Roger Federer would smile to himself each time he walked back to his service mark. That was his little 'Me Time' out there in the middle amidst all the happy din that accompanied his every move.
There was rhythm, a slight hand bang with each step he took, from the invisible music you hear when you hit the zone with minimum effort.
Was he smiling because he was simply enjoying the moment, the hoarse, unabashed adulation for the man? Or, the funny realization that even here - tennis at the IPTL - there was little to distinguish it from when he does it when earning his living? On a daily basis, the man's tennis is an exhibition, pure art, an often grimy sport elevated to the loftiest level, the works.
On Sunday, he took a holiday only to end up playing some real exhibition. Was he simply then playing from memory, or was it something extra that he needed to pull out to make it seem that little different, even to himself? It was sweet irony.
Federer lent, in his mostly unseen, often effortless way, a certain magic to the events at Delhi. There was always a certain elitism with tennis spectatorship in the Capital. For a brief while, Federer helped dismantle that. The amphitheatre was half-full. It wasn't half-empty either, but the manner in which he lifted the folk who had come from all across the country - 60-year-old Hemlata left her husband attend to his old father back in Secunderabad, to make the trip only to see Federer slam a ball or two - was sign enough of the magic that hovers around him.
"He has that charisma... How do you explain it? I can't," she giggled as her chaperoning son looked embarrassed at his mother's lapse into adolescence.
It happens with those people with that extra special touch. You would not expect him to change if and when he slips into the 'Past Champions' category if this format finds an extended life in the future - the way past master Pete Sampras proved on Sunday, a hunched and distant version of his once hunched, distant but awe-inspiring self. Not that there was any compulsion to be any different, but Sampras, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, lumbered about in his 6-2 loss to Patrick Rafter, who was, on his part, thankful that he even got a win in this event.
Federer on the other hand, fired everybody up simply by being around as he played three sets on the trot. Sania Mirza, for one, left her self-appointed Indian ambassador role and went back to being that starry-eyed little girl playing alongside the Swiss great.
And she managed to lift her game to match Federer's. Federer seemed to be in a hurry, pulling out those smart angled winners and soon Sania was imitating him and succeeding. It was flattery at its best. After a good 6-0 mixed doubles verdict against Daniela Hantuchova (for whom Federer reserved special treatment) and Bruno Soares, there was a nice pat on back for the Indian, a more genuine gesture than the high-fives that the teams indulge themselves in at each point. It was only the fourth time he was playing mixed doubles - "Martina Hingis, Martina Navaratilova, my wife, Mirka and now, Sania" - but it was good enough for the wide-eyed Indian to want him to partner at the Australian Open next month.
