2009 French Open: Roger Federer, French Open Champion!

2009 French Open Roger Federer Wins

And all is right with the tennis world once again.

Roger Federer showed the world what it means to not give up. This is something that I feel is beyond just merely another tennis match. This was not that. This was something much much more.

To quote a line from the film Match Point (though I believe the character quoted someone else there):

The man who said “I’d rather be lucky than good” saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It’s scary to think so much is out of one’s control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn’t, and you lose.

Such is tennis and such is life. We, the collective global community, have been through a lot these last few months. We’ve been beaten down economically, mentally and spiritually. Too many people have seen a lifetime of hard work and grand dreams be pummeled down by strokes of forces beyond their control and just plain old bad luck.

But we got back up. We came back to fight another day.

Not only because there is no other option but because I believe this is how the human spirit is fundamentally built. Plus luck goes both ways. You can hit a jackpot of luck just as arbitrarily as you could hit a wall of bad luck.

Roger Federer was undoubtedly struck with quite a bit of luck these last two weeks. His greatest nemesis is thwarted by an otherwise random, unknown player. The next day, a once German phenom who had Federer gasping for breath couldn’t hold on tight enough or long enough to deliver the fatal blow. Then a rising French phenom gave an initial scare before subcombing to the moment. Then another Argentine phenom gave Federer just about all he could handle before bowing down to destiny.

Eventually it was destiny, history, weight, and admiration that finally mixed together to generate an otherwise lackluster final match against Sweden’s Robin Soderling. He, like the majority of us, realized that the moment was bigger than his first grand slam victory.

But luck couldn’t do it alone.

It was famed Roman dramtist / philosopher Seneca who has been quoted once with: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

When the opportunity presented itself, Roger Federer was prepared to accept his luck.

Such is tennis and such is life.

I’m not a journalist. I don’t have to use fancy prose to hide my subjectivity. I am a Roger Federer fan. But this match, this tournament, this moment means so much more to me.

6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4
14 Grand Slam Titles
1 of a kind

There is definitely more to come.
cap

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