We’ve waited a long time for something good to happen. Something to put a smile on our faces. And finally we’ve got it. Admittedly, in the greater scheme of Brexit, Mexican walls and alternative Trumpian truths, it might not amount to a hill of beans. But there’s no getting away from it. This is nice (a much-scorned and underrated word).
Serena and Venus Williams are battling it out at the final of the Australian Open today. Both are in their mid-30s, sporting greats, with fantastic life stories. Sisters — in every sense. God knows what odds you’d have got on this happening (a not overly generous 33-1, according to Paddy Power, since you asked). It’s 14 years since Venus last made the final of the Australian Open, and eight since she was in the singles final of a grand slam (the four biggest tournaments on the tennis tour – Wimbledon, Australian Open, US Open, French Open). In that time she’s had to deal with an auto-immune disorder that causes fatigue and joint pain. To see the two competing in the final, aged 35 and 36, is astonishing.
But equally astonishing is the men’s final, to be fought out between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Yes, the same Nadal and Federer who dominated world tennis in the noughties, and gave us that wonderful Wimbledon final that stretched past the sunset back in 2008, when they were in their prime. With 17 titles, Federer has won more grand slams than any other player. But it looked as if his slamming days were over – he’s not won one for five years, and he’s not even played in a tournament for six months because of injury. As For Nadal, he’s gone three years without a slam, most of that time spent crocked.
After his semi-final victory on Thursday, Federer recalled a conversation last year with Nadal, when they thought the best chance they’d have to play together again would be a charity match – but “I was on one leg and he had a wrist injury” so they had to settle for a knockup with a couple of juniors. And the collective odds for all four contesting the men’s and women’s finals? A whopping 1,000-1. I really hope somebody did make that bet, because to even conceive of such a possibility suggests a kind of dreamy optimism that deserves to be rewarded.
It’s not simply the nostalgia of these two finals that is so heart-warming. Or the fact that all four have done it at an age when most champions have hung up their racquets. It’s everything they represent as players and people.
Venus, Serena, Rafa and the Fed now seem like a throwback to a kinder, simpler era when maverick Tories complained about the EU’s banana rules but knew they would continue to eat them, and Donald Trump’s ambition did not extend far beyond his tower. The last time all four contested the men’s and women’s final in a grand slam was 2008 at that Wimbledon. This was also the year of “Yes we can”, when Barack Obama came to power and many of us believed the world could change for the better.
And in their own ways, these four tennis players represented the same type of progress that Obama did. Who would have imagined two black sisters, a Swiss bloke with a ponytail and a Spanish fella with huge biceps and permanent wedgies would ever dominate the establishment world of tennis. But they did. And in glorious style – they brought a strength (Rafa and Serena particularly) and beauty (that’s you, Fed) that had rarely if ever been seen before; they took delight in winning (is there a better sight in sport than Serena jumping up and down when she’s just landed another slam?), and respected their rivals when they lost.
Many of us could relate to them – none had a sense of entitlement, all four were unlikely contenders. While the Fed and Nadal challenged US tennis supremacy, Venus and Serena challenged white supremacy.
So to see all four back for one last dance at the grand slam ball is both emotional and comforting. It’s a reminder that at its best this is a world in which diversity is embraced, and good guys can win. It’s a reminder we need now, more than ever.
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