Did Federer borrow a page from Sachin's book?

"When was the last time you saw Federer serve and volley" exclaimed the commentator; he was as surprised as me to see the master of disguise come up with the conventional-audacious way.

The next point was not too different; he picked up the ball, bounced it thrice, looked the opponent in the eye, served, hopped in and out of the baseline and powered in a winner; all in one motion. You could feel that this is a man who is doing everything he can to win.

At 16 Grand Slam titles, there wouldn't be many doubting his ability, except his own mind; because if that ceases to happen, then he would have stopped at 16(which wouldn't have been too sweet).

Now if I'd been Roger Federer, the couple of runner-up trophies I have received lately would engross me more than the plethora of silverware besides it. So what would I do, hope to play the old safe bet and wait for things to get right or take it a step further and risk the stakes to all or nothing. On second thought, there is no point pondering over it, because the choice has already been made.

It is well known to the world that the reason of Sachin's persistence in cricket has been his ability to evolve with age and experience without losing his flambouyance. I just start to wonder, if the handshake at Wimbledon just transferred a bit of that into the Swiss legend (I could lend you the DVDs of Paul/Koi Mil Gaya).

The only difference between him and Sachin though is that cricket is a team game and your individual flaws can be overshadowed by a team effort, Federer doesn't have that luxury. If the plan doesn't work, there is no one to watch his back.

But the deeper the fall is, the bigger is the jump and no one will know the high that triumph brings more than Roger Federer.

It's not surprising to see Federer seek the change though; one could almost sense it would happen. It would have been criminal for him to surrender to his rivals after coming so far. Change is the way of life but the correct change at the right time is the way to redefine destiny of a player.

By the time the TV channel switched back and forth to Federer's match, it was already done and dusted, 1 hour 17 minutes and he's done for the second round. But it left enough food for thought for morning shift people like me. We generally don't like people advising us about our attitudes and here is a man who has gained unimaginable success, coming out of his complacency to fulfill his hunger.

As the whole crowd stood to applaud, Mirka just stood there with a smile, sunglasses and a poker face; as if she knew that the victory was just another beginning.