WIMBLEDON 2009: Federer's "Unbelievable" Win

Unbelievable.

That's the word that Roger Federer used over and over again in his on-court interview with Sue Barker of the BBC moments after he had won his 6th Wimbledon singles title in 7 years, and record 15th major overall to seal his place in history as the greatest tennis player of his generation, possibly of all time.

He used the word "unbelievable" to describe the play of his opponent Andy Roddick (as well as the "guy" himself) in the match he had just won minutes before, to describe the ending of the match itself, to describe this moment in his career, to describe the assembled crowd watching the match and, lastly, to describe his loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2009 Australian Open men's final after which the then 13-time major champion had dissolved into tears at the awards ceremony.

Roger Federer speaks four different languages, Swiss-German (first language), German, French and English.

The word "unbelievable" in French is incroyable and unglaublich in German. My first language is English but my husband is a professional opera singer who speaks English and Spanish fluently, and understands German, Italian, French (to name just a few languages) well enough to sing in them frequently. Consulting with him, I believe that when Federer is using the word "unbelievable" in English he is using the word that he thinks is closest to the word unglaublich in German. In both French and German the word is used more as an exclamation, not an actual adjective. Federer is almost definitely not using the word in its literal sense that he believes what he is describing can not be conceived of or believed to have happened.

Because it did. We all saw it happen and could not believe our eyes.

It is an odd choice of words for someone who must have believed that he would win this match and this tournament, since he walked on the court with a custom-made jacket which not only included the attractively stylized RF monogram but also the number 15, for the number of majors the bearer would own. Some people have indicated that they could not believe Federer would act so crassly, and see this as a measure of Federer's obeisance to his sponsors and an indication of the lack of regard he had for his opponent (or his opponent's feelings). To me it seems very natural for competitors who are going to pass a historic milestone if they achieve a certain victory that they have prepared for and worked years to achieve, to prepare beforehand also for how to commemorate that significant moment. It is as surprising to me that Federer would wear a piece of clothing with the number 15 on it within 5 minutes of winning his 15th major as it would be that the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant would appear in a post-game interview wearing a NBA Champions t-shirt.

However, in tennis "belief" is what is often at the heart of what transpires on the court.

I believe, that for the first time in a Grand Slam tennis match Andy Roddick believed he could beat Roger Federer, despite losing to him 18 times out of the 20 times the two have played and the 7 consecutives losses (3 times at Wimbledon, twice in New York and twice in Melbourne) in Grand Slam tournaments.

But Roger Federer could not believe it.

In the first set, after going up break point four times in the eleventh game of the final I believed (and am sure so did Federer) that he would win one of those points. In fact, on two of those points he missed the baseline by fractions of millimeters. What was unbelievable then was in the 12th game, facing his first break point on his own serve, Federer attempted an unbelievable forehand down-the-line pass that fell inches wide to suddenly lose the first set against the American in over three years at a Grand Slam (the second set of the 2006 U.S. Open final). Even then Federer did not lose his belief, after all in the 2004 Wimbledon Final, Federer had lost the first set 4-6 to Roddick and had won the match in four very close sets.

However, what Federer had not realized yet was that this was not the Roddick of the 2004 Wimbledon final or the 2006 U.S. Open final or even the January 2009 Australian Open semifinal. This was the newlywed Roddick who (thanks to a mostly uncredited Jimmy Connors and the excellent work of current coach Larry Stefanki) had toughened his physique, flattened out his two-handed backhand and stiffened his mental resolve.

This was a Roddick who believed he could win.

Even when he shanked a backhand volley meters wide of the doubles alley up 6-5 in the second set tiebreaker to lose his 4th consecutive set point, Roddick still believed he could win.

And he played like it. Despite losing the third set in another tiebreaker Roddick continued to hold his serve selfishly, despite facing a barrage of Federer aces, which eventually reached Karlovician proportions of 50 for the match. He relentlessly attacked Federer's serve and out-hit him from the baseline on both the forehand and backhand wings, finally earning another break in the 4th game of the 4th set. Federer saved his first breakpoint but lost the second and Roddick had his second and final break of the match.

And still Roddick believed he could win the match, especially in the fifth set, which lasted longer and contained more games than the entire Women's Final played the day before.

And why shouldn't he believe that he cold win the match? He had yet to be broken after four sets and nearly 3 hours of play.

So he served like it. 38 times Roddick held serve in the match, saving six break points of the seven he faced. Federer saved only three break points of the five he faced, but two of those saves were in the crucial fifth sets (when effectively those break points were match points) in the 17th game of that (seemingly) interminable contest.

Then, in the 77th game of the match, the 39th game he was serving, the tenth consecutive "sudden death" game in which he had to hold serve in order to stay in the match, Roddick faced his 7th break point of the match, which had the misfortune of also being a championship point for Federer in the 30th(!) game of the 5th set, hit a forehand on a bad bounce in the dirt that sailed yards beyond the other baseline and the match was over. The only break point he lost in over fours hours of play was also set point and match point. Game, set and match.

Unbelievable.