Roger Federer taught me, true joy always rebounds!

True Joy Always Rebounds!

Right at the outset, I want to make it clear, neither am I a tennis player nor am I a very keen watcher of the game. Well that makes me wonder why am I writing this post? Is it the trending nature of it or is it the impossibility for any sportsperson (I happen to be one), be it of any age, background, gender, country, not to be touched by the phenomenon of Roger Federer and bow down to him in one way or another.

Well the latter itself can be reason enough for anyone to write a post, but I will be honest, that alone is not the reason for me to write this one. As far as bowing down to him and looking up to him goes, one can't do it enough, certainly I can't. His innumerable achievements coupled with his gentleman like persona seem almost otherworldly to a mere mortal like me.

Having said that and with utmost respect, I must admit that the magic of Roger Federer did not grace upon me directly, as it may have happened with many of you. With me it was more of a rebound. It was as if Federer's elegant yet ruthless style of tennis was mesmerising, elating and tormenting people next to me and I too was caught in the crossfire. I too got a whiff of it...A whiff so strong, that it actually made me wonder, is his game and sportsmanship really as unreal as the wonderment on my siblings face, both of whom played competitive tennis for years and are keen watchers of the game. It made me wonder, is his wizardry of such high order that my mother who was once an ardent cricket fan, altogether stopped watching cricket and completely switched her loyalties to tennis. Not only that, she went on to follow the game and still continues to do so, much more than any other member of our family. In fact, she was the only one of us who watched Federer play live in International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), literally the only occasion when Federer played in India. It did not end there, post match, as Federer was leaving the stadium, she chased his car like a sixteen year old, incessantly chanting the name of her sporting god until much later after he had left. Till date her only question to my brother when a grandslam or a master begins, is, 'Federer khel raha hai naa'? Sadly, what used to be a declaration ki 'mera Federer khel raha hai', in the last couple of years started having a ring of doubt ki 'Federer khel raha hai naa'?

As millions of fans and experts are saying, it is the end of an era, probably the most glorious one. The world of tennis will never be the same again. Roger Federer is the greatest amongst the GOAT. Indeed, all of this must be true, but there are better judges of these things than me, I am not qualified enough to say all of this. All I can say is, the atmosphere in my parent's house while watching tennis or for that matter any sporting event will never be the same again. I might not witness the 'how the hell did he do that' expression on my sister's and brother's face again, I might not see my mother jumping off from her couch after Federer won a point which seemed impossible to win or a match which seemed impossible to win, again.

Yes indeed, it is the end of an era.

Thank you Roger Federer for giving so much joy to the one's who were next to me, and making me realise that true joy always rebounds.

Parul Menghani