Hi Everyone!

“It is a privilege for the sport of tennis to behold the greatest ever sportsman, a person who will transcend tennis and be recognised as the model of greatness for all athletes in all sports.”

Roger Federer is a special player but what he is as a person will define his achievements and lay to rest the fallacies that ‘nice guys finish last, that a leader who is so classy and calm is boring and sport needs controversy to be popular’

The Australian Open speeches were superb and the relaxed confidence that oozes from Roger Federer without ego is a joy to watch and listen to as his life becomes legend. Contrast the speeches of Gonzalez and Federer with that of the girls. Serena had a fantastic comeback but her speech was self centred with zero acknowledgement of her opponent, the tournament or anyone outside her family. If more people realised that life is a team effort and acknowledgement of this is not taking anything away from personal achievement then perhaps there would be peace on earth.

I dedicate this article to the spirit of sport and the way it should be played and incredibly it is happening in the 21st century, a time when people are often cynical about sport and yearn for the good old days when amateur sport meant play hard and may the best man win on the day and both competitors can celebrate the spectacle afterwards with no hard feelings. This spirit is alive and well in tennis and lead by a number of great ambassadors for the sport, the key man being the number 1, Roger Federer. He has help from the attitudes of Nadal, Roddick, Blake, Gonzalez, Clijsters, Mauresmo and others. It is a golden age of sportsmanship in tennis and that is why I believe the popularity and leadership of tennis as a sport will grow dramatically as other sports realise that chivalry does not kill the competitive spirit or take the edge off a players aggression. It is not soft and not a compromise to be tough and fair. It is possible to compete and use everything at your disposal to win yet keep your personality intact, your integrity intact and remain determined and proud if on the day the prize does not belong to you.

Roger Federer deserves his accolades and is worthy of any award given to him. It is probable now that 2007 will be his Grand Slam year and to win one will be a fitting tribute to his genius and a reward from tennis back to the man who has and will hopefully do so much for tennis in years to come. I have the feeling that after his journey in tennis Roger may capture the world in other humanitarian ways and influence more than sport.

I will write about tennis again in my next Inside Story as the tour moves to the USA but for today I think the great champion that is Roger Federer needs to be fully acknowledged by tennis4everyone as someone who truly does “capture the soul of tennis”

All the best,

David