As I watched Roger Federer win over Stan Wawrinka in last night's rain delayed QFs, my level of R-E-S-P-E-C-T rose a notch higher for the guy.
He's already 37 years old, veritably a grandfather in this elite sport, and clay is his weakest surface, but to see him dispatch Stan, especially after the rain delay is short of breathtaking!
Stan could've easily turned that match around, but one can see the deliberateness in Roger' actions that this has to end this set, because giving Stan a fifth final set to play it out could mean Roger's defeat.
Roger is actually one of the last guys I was expecting to challenge Rafa on clay this year. It's already 2019, and he is still the second to the last man standing to challenge the mighty Rafael Nadal.
I mean, none of the younger guys were even able to challenge them! In the women's game, it has been a free-for-all but in the men's game, it's like the monarchy of the United Kingdom - monarchs that have stayed on the throne for decades!
Fittingly though, Roger also is the guy who can tame the bulls in the court, a description which can fit both Stan and Rafa very well.
Can he win over Rafa here? Well, that would be a big miracle, but seeing him win today, he definitely has the weapons to unsettle the Spanish master.
Rafa is in imperious form though and the way he swatted Kei Nishikori off the court last night shows how commanding he is back in his favorite surface.
What we are sure of though is that it's going to be a battle royale this Friday night as these two titans of tennis are going to collide again.
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