Fault!

I have always love football even though I played hockey in school up to state level. Then, I was an active fan of IICC ( 'soothing' as the Ibadan supporters called it back then)- later called 3SC and now called I don't even know again,  as they went through more name changes than goals scored! I followed "soothing" sorry, Shooting till they shot themselves into relegation. As a progressive, I switched allegiance and followed Kanu without his heart to Arsenal and has been there since providing epileptic support to an equally irregular performance.

So, rather than watching the Arsenal performed or under performed at the Emirate ground during my summer holidays at the UK in 2009, I opted to see Serena played third round at the All England Opens commonly known as Wimbledon. Serena won the match and so did Roger Federer who played earlier that day. And there began my fascination with Tennis and attraction to the men category in particular.

Roger Federer has won everything, well nearly everything in Tennis. Before his decline in the last three years occasioned more by his age and cut edge competition by Novak and Andy than by a decline in his Swiss perfected performance.

If anything, Federer, despite being the most decorated player of all time, had to work harder than anyone else in becoming the oldest man to win a major since a 37-year-old Ken Rosewall at the US Open 45 years ago. Despite winning everything there is to win, despite having two sets of twins to distract him at home, despite having the most dominant record of all, he was still hungry for more.

He is also a canny campaigner, not relying on his natural talent or binding prayers to see him through. Federer has evolved over the past few years in his bid to cling to the top of the game. He realises, at 35, he cannot compete with the younger athletes, so, he constantly adapt tactics both on and off court.

So, what you had on sunday was an epic between Roger and his most ferocious foe and friend. There will never be enough words to describe the level of tennis played by the greatest two in the sports today, as they rolled away the years and gave the 15,000 live spectators and millions glued to their television a scintillating performance.

Like golf, tennis is an elitist sport and it is not quite popular back home as we favour team sport like football over individual sport. The cold truth (it is winter here) is that the Australian Open showed so much not only about Nadal and Federer, but also about the rest of us. It exposes our frailties and constant mind battles with life. Nadal and Federer have set the example for the tennis world for a decade, and like parents, you hope to groom your kids to be ready to go off on their own.

The question is were we groomed to take off where the colonial masters left us? Don't bother, it is a rhetoric question and politics does not mix with sports anyway, except in FIFA headquarters!