# 20 Grand Slam (AO 2018)

Me...  

Thanks to you @rogerfederer for all the emotions and thrilling moments you gave us at the #AusOpen. So happy you got another #Norman and #RF20. Proud to be your fan. Enjoy your rest in with your family and friends. https://t.co/F8m2mQrW4E

— MLC Zattorc (@zattorc) February 1, 2018

Cromar wrote:Un vingt divin - Le Quotidien jurassien     A divine twenty (wine) *
* A play on word in French: "vingt" (20) and "vin" (wine)

It is what it is, but I do wish that the Swiss Press have as much influence on the narrative of the media at large as the Spanish press (perhaps, they do on the French press, but that does me no good ). After having to tolerate all the calls of decima last year, it's delicious to be able to savor a Un vingt divin; too bad it's too esoteric to be picked up by the English language press. Oh, well.

As always, thank you, Cromar, for bringing these tasty morsels to our attention.

Glad you enjoyed that, MaxUS!

The French paper Liberation used a similar pun, pushing the idea a little further though, implying that Roger ages well... like a good wine!    

[OPEN D'AUSTRALIE] Tennis : Roger Federer, comme le bon vingt https://t.co/EugbFNymma

— Libération (@libe) January 28, 2018

And as you like the Spanish press... this is what Marca posted on Twitter (we like action, no?)

.@rogerfederer, el superhéroe de los 20 #GrandSlam20 @MarcaTMF https://t.co/9EN3GTyNND #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/fXF4zMGTQC

— MARCA Buzz (@MARCABuzz) January 29, 2018

Whereby the Italians had a more sentimental approach. la Republica talks about the 'tears of joy' of the King and the conclusion of a fairy tale.

I found some of these gems on RTS (Swiss French TV) who described the press on Federer as 'dithyrambic'! ...Had to look it up!  

Thanks for bringing all this together, Cromar! So many nice articles and headlines....

Don't really like what Marca did.

They seems to be a bit too sneaky for me.
They seems to praise Rodg for what he did, but at the same time I have the impression that they mock him, or at least that they don't took his achievement too seriously...

But of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are spanish.

Thank you dear CROMAR - how lovely to collect tributes for Roger. I am definitely on cloud 20!!

Roger looks so serene and poised in the "I'illustre" picture. "happy sigh"

I agree re: Marca, FEDBERG but nothing can mar the joy of this achievement. Even tacky tributes.

I debated on whether or not to comment further in this topic but Milesahead's line in a different thread gave me the courage to indulge in my own bit of pedancy:

Milesahead wrote:Excuse me for being pedantic   , but the draw wasn't easy! It just opened up in a way it rarely has for Roger! I think, for example, that Roger's first 3  opponents were more challenging than those Nadal faced.

So, please also forgive my own bit of waxing pedantic. I just could not resist snickering at Marca's feeble attempt at irony.

FEDBERG wrote:Don't really like what Marca did.

They seems to be a bit too sneaky for me.
They seems to praise Rodg for what he did, but at the same time I have the impression that they mock him, or at least that they don't took his achievement too seriously...

But of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are spanish.

Your take on this dig, FEDBERG, I think, is spot on! What we have here is a case of irony cubed.

First, consider the source material which is Roger asking his fans to create these Photoshop gems in a bit of pre-tournament fun (this came after the superhero shenanigans during Kid's day, right?). Roger's Photoshop challenge is the first level of irony, because it is universally known that Roger does not see himself as a superhero, he regularly presents himself as a regular guy who plays tennis very well. Moreover, those who know him personally or have only just interacted, even only briefly, have also marveled at how down-to-earth and accessible he is in person. This challenge was a fun way to allow his fans to interact with him in a fun and humorous way while promoting the Australian Open .

Marda, either willfully ignored the obvious irony or dubiously failed to recognize it as such. In doing so, their "praise" could be interpreted ironically as a dig. It is my opinion, that they probably think that it is proof of Roger's hubris (which is also ironic considering their likely belief of the humility of their currently #1 countryman). So, irony squared, no?

Of course, irony is in the eye of the beholder. While it's certainly possible to take the Marda post at face value, I'm not so generous as to think that of all the absolutely stunning photography (some of the best post-match images ever to be captured on film/pixels?) that came out of Australia, they would choose these photos as representative of Un vingt divin!.  

Cromar responding to the distaste I expressed about the Spanish press, added the third level of irony by prefacing the tweet with And as you like the Spanish press. Irony cubed!

Fun stuff! or at least diverting enough while we wait for the rest of the season to pick up after the Olympics.

Marda! ... A cubed typo, I would say!

Thanks for the divine entertainment, MaxUS!  

This is a fabulous way to celebrate Roger's achievements and career: An outstanding history of his accomplishments, along a timeline filled with pictures and data analysis and statistics in pictograph form, written by Bernhard Schär, Sports reporter at the SRF (Swiss Radio and TV) and long-time Federer-watcher.

A must read: Click here to view the article. (English version)

Note: The link to this document was originally posted by ph∞be on January 29 in the News thread, but felt that it should be brought here to be part of the celebration.