Tuesday, May 22, 2007 Pages: To change a losing game By John Pages Match Point
Can you believe this Roger Federer? He’s lost four of his last four tournaments. He’s in his worst slump since turning No. 1 in 2004. He hasn’t won on clay in two years. He has lost all five matches on the surface against Rafael Nadal. He fired his coach last week.
Doesn’t he amaze us all? How does he do it? And wasn’t his win last Sunday the perfect preparation for the year’s second Grand Slam event—the French Open—to start this Monday?
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Rafael Nadal? He won the first set, 6-2, and, against any other enemy, he’d have won in straight sets. But against the man adjudged (at this early stage of his career) as “The Greatest Ever,” Nadal succumbed to the Federer Express and lost 2-6, 0-6. I don’t ever recall Nadal being “love-setted” on clay. Only one man is capable of doing this.
You know what lesson we mortals can learn from Mr. Federer? “Change a losing game.” He knew it was painful to part ways with his coach Tony Roche last week. Though only working part-time, the 62-year-old Roche helped Roger win major titles and he was a mentor, friend, and second father. But a losing game is a losing game and, when you want to win, you reverse course and change a losing game. And so he did… and won.
Can Federer win the French? Of course. Will it be this 2007? No.
Nadal, in my opinion, was tired—that’s why he lost. He won three events in a row without rest (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome) leading to the Hamburg final and the Spanish bull got fatigued. But at Roland Garros (the other name for the French Open), he’ll have this week to rest, shower, lie down for a massage, watch movies like “300” and “The Gladiator,” and rejuvenate to win his third straight French crown.
DR. JOVITO LEE sent me this e-mail: “We read your article regarding the (PBA) event last May 12. Our chapter, Metro Cebu Uptown Jaycees Inc. and its foundation, the Metro Cebu Uptown Jaycees Foundation Inc., were responsible for bringing the PBA to Cebu City after a two-year drought.
“We concur with your assessment that we need a new venue (mega or super dome) to be able to host events like this but due to some obvious reasons (no investors), the New or “Hot” Cebu Coliseum is the only venue at the moment we can offer to the public when a big event like the PBA comes to Cebu City. We did all what we can do to make the atmosphere comfortable but again we are in a venue beyond our control and we are in the summer months. We apologize to the public for such inconvenience.
“Maybe in the future we will have bigger and new venue for the public to enjoy. I hope Hon. Jack Jakosalem will follow through on his comments after your article. We also like to thank the Cebuanos for supporting our community project. This was chaired by JCI-Sen. Domingo Te and JC Christian Paro-an.
“Dagan para sa Beedang Kabataan. Held May 20, 2007 7 a.m. (a fun run for the benefit of the Franciscan Sisters Orphanage). It was hosted by Jollibee Makro in cooperation with our chapter. The orphanage benefited from the registration fee of P300. Every runner got a free T-shirt and breakfast meal. Also we gave scholarship to the children.
“Dr. Potenciano ‘Yong’ Larrazabal III won first place. He graciously accepted our invitation even though it did not offer a trophy or prize for winners. We are humbled by his participation. He gave a tip on staying fit and talked to the children on a healthy note being a father, a runner and a physician. This was made possible by our project chairman Carlos Porras (the owner of Jollibee Makro) and the president Christian Paro-an.”
THINK about this, said Bobby Jones: Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course: the distance between your ears.
