Ranjona Banerji: Are you a Federer fan or a tennis fan?

I promised myself many years ago that I would not stop watching tennis after Roger Federer retired whenever that was After all that was the strongest test of my indomitable spirit mdash was I a real tennis fan or just a Federer fan Was there more depth to my passion or was I just a cheap dilettante And herersquos my chance to find out For the first time since 1999 after taking part in 65 Grand Slam tournaments Federer has withdrawn from the French Open now playing in Paris because of a back injuryRoger Federer hits a return during the French Open last year at Roland Garros where he will not play this year due to injury PicAFPThe whole year actually has been tough for us Federer fans Since Federer lost to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January he has been hounded by injury He hurt his knee in a freak accident running a bath for his children and had to have surgery Then he was struck down by a virus And then an old back injury returned to haunt himTo be honest for one month after Federer lost to Djokovic in Australia I could not bear to watch tennis Then when I wanted to watch the one million sports channels we have in India decided that they could not be bothered to show us standard tennis tournaments that they have telecast for years The womenrsquos game gets even shorter shrift from sports channels And of course this year we had the Cricket T20 World Cup and then the IPL began which meant all other sports had to take a backseat Forgive me for being unpatriotic but there are only so many reruns of old Kabaddi matches that I can watchNow that the French Open has started and the sports channels are being generous and Federer has ended his streak of playing in 65 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments the test is on And the difference is this I do not scour and scan the draw looking for possible pitfalls and tricky opponents I do not spend sleepless nights over Rafael Nadalrsquos place in the draw with reference to Federer mdash this is clay and this is Roland Garros after all Anywhere else the big threat would be Djokovic I do not bite my nails over Federerrsquos ranking which means that he is in this section or that section of the drawEven better I can watch with equanimity when Lukas Rosol severely threatens defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka So what if there is a major upset at this stage Thatrsquos what makes headlines and makes sport interesting isnrsquot it I can take the rain delays in my stride I can make a cogent argument about the possibilities of a new crop of players upstaging the old favourites After all if Federer turns 35 this August Andy Murray and Djokovic are now 29 and Nadal almost 30 mdash hardly young guns any moreBut here are the problems I can happily watch anyone playing tennis but therersquos so much that I miss when Federer does not play Therersquos that court presence that elegance of shot that certain style of play that mix of strength and finesse the very fact that I can use words like finesse the ability to play ugly when necessary but when that ugliness is equal to someone elsersquos best effort that grace that movement that agility that athleticism those forehands those serves that slice the constant innovation and adaptation the variety the changing tactics the obstinacy when somethingrsquos not working the quickness to adapt to an opponent it all adds up to finding anyone else so much lessIt is all this that Federer brings to the game that makes him so much more than any other player currently on the circuit He completes and enhances it There are other talented players there are stronger players there are powerful players there are players who depend only on strength or strategy or athleticism or this shot or that But there is no one mdash not even Nadal Djokovic or Murray mdash who brings everything that Federer does to the court or even half of what he doesI pass the test then but I sorely miss the magic As long as Federer plays there is delight and plenty of stardust And when he doesnrsquot well my nails donrsquot really need a manicure quite that oftenRanjona Banerji is a senior journalist You can follow her on twitter ranjona