I just watched Rafael Nadal go crashing out of the Australian Open, retired, hurt.
Yesterday I saw that other tennis player extraordinaire, Novak Djokovic, also go limping out. While he never retired injured, it was obvious that physically, he wasn't up to it after a six month layoff due to injury. While I hesitate to put him in the same league as the two above-mentioned, it should be noted that Andy Murray is not playing in the Open because of an injury.
That brings me to the point of this post. Roger Federer. Federer will be thirty seven years old this year and in the world of professional sports, that is considered old, but in the arena of professional tennis, thirty seven is ancient.
The thing is, Roger's not only still competing on the ATP Tour, he's still winning tournaments on the tour and major tournaments, to boot.
We've been reading about this tennis legend for years. This year will mark his twentieth season as a pro and while we've read about all the majors he's won, (19) we've read about and seen first hand what an absolute gentleman he is and we've read about what a great family man he is, what most people don't realise is what an absolutely phenomenal athlete this guy is. He has an engine second to none. While he has suffered somewhat with his back in recent years, he's been remarkably injury-free, compared to his arch-rivals, Rafa, Novak and Murray.
So with he's three main rivals breaking down, left, right and centre, Roger Federer marches on in his typically unassuming way, and don't be surprised if come Sunday, Roger Federer, The Greatest Of All Time, adds major number twenty to his trophy cabinet. What a legend.
