How do you solve a problem like Federer?

That must be what Andy Roddick is asking now, especially after his latest drubbing from the Federer Express.

I was hoping to catch the tail-end of the Semifinal action after work today. After a quick stop at the food court to ‘ta pau’ dinner, I made it back home around 6:10pm. Alas, all I got for my effort was a smiling Federer standing next to Jim Courier. Oh the audacity, he whitewashed Andy in 1 ½ hours. So I had to be happy with the short snippets from ESPN StarSports until the repeat was shown at 11:30pm.

Andy came in to the Australian Open in fine form. He defeated Federer in the recent Kooyong Classic. He had Jimmy Connors in his court and has been making progress under the coaching of the former great. He played almost flawless tennis to see off Mardy Fish in the Quarterfinals. Even McEnroe touted him to take the Australian Open crown.

But then came the 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 defeat at the Rod Laver Arena. Andy simply came in short of answers to the Swiss Maestro’s game.

Federer had somehow elevated his game once again, beyond the reach of mortals. He made it look so easy, the backhand slice down the line, the crosscourt winners, the drop shots, the deep returns. The 6-0 second set was like a demonstration clinic in which the ‘teacher’ Federer taught the ‘student’ Roddick a heavy lesson in the art of tennis. Unfortunately Roddick couldn’t find a hole where he could bury his head in to hide the embarrassment he suffered.

With no true challengers in sight, it looks like Federer is walking a very lonely path towards greatness.

At the end of the game, Jim Courier asked Federer “…you completely dismantled him today. I have got this one question. Why did you do it?” much to the amusement of Federer and the crowd. Of course, Federer gave a polite answer without truly answering the question. But I guess his true answer should have been “Why did I do it? It’s because I can. And I will do it again and again until I attain true Tennis enlightenment”. And I believe he will reach there one day.

We are indeed living in privilege times to be able to witness such a great athlete.