Last night I sat down to watch what I had hoped would be one of the best matches of the 2007 Australian Open. Andy Roddick had played some amazing matches in the lead up to this semi-final, and I was softening to the evolution of his game; more patience, less anger. Roger Federer hadn't yet dropped a set. I was convinced that this would be one of those 'match of the tournament' situations.
It was. And it wasn't.
Federer won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. It was convincing. It was clinical. It was both beautiful and horrifying. The in-form Roddick was so completely unnerved and outplayed by Federer's perfect game that he fell apart physically and emotionally. I felt sorry for Roddick, and at the same time I was in complete awe of Federer.
I have never seen Federer play so well. Yes, he's an amazing and consistent player. This time it was more. He played all out from the beginning to win. I was overwhelmed by numerous cross-court, top-spin, perfectly placed returns. Roddick had no chance. It was at this point that I began to think about the influence that David Foster Wallace has had on my appreciation of tennis.
The two essays in A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again, a couple of uncollected essays about tennis, the Tracey Austin (who is part of the commentary team for the Australian broadcast) piece in Consider the Lobster, all the tennis in Infinite Jest, and of course his essay in the New York Times last year, Federer as Religious Experience have helped me see things in tennis that I would not have considered prior to 1996 when I first picked up Infinite Jest.
It is hard to believe that the Federer I watched play last night surpasses the Federer in the Wallace essay. Can he possibly get any better?
I wasn't the only one who noticed, Rob Smyth's sportblog entry today, Is Federer the greatest sportsman ever? , covers similar ground.
(Interesting to note that a correction was made to the New York Times piece about Agassi’s position on the final shot of the point being analysed.)
I'm hoping Gonzalez makes it through to the final, I'd love to see him up against Federer.
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