File this under the ’shock news’ segment. Sunday saw some surprises in the sports arena. First Kimi won the F1 title & now Roger Federer lost a tennis match! As much as you might tell me that sport is unpredictable, Federer losing at the Masters finals in Madrid is still a shocker. The super man of the tennis world seems to have been exposed to the rays of Krypton’s sun & transformed into human for one night.
David Nalbandian made a came back from behind, after losing the first set, to beat the master, Roger Federer at the masters. 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 - was what the score board said. David became the first player since Boris Becker in 1994 to beat top three seeds of the world at the masters. Nalbandian ranked 25th, had earlier defeated world number 2 & 3, Nadal & Djokovic.
What makes this amazing is the fact that by the end of the first set, Federer looked in cruise mode and as usual looked as if he was out to give a master class in Tennis. Then there was a minor break during the second set due to leakage is water sprinklers nearby. Maybe this threw off the great Swiss mater’s concentration off. He was then broken and soon the final set arrived with both players claiming a set a piece. Roger looked nervy as the final set started and soon his ground strokes went astray. The Swiss master’s incredible precision and phenomenal serve deserted him. Super man looked human and vulnerable. Nalbandian swooped in and knocked him off the perch as Federer’s serve was broken in the third game. This was only his seventh loss of the year.
Justine Henin Hardine had earlier won with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tatiana Golovin in the Zurich Open final. The world No 1 has won 9 of the 13 titles she made bid to win this year. But the true big story is of Nalbandian. Surely David has beaten Goliath of tennis. In fact, David has just beaten the super man of tennis. Well done, David. Now take my advice and stay away from Roger for a year or so. If you face him any sooner on court, trust me, it will be an ugly sight for you as you look up the scoreboard.
