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Journalism of Courage
How would Roger Federer look Tuesday night near the end of his oft-tormented summer? Well, as it happened, he looked quite a bit like Roger Federer in a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 win, partly because he benefitted from a first-round draw of infinitely more mystery.
8220;Never saw my opponent before,8221; Federer said. 8220;Never saw him play, obviously, 8216;cause I never saw him.8221;
To the occasion, the 118th-ranked Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina brought along his lifetime record in ATP Tour-level hard-court events: 0-0. He also brought along his record in Grand Slam main draws: 0-0.
Among the billions of people on Earth with 0-0 tour-level hard-court records, though, he probably fared better than just about any would have.
8220;It8217;s unbelievable for me,8221; he said afterward from his seat in a small interview room amid mostly Spanish-speaking reporters. 8220;It was like a dream. I was so happy. 8230; I played so good, he played unbelievable, I think, all the time. For me he8217;s No. 1 always.8221;
For the world he8217;s No. 2 after a summer with a storybook loss to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final, then an uncharacteristic 4-3 record since. What8217;s novel is, he8217;s learning the distinct joys of No. 2 after an eternal 239 weeks at No. 1.
8220;The change I feel is fans are really supporting me and telling me I8217;m still number one and still the best, 8216;You8217;re going to be there again,8217; and stuff. So I feel like I8217;ve got unbelievable support from the fans watching me and seeing people in the streets and stuff,8221; he said.
Federer even brought back a speck of the puckish wit he has hidden for some time, saying that nowadays he has to start reading draws from the bottom.
