The Return of the King

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, the final book The Return of the King sees Aragon the rightful air to become the king finally ascend to the throne after going through both personal and physical struggles. On Sunday, Roger Federer returned to his throne as both king of Wimbledon and the number one ranked tennis player in the world. The Swiss champion had not one a grand slam in 2 ½ years because of a combination of injuries and new challenges. Over the past two year Federer has battled back problems which have limited his physical abilities. As a result his high standard of performance declined. Combine his nagging back injuries and the rise of new challengers, Federer dropped to the number three ranked player in the world. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray all raised their game and were able to defeat Roger Federer consistently over the past two years. One of his toughest lost came last year when Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was able to come back from Federer two sets down in the Wimbledon semi-finals. That is a feat that would have been unheard of five years ago. Times were changing for Federer. Off the field Federer had to deal with the challenges of being a father for the first time with the birth of his twins. All theses challenges caused questions to be asked about the future of Roger Federer in tennis.

The critics wondered if we had seen the best of Roger Federer or if he would win another major. All those questions were put to rest this past Sunday as the tears flowed from his face after he dispatched a heart broken Andy Murray. It took a while but Federer has dispatched every challenge that has been put in his way to get back to the top. Every time he steps on the court he shows the heart of a champion. He has won everything that there is to win in the sport of tennis. Federer is the true and rightful heir to the throne as king of tennis for now and all time. 

By: Brian Palmer