What can you do against a guy who makes shots like this? Not much, I guess. Roger Federer is the athlete I'd most like to see live, and I have no particular love for tennis over any other sport. (via kk)

Update: I just got an e-mail with a link to a Federer between-the-legs winner.

Like the Roger Federer piece (which you really should read, as it cast tennis—which I've always enjoyed watching—in a whole new light for me), this ought to be good for fans of sports in general, not just tennis aficionados...

First up, this is a terrific tribute to the many comebacks of Andre Agassi's career:

The most important thing I've learned from watching him is how to defeat winning and losing.

That piece links up this interview with Agassi following his loss to Federer at the US Open final last year. Fantastic, and more weight behind the "Federer is possibly the best ever" camp.

Finally, check out this composite photo of an Agassi vs. Pavel point. I'm guessing Agassi controlled that one.

Roger Federer as Religious Experience by David Foster Wallace. He uses the first paragraph to lovingly describe an amazing "Federer Moment". He then concludes:

Anyway, that's one example of a Federer Moment, and that was merely on TV—and the truth is that TV tennis is to live tennis pretty much as video porn is to the felt reality of human love.

I don't know where that puts YouTube on the video porn/actual sex spectrum, but they've got a clip of that exalted Federer Moment, starting at 8:10 in. I think YouTube might be off the bottom end of the metaphor, actually, and the moment strikes me as one of subtle greatness, only really appreciable by fans. Love the article, though.« via kottke »