Floats Like A Butterfly, Stings Like A Bee

With due respect to Muhammad Ali, that description fits one Roger Federer to a T. There are no words to describe just how good he is. So, I'll take recourse in the superlative. Roger Federer is simply the best.

He reminds me of so many different creatures, it's like walking through a zoo. With his un-photogenic face, flat-footed slouching stroll between points, skinny arms and flabby physique, he is like a penguin - ungainly and unattractive out of its element but gorgeous in it. If you've ever seen him hit a tennis stroke, you'll know what I mean. His langurous yet deadly groundstrokes are reminiscent of a cobra-strike, and his silent but lightning-quick court coverage can only compare with a panther on the prowl. Hewitt, Agassi and others get noticed more for their scramble ability, but I think that's only because they're much noisier and expend a lot more effort doing it.

And just when you think you've seen it all, he slips effortlessly into a higher gear, like some incomparable sports car pulling away from the competition. With about as much fuss as the radar blip of a B-2. He started off the second set by breaking Hewitt and going up 2-0 and I think he just relaxed a little too much, probably surprised at how easy it was. Result: he was down breakpoints in four service games in the second set - he saved all but one of six. Down 30-40 at 3-2 he served three straight aces to win the game. Down 30-40 again at 4-3 he hit a volley winner, a service winner and an ace. He had twenty unforced errors and a first serve percentage in the 30s in the second set and he still took it to a tie-break. Compare this with a measly two unforced errors in the first set and it puts things in perspective.

People say this (wrongly) about lots of athletes and teams in every sport and I don't agree with them usually, but I don't think anyone wins a match against Federer - he loses the match. I honestly believe that the only person who has seen Roger Federer play at his best is Roger Federer.

The only weak link in his armour used to be that he wasn't the best volleyer around - well, he's on his way to fixing that. He won 31 of 35 points at the net in Sunday's final. At one stage he was hitting so many lines that Mary Carillo said that unlike most players, Federer probably aims for the white lines instead of the green stuff in between.

At the presentation ceremony, Dick Ensberg said to him, "Well, you can serve, you can hit groundstrokes, you're volleying much better, you've got great court coverage. So what more can we expect from you in the future?"

Federer paused, smiled and said, "That's all I got."

And scarily, it's true. When you've mastered everything in a sport, what else can you do?