Australian Open 2018: Roger Federer wins Slam #20, but how is he still so emotional about it all?
The presentation ceremony after the end of a Grand Slam can be a drab, long-drawn-out affair. The list of sponsors getting thanked sometimes goes on endlessly, and the players' words often get lost amid all the salutations and interruptions.
Not so at the Australian Open. As first Marin Cilic, and then Roger Federer, stepped up to the podium to share their thoughts on a dramatic five-set final, it was almost like the millions watching on TV were transported to Rod Laver Arena - and were made to witness the players' emotions first-hand.
Federer went through the usual checklist of congratulating his vanquished opponent and thanking the tournament organizers, but right from the beginning you could see that this was not a mechanical exercise for him. "The fairytale continues for us...for me," he said, with a heartfelt gratitude that is rare to find in a public speech by a public persona.
As he reached the part where he thanked his team, his voice began to break a little. "I love you guys, thank you" he said in earnest, before deciding to not hold back any longer. The tears started flowing thick and fast, and all Federer could do to remain standing was to redirect his emotions towards his prize.
The Norman Brookes trophy got another fierce kiss, and the millions watching could do nothing but stand up and applaud the man's greatness, with maybe a lump or two in their throats too.
Among those watching in the stands was Rod Laver himself, who chose that moment to whip out his phone and take a picture of the champion's tears. Trust a man as great as Laver to recognize a special moment when he sees one.
The TV camera then panned to Federer's family, where father Robert was seen trying to hide his tears and wife Mirka was beaming like she had just seen Federer win a Slam for the first time.
All through this the commentators remained deathly silent, wisely choosing to let the pictures speak for themselves. This was not a time to cheapen the moment with those vulgar little things called words. This was a time to witness, and be a part of, history. And history is best remembered when it is accompanied by a tear or two.
The presentation ceremony was so packed with raw emotion that we almost forgot there was a full-blown, hard-hitting slugfest that had preceded it only minutes ago. It was not a classic final by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly had a lot of theatre towards the end, and even a few shots of unmistakable genius - from both Federer and Cilic.
The Swiss seemed to be coasting along at 3-1 in the fourth set, but with victory in sight he lost a bit of direction with his serve. That was all the invitation Cilic needed, and he promptly unleashed his beast mode to win five games on the trot and take the match to a decider.
Federer, for all of his early match composure, was suddenly living on a knife's edge. With Cilic teeing off on nearly everything, it was important for Federer to serve well and be completely error-free if he wanted to stay afloat. But he couldn't get enough free points on serve and eventually netted a routine forehand to go down a break point.
What unfolded next was a stark throwback to a pivotal moment in the second set tiebreaker, but with an entirely different result. In that breaker, Federer was serving in the ad court up 3-2, and he missed his first serve. He then hit a fairly ordinary second serve down the T, and Cilic climbed all over it with his forehand, powering it inside-in for a clean winner.
The Croat tried the same thing on that first break point in the fifth set. Only this time, he netted the forehand instead of belting it out of Federer's reach. Will Cilic remember that missed return as the moment that changed everything?
Tennis destiny is shaped by a lot of things, but the ability to play your best when it matters the most is probably the single most important quality that separates the all-time greats from the rest. Cilic is a certified champion in his own right, but the way he let Federer off the hook at such a crucial juncture will probably rankle for a while.
Federer faced one more break point in that game, which he saved with a big first serve down the T. And when he finally held serve with a brilliantly angled backhand winner to go 1-0, you got the feeling that the most dangerous moment of the match for him had passed.
Cilic kept fighting, but throughout the day his game wasn't quite where it needed to be, and the errors kept pouring out frequently enough for Federer to wrap up the decider 6-1. It looked like a routine win in the end, inasmuch as a five-setter can look routine. But as with any Federer match, there were still a few moments that will stick out in our memory when we look back at his march to No. 20.
One shot in particular.
There isn't much that anybody can say to describe just how extraordinary that shot is. From the middle of the court, to be able to whip a forehand half-volley off a crushing Cilic backhand with that much control and accuracy - is there anything the man can't do?
That question has been asked several times in the last year and a half, and will likely be asked again at some point over the next couple of years. Fortunately for the tennis world, it seems there will be another year or two - even if Federer didn't say "I'll see you next year" in his presentation speech. He has shot down the retirement rumours by saying exactly what he always says - that he'll continue playing as long as he's healthy - so we can expect his patented magic in at least a couple of Slams more.
The question that hasn't been asked as often, is just why he cares so much. Even after nearly 20 years on the tour, how does he break down into tears like that? How can No. 20 feel just as special for him as No. 1, No. 5 and No. 10 did?
Perhaps the clue lies not in what Federer says or does, but in how his family behaves courtside. Before the match started, when Federer walked on to the court, the camera turned to Mirka for a minute, who was seen filming his walk on her phone. I asked myself then, "Even after all these years?"
During the match, Mirka winced at nearly every error that Federer made, and exulted at every winner he unfurled. And after the match ended, she looked just as wide-eyed and jubilant at his victory as a teenager would upon being crowned prom queen.
Federer cares, because the people around him care. Being a tennis player is tough; you're out there on the court alone, facing one relentless opponent after another while being judged by a million spectators worldwide. But when you have such a strong support team, and you know that so many people want you - need you - to keep wowing them with your otherworldly skills, you tend to put in just that little bit more.
Of course, the reverse could also have been true. With so many expectations on him, both from his family and his fans, Federer could well have buckled under the pressure and retired from the sport a long time ago. But he didn't, and he now has 20 Grand Slams to show for it.
I guess that's one of the many, many things that make Roger Federer who he is. If he didn't cry after winning a Slam, or at least come close to tears, it just wouldn't be the same.