Roger Federer

After watching a 5 hour game last night with the defending Australian Open Champion struggling in the 3rd Round, I wanted to post this as soon as possible. Unfortunately, at 3:30AM, I was barely able to drag myself up the stairs to bed, let alone actually posting something.

What can I say, the great Federer is a legend. Ranked number one, winning 12 Majors, appearing in 10 consecutive major finals, the list goes on. But last night, he showed that he was indeed human. Losing the first set of the match 6-7, in a tie break against a 49th ranked player Tipsarevic, he was barely able to pull himself back to even at the second set winning it 7-6 in a tie break. Throughout the whole match, you would think the world number one was about to pull away any moment, but when he dropped the third set 5-7, all seemed gloom. He was down 2 sets to 1 and his opponent was pulling magic from his racket with every shot. Surprisingly, Federer was able to pull himself together (or Tipsarevic just broke down) in the fourth and Federer was, once again, able to pull himself back into the game with a 6-1 victory in the fourth. The game went into five sets, where the two seemed completely even. With the score tied at 8-8, Tipsarevic serving at 40-0, Federer rallied consecutive points to bring himself to a break point. Finally converting on a break point (5 of 21), Federer finally served the game out winning the fifth set at 10-8.

To think that this nobody was able to push Federer so far when, for the past 4 years, Federer has been playing on a level of his own. Truly epic. Watching this match, I have even greater respect for the "King of the Swings". To have the mental ability to not give up after 4 hours and 30 minutes of playing...To have the composure to control his nerves at the very end, truly is amazing. His determination is truly admirable. Last night, he was not the great Federer, but just another playing wailing his way through a match, but he was able to do so. It just shows how much self believe can bring out of people. "If you want something, go for it. Period." This gave me new hope in people in general. As long as you want it, whatever it is, just keep at it, work on it, don't let down, don't give up, and eventually the hard work will pay off. I have learned a lot from the match last night and I hope that everyone can learn something from this little post. Be strong, avoid temptation, believe in yourself and never, EVER give up. I'm sure Federer builds his self belief through the millions of fans that he has, but as long as there's even one person that believes in you, it should be enough to carry you through anything. As long as you do your best, give it your all, I won't be disappointed and neither should you.

Okay, that's about all for today. Gotta get myself to do some university applications and shit around for a day. Until next time...Later days =P.
Secret #13: Although I still have doubts, I believe you can do it.