Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
Something a colleague said the other day about the way Novak Djokovic won Montreal, beating the top three players in the world, only to lose in the first round in Cincinnati, got me thinking about one of the most commonly used words in tennis, "grinding." So who do you suppose popped right into my mind as the ultimate grinder in tennis? Roger Federer.
Gasp! I know, it's heresy. How dare I lump Federer in with those fitness-freaks and clay-court experts, those South Americans and Spaniards and Russians (remember Andrei Chesnokov? That dude could grind like Chubby Checker!) and steroid-abusing marathon ball bangers. Federer? Why the man is an artist -- a genius, our Barishnykov but without the aqua tights.
Point taken. But you also may have noticed that Federer won his 50th title career title in Cincinnati Sunday, the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters. (I guess the Eastern and Northern folks play next week, eh?)
You want to talk about grinding? Federer just became the fifth-youngest player to hit that 50-win mark, and the guy he replaced was Pete Sampras. Remember him? He grinded -- or is it ground? -- his way to 14 Grand Slam titles.
And all this time you thought a "grinder" was a guy who went 7-5 in the third with Robby Ginepri in four hours on Court 12. Silly you. Guys like that may impress you with their stamina and will power on the day, but they're often gone in the next round or two. The word "grinder" has been hijacked and diminished to the point where it simply describes a dull if relentless and disciplined style of play, and not a very good or successful one at that.
But think about it: who's more of a grinder, a Sampras or Federer, who shows up week-in, week-out to rain hell on one and all, or, uh, Willy Canas -- a notorious "grinder" who played exactly one match in the two-week span during which Federer made two Masters Series finals and bounced back from losing one to win the other?
It's about time we either retired or rehabilitated this word "grinder." If it's supposed to be a reference to consistency or determination, I don't really see how anybody could qualify as more consistent or determined than Federer was over these last two weeks. Djokovic, the guy who beat Federer in Montreal last week, didn't last a round in Ohio. Federer won the event. That's grinding. It's not about going 7-5 in the third against Ginepri, although that's a nice enough accomplishment in its own right. Grinding is about putting up the wins, week after week, without no ifs, ands or buts.
The greatest players represent a host of styles, but they have one thing in common. They are all grinders. If you're still not comfortable with Federer as a grinder, look at it this way: Shakespeare was a grinder, too.
