In medieval times, handshakes were used as a cue to solidify a truce between armor-clad warriors. A peaceful ending to a potentially hazardous outcome. However, if they drew a dagger instead, it was, well, game on. Yikes.
In tennis, handshaking isn’t so much a life-or-death gesture as it is a tacit understanding of respect. Though we’ve seen a few controversial handshake snubs throughout the years, this custom is by and large quick and innocuous in nature.
And then Sunday happened.
In case you missed it, in the Valencia Open final, Tommy Robredo squandered five match points against Andy Murray, and as they embraced at the net, the Spaniard gave Murray not only the middle finger, but the double-barreled one-finger salute, which is generally reserved for only the most abhorrent and appalling of actions.
Granted, it was all in fun. The truth is that the exhausted finalists embraced for a few warm moments at net just as the drama mercifully ended. But, seriously, who can blame the befuddled Robredo? After all, he has suffered two heartbreaking losses to Murray in the past month. In the Shenzhen Open final, Robredo also failed to convert -- you guessed it -- five match points. For you math wizards, make that two matches, 10 match points for the cursed Spaniard, and nary a win to show for it. No wonder Robredo told Murray to, um, flipping buzz off.
But here’s the thing: This series of events -- the impossible win from Murray, the vastly disappointed Robredo, the all-around theater -- was only the third most interesting thing that happened Sunday.
That just the way it goes when you have Serena Williams and Roger Federer winning titles.
Serena, just days after being crushed by Simona Halep in the round-robin stage of the year-end champions tournament, returned the favor in Sunday’s final, picking up a third straight win in the year-enders.
Moments later, it was Federer’s turn. In 52 minutes, he swept away David Goffin for a sixth title in Fed's hometown of Basel at the Swiss Indoors championship.
So there you have it: The two most prominent players in today’s game adding to their already ridiculous résumés -- both at the surreal age of 33.
Who said fall tennis doesn’t matter again? In the month of October alone, we’ve seen Federer win the Shanghai Masters for the first time and return to No. 2 in the world with more than a fighting chance to snare the top spot by year’s end since 2,500 points are up for grabs at the Paris Masters and ATP World Tour Finals, respectively. Federer trails No. 1 Novak Djokovic by only 490 points.
And, in case you're not keeping track, Federer has now won 12 straight matches heading into the season’s penultimate event. And what’s to stop him from here until the end?
Djokovic has played less-than-commanding tennis since the onset of the summer, and his wife just gave birth to their first child this past week. Sleep deprivation, anyone? Rafael Nadal is out for the rest of the year after a season-ending appendectomy, and players such as Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic have taken precipitous drops since pockets of sublime play earlier this season. And Murray, despite winning in Valencia, is playing for the sixth straight week.
But this is really about Federer’s form. Against Goffin in the Basel final, Fed was spectacular, winning 32 of 37 points on serve en route to his fifth title of the season. For good measure, he leads all players with 66 match wins this season. Since turning 33 years old in early August, he is a near-perfect 26-2. (Wasn’t there some kind of old-guys-can’t-play fodder making its rounds through the tennis brass a year ago? Anyway, we digress.)
As for Serena, she played tepid, distracted tennis for part of the season, but with scrutiny at an all-time high following her Wimbledon doubles episode, she vowed to turn things around, and did. She won four titles in seven events to close out 2014, including the US Open and the year-end championships.
In Singapore, after Serena won her third straight title, the tournament named an orchid after her -- one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on someone from that city.
As Simona Halep said in her postmatch interview, “Congratulations to you, Serena. You are the best.”
Not sure anyone could, uh, flip that script.