A pathetic, left-handed compliment to one of the all time greats, of not the GOAT. If tennis were all about beauty or virtuosity, why Federer/Tsitsipas/Dimitrov, to name but three this writer wishes to extol, why not Nastase or Leconte or even Escude? Tennis isn’t about beauty /2 https://twitter.com/tennis/status/1313274270609534976

It’s about problem-solving, overcoming adversity, be it the opponent, the rabidly partisan crowd, or the seemingly unbelievable odds. Tennis is about winning when the chips are down, when everyone thinks your down and out, or when the opponent’s fans are lifting fingers for one/2

..more point. Or when the drunk crowd screams and yells at your every missed shot, your every double-fault, when the opponent’s camp throws fits or heckles you and you still win. Tennis is about winning even when every pundit says your all about athleticism and little else /3

When the surface is apparently not your greatest, when you’re written off, when your every achievement is grudgingly acknowledged, if at all, when your every victory against the odds is forgotten, when your incredible achievements are forgotten in a matter of days at the altar /4

of “the narrative”, when the anointed one must be propelled forward at every opportunity, when you’re written off and yet, you overcome injuries and come back, when you’re the greatest the sport has seen in the toughest of surfaces, yet you’re treated as (charitably) 2nd best /5

That’s when you know you’ve seen the greatest champion. A champ shows her/his heart, her/his will to win, her/his indomitable spirit. Against all odds.