Word: opening
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...June 7, as Roger Federer was on his way to equaling Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam victories by winning the French Open, James Blake and a group of fellow pros watched on a television in the players' lounge at the Aegon Championships at The Queen's Club in London, a warm-up event to Wimbledon. It's hard to imagine NBA stars congregating to cheer on Kobe Bryant, or pro golfers arranging to watch a Tiger Woods play-off, but for Blake and his mates there was no question where their allegiance lay. "We wanted to see Roger...
Only 27, Federer has energized tennis's GOAT - Greatest of All Time - debate by winning the only one of the sport's four Grand Slam titles to have eluded him (he already held multiple Wimbledon, U.S. and Australian Open titles). His victories have come with a grace that has ended tennis's reputation for spawning churlish brats and with a style of play that blurs the line between artistry and athleticism. His traditional, flowing strokes generate unorthodox angles and spins; he's both a throwback and an innovator...
...racing terms Federer's "bug boy" - so called because of the "bug," or asterisk, that he places next to Federer's achievements. Federer has a 7-13 losing record against Nadal, including losses in five of the seven Grand Slam finals the pair have contested. Federer won the French Open without having to face the Spaniard, who suffered a shock defeat in the fourth round. And when he returns to Wimbledon's grass, his favorite surface, on June 22, he'll face memories of last year's epic loss to Nadal in a final many consider the greatest match ever...
That Federer's artistry has been thwarted by Nadal's muscular play doesn't bother Federer fans, who seem to love him all the more for his struggles. The Parisian crowds that chanted "Roger! Roger!" through the French Open fortnight understood that if Federer's ethereal game could finally triumph on the heavy red clay of Roland Garros, it would be another proof of his greatness...
...pursuit of perfection paradoxically requires a career spent obsessing over one's faults. Unusually for tennis players, Federer has spent most of his career without a coach, analyzing his own game and making changes himself, such as adding a deft drop volley at the French Open that was designed to counter Nadal and other clay-court specialists. "Of all the things that make him great, perhaps the least appreciated is his ability to reflect on his game and make changes," said retired American doubles great Peter Fleming. Complacency is impossible for Federer, as he explained after his Paris victory...