THE MAGIC IS OVER: Born 49 days apart, Serena Williams and Roger Federer leave behind more than a legacy

Daman Singh

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SEPTEMBER has been one searing month of emotions in the tennis world. It began with Serena Williams mesmerising the crowd at the US Open with her power-packed artistry one last time, while Roger Federer wielded a magic wand at the Laver Cup last weekend to cast a spell once more.

Just when the devotees of the game were coming back to their senses after Serena’s retirement, Federer gashed the wounds deeper within weeks and it was visible as tears flowed around the packed O2 Arena in London. The shots capturing his Team Europe member Rafael Nadal — his doubles partner at the last dance — sobbing, his hand clasped in Federer’s while a slideshow of the Swiss star’s career played throughout, screamed that goodbyes are indeed hard.

Both the occasions were ceremoniously celebrated and washed in the glory of love. Like their 2019 mixed doubles duel at the Hopman Cup in Perth, the Federer and Serena were reunited, but this time as part of the retirement club. For all they have done for the game, this wasn’t something unexpected but aptly deserving.

From modifying the way tennis is played to injecting edifying changes in it by breaking gender and racial stereotypes, the American pushed the boundaries in her sport. She’s been a source of light for her counterparts and the ones who have come up after her.

Ask Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, LeBron James, Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff and they would vouch for the ‘Serena effect’ on their lives.

If Serena was a raging wildfire in her peak days, Federer was the definition of ice-cool. Serena showed how devastating raw power can be, while Federer was mainly about grace. He made the game look simply effortless — the dazzling footwork, that majestic flowing forehand painting the lines like a painter caressing the passages of a masterpiece with the brush.

Their garlanded careers spanning more than two decades have seen Serena win 23 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, four Olympics gold medals and 2,233 days as world No. 1. Federer has 20 Majors to his name in 103 singles titles in total, and has spent 310 weeks as No. 1, of which 237 consecutive weeks on top is a record.

Though they haven’t been able to win a title in recent years, both were able to roll back the years to transport one to the times that had elicited truckloads of eulogies as their careers chugged to a close. All along it and right down to their last matches, Federer and Serena, 41 and 40, respectively, at the time of retirement, have shown that form is temporary but class is permanent.

There was that evergreen doggedness of Serena’s yesteryears speckled across her matches at the US Open, especially the third match against Ajla Tomljanovic in which she trailed 1-5 in the third set but staved off five match points before a forehand hit the net and Tomljanovic wrapped up a 7-5 6-7(4) 6-1 win. This was preceded by a vicious ace and down-the-line winner to win the second set after they were locked 4-4 in the tiebreaker. The fact that the contest ran for three hours and five minutes — the longest US Open match of her career, that too at 40 — encapsulated her approach to the challenges faced on and off the court.

Two weeks later in London, Federer would invoke the oohs and aahs from the crowd. Playing after 14 months, Federer had a dodgy knee but he still oozed class. The service action was clean, the forehand elegant as ever and then came the moment of magic — he managed to sneak the ball through the tiny space between the net and post to the other side of court where the Team World players — Jack Sock and Frances Tiafaoe — were in disbelief. Well, everyone from the players to the crowd to the chair umpire was. It was just one of the many amazing moments he had conjured in his life.

At the changeover, Novak Djokovic ignited a back-and-forth in the camp. “The precision is still there buddy,” he quipped. An innocent Nadal asked what he had missed. And the Serb said he had never seen that happen before. Federer joined in. “My eye is still good,” he joked, before going on, “I saw that it went through.”

Yes, the point did go to the Americans — and the match too. But the result was irrelevant. After all, it was his night. Like Serena’s days before — and many before it.