"And the fairytale continues for us...."

These words of Federer sounded so honest & instantly connected. You do not get to see a legend in action too often. Every moment of tennis which Federer plays is a " Thing of beauty" & each time he comes on court, he so effortlessly turns it into a "Joy forever" for both him & his fans. Hard work he sure puts in to maintain that fitness levels he has at 36 years+ & being at the top . One thing today he proved that he surely is the greatest Men's Tennis player alive. A true legend.

There are many attributes that make him so charming. Some of them are:

Mastery: He has mastered every department of the game. The other greats of Tennis have vouched for this. Everyone has a a line to speak of his greatness. Jimmy Connors , winner of 8 slams says,“ [In the modern game], you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist … or you're Roger Federer.”

For me it is this comment of McEnroe that says it best:

Awesome Attitude: He easily is one of the last gentlemen left in the sport. Controlled & humble he is so much the "Sthitaprajna" Krishna describes in the Bhagawad Gita. Perfect in his attachment & balanced about his detachment. A man of steady wisdom. The moments of highs & lows are many in the final of a Grand slam. It is more a mental game & unless one is balanced it is difficult to win. Every match is growth for him & that is what makes it a beautiful watch.

Hard work: It takes a lot of hard work to consistently be at the top. That means a lot of discipline & determination. A willingness to surrender too is important. You go to win but if you lose it is important to acknowledge that the opponent was better. Hard work sure has no replacement or shortcuts. It is all about putting your best foot forward always.

After going through four years without winning a major, Federer has now won three of the last five. Sharing this extract from an article in the Hindu - an interesting read.

Author Mark Hodgkinson has written six books exploring the gamut of tennis, but with Fedegraphica, he ventures into seemingly unchartered territory. Using numbers, along with interviews with those close to Federer and conversations with his rivals and other coaches, the book provides a detailed data analysis of just what the Swiss maestro’s game is made up of. The book describes itself as a ‘graphic biography of the genius of Roger Federer.’ tries to intersperse just the right amount of infographics with personal anecdotes. For every comparison of his forehand and backhand winners, there’s a heart-warming story about how Federer interacts with the man who strings his racquet everyday. For every dissection of his service pattern, there’s a story of how his parents Robert and Lynette almost threatened to stop driving him to tournaments when he was young. “I was initially scared because I thought all this data would somehow take away the artistry from his game. But I don’t think it does,” Hodgkinson says.

Hans Christian Anderson said it best with" Life itself is the most wonderful Fairy tale." Did Federer mean this or was he just hinting at more happy moments for us? What do you think?