.
To many admirers, fans, experts and former champions, Roger Federer is synonymous with tennis. Indeed, it’s pretty hard to imagine one without the other; not only did Federer break every possible record (just take a look at this Wikipedia article), but he did that by boasting a style that matches beauty and scores.
Which accounts for the title of a famous 2006 article by David Foster Wallace on the New York Times: “Federer as a religious experience”. Yet, although most tennis lovers speak of Federer with sacred devotion, not many would have bet on his seventh victory at Wimbledon – after all, during the last couple of years he’s been both far from the top of the ATP charts and missing from the Grand Slam winning list.
Nevertheless, the Swiss champion managed to upset the predictions and defy Scot Andy Murray in the final.
In barely 4 sets, he broke the dreams of glory of those 20 milllion spectators who hoped to see an English player finally winning back the title at Wimbledon after some 70 years.
And now Federer is ready to fight for his next goal, the Olympic gold medal, with the advantage of a familiar court – for his seven-time conquered Wimbledon will be the backdrop of this new challenge.
Actually, he already won an Olympic gold medal in Bejing back in 2008.
But we doubt an Olympic gold medal in doubles will be enough for Mr Record Breaker…
Links
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?pagewanted=all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Roger_Federer




