IF by Rudyard Kipling, read by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Sunday night, 29 January 2017, was the culmination of one of the most memorable Australian Open Tennis Tournaments in my memory.

I grew up with parents who played both competition and social tennis and was introduced to the sport at an early age. As a teenager I played in local competitions and played for my high school. I also was a ball boy at the New South Wales Championships at White City Stadium, and remember getting the autographs of Frank Sedgman and Ken Rosewall among others.

Mum, Dad my wife Sandie and I would religiously watch the Australian Open every summer on TV, from when it was first broadcast here in Australia in the mid 1970’s.

 Unexpected Outcomes

The interesting thing about this year’s tournament is that many seeded players were knocked out of contention as the rounds progressed.

The four finalists, Venus Williams, Serena William, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are all in their thirties. Rafa being at least 5 years younger than the rest.

 

They have all had their ups and downs in the sport and for Federer and Nadal, there was the doubt that they would be able to play in Melbourne this year. Federer admitted as much in the post-match presentation:

“I’m out of words … I’d like to thank Rafa on an amazing comeback,” Federer said. “I don’t think either one of us thought we were going to be in the finals in Australia when we saw each other at his academy five months ago.

“I would have been happy to lose to be honest, the comeback was perfect as it was. There are no draws in tennis but if there was I would have been happy to draw and share it with Rafa, really.”

A beBee conversation triggers thoughts of Rudyard Kipling

On the Thursday before the Championship Finals, I had posted a “buzz” on beBee (the Affinity Social Network, for Successful Personal Branding) wishing all Australians a Happy Australia Day. https://www.bebee.com/content/1171915/1074574

 

My Spanish beBee friend, Mamen Delgado https://www.bebee.com/bee/mamen-delgado

sent me a message including “Happy Australia Day!!!”

I responded:

 We had a great Australia Day and we are coming to the end of our summer holiday month of January here in Australia.

I have been watching a lot of the Australian Open Tennis on TV.

Tonight is Rafael Nadal's semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov. A Rafa win would result in an Australian Open 2017 final against Federer, possibly for the last time in the final round of a major.

Many consider the decade-long Nadal/Federer rivalry to be the greatest in the history of tennis. Whatever the outcome, this has been one of the most interesting Australian Open tournaments in ages.

I'm sure Mamaen, you will be cheering for Rafa.

Best Lance

On the Friday. 27th January, during the men’s semi final, as my family watched it on TV here in Sydney, Mamen and I had some exchanges via our beBee mail about the match in progress and of course we were both barracking for Rafa.

And he won the semi final.

Vamos Rafa!!!!!!!!

 He would now be playing Federer in the men’s final.

 This triggered my thoughts to a 2008 YouTube Video of Federer and Nadal reading a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

 “IF” by Rudyard Kipling is a poem, like many well crafted poems, that with few words, well placed and connected, convey much with little.

It is a poem of the vagaries of life, the ups and downs, the need for perseverance and balance and that hardship well endured, results in a person of true character.

A line from the poem is on the wall of the centre court players' entrance at the All-England Club, Wimbledon.

 

It states:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.

 

This is shown in the video.

All four Australian Open Tennis Champions, whether winners or losers at the Australian Open, are definitely role models to us all and embody the concepts Kipling wrote of, no matter what fields of endeavour we each turn our minds to.

 

With this sporting reference and perspective of the poem, it brings a fresh paradigm to further readings of the poem.

I trust the words of the poem whether read, listened to, or both, will challenge you to greater things in your life as they have for mine.

 If you can keep your head when all about you   

   Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

   But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

   Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

   And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

   If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

   And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

   Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

   And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

   And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

   And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

   To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

   Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

   Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

   If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

   With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

   And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

 

Video of IF by Rudyard Kipling - Read By Federer & Nadal

Note: A verse and 2 lines of the poem are missing in the video.

Run time 2:15 min

This article appeared on beBee Inc, the Affinity Social Network, for Successful Personal Branding: https://www.bebee.com/producer/@lancescoular/if-by-rudyard-kipling-read-by-roger-federer-and-rafael-nadal

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