It’s a cold and chilly evening at the Stade Pierre Mauroy
in Lille, France. The French team, having gone down 1-2 the previous night,
nominate veteran Richard Gasquet as their messiah for the third singles rubber.
Some consider it France’s desperate attempt to stay in the competition by handing
the wheel to the most experienced driver. Others see it as an act of tactical
brilliance adding to the meticulously chosen clay court in order to foil the opposition’s
plans of celebrating their first ever Davis Cup title.
At the other end, the hopes of a whole nation are resting
on the one man they believe is habile enough to gift them what they deserve. Some
fans have travelled close to 700 kilometers to watch him create history. Others
are natives who can’t help but cheer for him considering the aura he exuberates.
At a moment when a country stands on the verge of being ‘crowned’ into an
empire, who better to steer the ship than the man with the most majestic
persona. Roger Federer! Could there be anyone else?
Switzerland are in the final after 22 years and who knows
when’s the next going to come. It’s already been decided that the match will go
down in history despite the outcome, but for Federer it is just another match.
It is just another obstacle. Non-playing skipper Severin Luthi, as cold as the
wintry winds outside, gets his team in a huddle. They might be from a country
with 8 million people, but right now it’s just that one person who matters.
They leave him to it. Fingers crossed. “Time,”
the chair umpire says!
At almost around the same time, some 6700 kilometers away,
the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi is ‘marinating’ to host a desert duel that
has the makings of an absolute classic. Lewis Hamilton, sitting in his polished
and unrivalled Mercedes, is thinking about the penultimate corner of the race
track that literally derailed his pole position contention the previous
evening. Failing to win the title would hand the Brit the unwanted record of
becoming the first driver to win four races in a row and not win the title.
His teammate, title-rival and pole-sitter Nico Rosberg,
meanwhile, is venerating F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone for introducing the
double-points concept that gives the German a fighting chance to steal the
title from Hamilton’s grasps despite winning just 5 races in the season. There
are a gazillion permutations and combinations that could decide the title, but all
Nico is thinking is to lead the race from start till finish and hope Lewis
squanders second. Either that or he’s hoping for Lewis to crash.
The universe, on the other hand, seems to be in Hamilton’s
corner. For the last two years Abu Dhabi has witnessed rain on November 23. But
not today! Not when a personage like Lewis is in title contention. Not when the
United Kingdom has eyes on its ‘favorite’ son. Not when Prince Harry is in
attendance.
Oh! The audacity if it rains! The track is cleared off.
All support staff, friends and family make their way to the paddock. The cars
line up after the formation lap. Nico looks back at Lewis. As if to say, “It’s been one helluva ride mate.” Lewis
looks at him and then up towards the sky. The instinctive devil in him says “All right, bring on the rain.” The conscientious
pilot says “Let’s keep it simple, shall
we?” The engines roar. The drivers wait for the five lights. One! Two!
Three! Four! Five! And it’s “Lights out
in Abu Dhabi!”
Meanwhile, Gasquet, who’s 2-2 head-to-head record against
Federer on clay was probably the biggest catalyst for him being nominated ahead
of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, seems to be digging deep to stay alive in
the first set. Federer’s all over him and in no time has taken a 3-2 lead that
too on a surface that has been baptized as ‘legend killer’. Gasquet calls for
his towel. The ball girl stares into his eyes as if to say “It’s not your fault. You’re just up against
a freight train.” Richard Gasquet says nothing!
The Frenchman walks over slowly to his side of the court.
His racquet dragging behind him as if to manifest an image of an old man being
tormented on a football field by bunch of expeditious ruffians. At 28 years of
age, he’s neither the oldest nor the fastest on the court. Both of those titles
belong to Roger tonight. Back that up with some immaculate volley angles and some
gravity-defying drops shots and somewhere in Spain Uncle Toni, with his dropped
jaw, tells Rafa to start practicing for Roland Garros.
Federer to serve! His “Pirlo-esque” approach to the game
is what makes him, at 33, a man possessed to set the records straight. He looks
up once. Looks back down. Throws the ball in the air and Boom! Ace! 15-0! Gasquet
can’t believe it. The comprehensive master plan of using clay as a surface to
stave off the Swiss Maestro has been effectuated. But why is it not effective
tonight? No time to think. Federer looks up again then back to the ball. Just
one look is enough. Boom! Ace No. 2! 30-0! Two more times & 4-2 it is.
Back in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton has done just what was
expected off him. As the cars head into the first corner, the 2008 world
champion’s adept driving helps him vroom past Rosberg in no time to take the
lead. There’s a reason why Lewis deserves the title this year and he’s just
showed a glimpse of that. Probably the only driver on the circuit today who’s conjured
the amalgamation of speed and braking to serene brilliance. His theory is
simple – “master the speed, brake late on
turns and kill those chicanes.”
