Roger Federer continued his Aussie Open roll, taking out Tomas Berdych in the Quarterfinals his 5th consecutive straight set victory of the tournament. But it’s what happened after the match that once again proves Federer is a man we don’t deserve as sports fans.
In an earlier Quarterfinal match, top-seeded Rafa Nadal had to withdraw in the 5th set of his own Quarterfinal match against the 6th seeded Marin Cilic. Naturally Federer was asked about that in his post-match interview.
“It’s hard to watch, you know. Someone go out in five sets and not being able to finish,” Federer said. “At least you know if somebody finishes and he loses all credit to the other guy. Still I think Marin deserves an amazing amount of credit because he hung around and he fought really, really hard.
“I wrote Rafa late last night before I went to bed. Last thing I did. I said I have to write Rafa see how he’s doing. I hope he was going to be OK with the scan today. I’m hoping the news was not terrible. It was not nice to see a fellow rival and friend like this go out. Wish him well.”
If it was anybody but Roger Federer, I would be skeptical that what he said was true. But with Fed, there’s no doubt. He’s simply on another level. Now maybe it’s different in individual sports, when you don’t have to worry about what your teammates might think about reaching out to your biggest rival. But the fact remains, Nadal is Federer’s biggest rival. Heck, if Nadal hadn’t been upset by a scorching Robin Soderling in the 2009 French Open, Federer might still be searching for his first French Open title. What’s crazier is that he took the time to do this during another amazing run down in Melbourne. He has yet to drop a set and you would assume he’s focused on the bringing home his 6th Aussie Open title, and only on that. And what’s the last thing this man does before going to bed? Reaches out to Rafa to make sure he’s okay. Roger Federer is truly one of a kind and I hope everyone realizes it. As invincible as he might look, he’s 36, he can’t be around forever. Hat’s off to ya, Roger.
