Why Roger Federer and Serena Williams will always be fan favourites

The grass has got slower, the tennis ball heavier and hitting a winner requires more patience and power. Yet, it has been impossible to sever romance and nostalgia from The Championships at Wimbledon.

As another fortnight-long extravaganza comes to a close on the well-manicured lawns of London’s best known suburb, two longstanding champions — Serena Williams and Roger Federer — have shown they still have it in them to perform at the top level.

There is no bigger tennis venue than the hallowed precincts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club which wakes up for three weeks in the year. There is a qualifying event and the proper Grand Slam fortnight after which Wimbledon again becomes a quiet place where the rich live in the luxury houses in and around SW19.

Journeymen and champions come here for their annual pilgrimage. Those not so lucky have to leave after a few days, but the deserving ones like Serena and Federer “live” here as if one day they will get to own the Centre Court at Wimbledon.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Championships gives the deserving winners a spectacular trophy and handsome prize money for sure, but there is nothing permanent about a lease on it.

Tough competitor

Serena won her sixth Wimbledon title on Saturday for an aggregate of 21 Grand Slam titles and now looks large than life in every sense. For someone who started off under the shadow of elder sister Venus and then competed with an assortment of wannabe champions, this win marks her as one of the true lady giants of the sport who has won on every surface.

At 33, when women would be happy with family and kids, Serena’s passion, hunger and craving for more and more success in tennis sees her as one of the toughest competitors in sports.

Serena’s on-court presence could not have been more forceful than this as she muscled her way past Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in a final which was one-sided even though the oohs and aahs on the Centre Court were misleading. Yet, it did not cause consternation among those who put their money on Betfair and Ladbrokes.

The more one has seen Serena over the last three years, the more dominating she has looked. It’s a bit like the Formula One grid where you have 20 or 22 cars and yet you know there is a certain favourite — be it Michael Schumacher in the old days or his German successor Sebastian Vettel.

The rate at which Serena is crushing the opposition, she may herself have to call it quits if the next lot of winners has to emerge! You can have someone from Spain winning the French Open or another European clinching one of the three other majors, but to see someone dominate like Serena is impossible.

Perennial favourite

Over to the gentleman from Switzerland a lot of old-timers want to see win on Sunday against Novak Djokovic in the final. Federer knows he has to get his top game into play.

The numero uno of men’s tennis is playing at his best and his performance against Andy Murray was crisp, with the serve catching the eye. If one were to compare Federer with Serena, there are a lot of similarities.

Both are 33 and started winning at Wimbledon around the same time. Serena won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002 and Federer broke through in 2003. In terms of absolute dominance, you could be certain if Serena is on a show court at Wimbledon she will pull it off, but there have been questions asked when Federer has been at the crucial last stages at Wimbledon in the last five years.

He won for the last time in 2012 and the loss to Djokovic last year was painful for his fans. When Rafael Nadal was dictating terms on the tennis court and started winning on clay and grass, people were quick to write an epitaph for Federer.

There is a historic church close to the All England Club and Federer knows he would do well to go there on Sunday and say his prayers as unlike Serena, he is not a sure shot winner against the rock-like Djokovic.

Federer has respect for his opponents and if you have read his post-match interview after the semi-finals, it’s clear he is playing for himself and millions of his fans. Unlike Andre Agassi who played his last year on the tennis circuit like a zombie, Federer will not hang around unless he knows he has a chance of winning.

At 33, he knows what it takes to compete in a best-of-five sets final against the 28-year-old Djokovic. To say that Federer has the edge would be a bit foolish as his opponent is like a bulldozer which cannot be stopped once the engine is turned on.

History beckons Federer but unless he is going to be in the “zone” on Sunday, it won’t be easy. Having watched one romantic relic win on Saturday, the perfect end to the fortnight would be if FedEx can pull it off.