Lewis lost the title in his ‘rookie’ season by a single
point to Kimi Raikkonen due to technical snags in the last race. He won it a
year later though by maneuvering a tranquil overtake on the last turn of the
last lap of the last race outstripping Felipe Massa. Both Massa and Kimi are racing
in Abu Dhabi tonight. But none can curb the prowess that Hamilton has. The Brit
takes a 1.2 second lead on Rosberg after the first lap. Make that 2.7 seconds
as he heads into his first pit stop 10 laps later. This one might be over soon!
Toto Wolff, Executive Director of Mercedes, looks at his
screen under the setting sun and just can’t help believe what has happened. “Will people put this event to another
conspiracy theory?” he thinks. Not so Mr. Wolff. Not this time. Maybe if Nico
had tried to back Lewis into the Williams of Bottas and Massa. But the world
saw what happened. The world knows Lewis, who’s used lesser fuel that Nico and has
preserved his tyres better, deserves the championship and therefore no one is
going to question you.
In the meantime, Federer is unveiling one of his greatest
performances on clay. Like an opera singer enthralling the audience amidst the unruffled
moonlight, Roger too is giving the Lille crowd a night to remember with
staggering virtuosity. The 17-time Grand Slam champion wraps up the second set
in spanking fashion and a historic title seems inevitable. But wait a minute.
Can Gasquet come back in this one? Can France still win? All he needs to do is
win the next three sets. Nah! Not tonight! Not any night!
Rosberg has better chance of winning the title though. He’s
on fire with two successive fastest laps and, in stunning chain of events, is
reducing the gap on Hamilton. Fox Sports commentator Alex Yoong has just been
interrupted by a Mercedes team radio message. Who’s it for? Rosberg, of course!
“All right Nico, you need to conserve
your rear brakes. Too much pressure on the energy unit.” “What? Conserve energy?” Nico thinks. No
way. Not when the race of his life is on. And then suddenly, disaster strikes!
Elsewhere Gasquet is praying to the heavens above to end
his affliction. He’s splitting into pieces as Federer, who’s moving around the
court like a gazelle, is taking the whole of France to the cleaners with his sumptuous
play. He’s a game away from possessing the extraordinary feat of winning all the
Grand Slams and the Davis Cup. Laver, Agassi, Nadal and now Federer! A league
of extraordinary gentlemen indeed! “Time
to finish this,” Federer tells himself. 15-0! 30-0! 40-0! Three
championship points! Death serving at its best!
“I’m losing engine
power!” exclaims Nico Rosberg in the interim. Guess pushing too hard has
not worked in the German’s favour. The gap between him and Hamilton is now 7.1
seconds. “Nico, your ERS has failed,”
comes the reply from his team. "Can
you investigate that now, please? And then tell me what to do,” domineers
Rosberg. His team is all but helpful. “It’s
not a computer that can be restarted,” they think. Rosberg looks to his
right and sees Massa pass by. Then Bottas! Then Ricciardo! It’s over for him!
Federer serves out the match and falls to his knees on
the orange surface in similar manner he did at the 2009 French Open. Tears roll
down his cheeks. It was special back then and it is equally special tonight.
Back then he had equaled Pete Sampras’ “inviolable” record of 14 Grand Slams.
Tonight he completes his trophy cabinet for every tennis title possible. He
looks over to his wife Mirka in the stands and then to Stanislas Wawrinka in
the corner. The feud a few weeks ago seems futile now. History has been made!
Switzerland are the 2014 Davis Cup champions. Time for the fireworks! Time for the
confetti!
Hamilton, on the other hand, starts the final lap of the
2014 Formula 1 season with a 3.3 second gap over second-placed Felipe Massa.
His title is indubitable now. He’s on the verge of becoming only fourth Briton
after Sir Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and Jim Clark to win two world titles. “Where’s Nico?” asks the commentator. “Down at 14th!” comes the reply. One can’t
help but feel sad for Rosberg. So close yet so far. But that is how life goes. Alain
Prost lost the title to Niki Lauda by half a point in 1984. Hamilton crosses
the chequered flag for his 11th season win. But it’s the one that matters the
most!
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. An apt
phrase to describe the events in Abu Dhabi and Lille on the evening of November
23, 2014. Not only have Roger Federer and Lewis Hamilton gone through adverse circumstances
in their careers, but both have also had to withstand the test of time and fend
off critics. When they were at their lowest lows in life, the only thing that
kept them going was the passion of the sport, the limitless talent they possess
and the determination to take what’s theirs.
One might be going through the toughest of phases and
there might be times when the light at the end of the tunnel might just be a
mirage. At the end of day, however, persistence pays off because no one can
stop champions getting their due. “Cometh
the hour, cometh the man.” Well said Gladwin, well said!
