Renata Bakieva

Professor Carla Pastor

English 1100 sec 198

10 October 2012

Back on Top In “Roger Federer arrives at this year’s US Open in the midst of a new chapter in his storied career,” Stephen Tignor uses rhetorical strategies to convince Federer’s fans that he (Federer) had won the Wimbledon title because of the successful changes he had undergone since winning the last major trophy. Tignor asserts that the influence of Federer’s mother, his twin daughters, and the hiring of a new coach were the reasons he had won the Wimbledon title (Tignor 27). To achieve his goal of convincing the audience, Tignor utilizes a variety of rhetorical strategies: description, comparison and contrast, narration, process analysis, and augmentation. These rhetorical strategies combine to convince Federer’s fans that he was able to win the Wimbledon title because of the influence of the changes he had introduced in his life. While using description as a rhetorical strategy, an author uses figurative language and sense details to support a given assertion concerning a person or object of discussion. Tignor in the article argues that Federer’s twin daughters, his mother, and the new coach were the reason why he had won the Wimbledon title after failing in the previous attempts to win a major title in tennis (Tignor 27). Tignor asserts that in his previous wins and losses, the three persons had not attended his matches; the Wimbledon win was their first attendance. Tignor describes how the twins (Myla and Charlene) were tangling in front of Federer’s mother, Lynnette (Tignor 27). Similarly, Tignor acknowledges the presence of Federer’s new coach, Paul Annacone. Tignor informs the audience that Annacone was on the left side of the celebrating Federer’s family (Tignor 27). The use of description enables Tignor to convince Federer’s fans and tennis fans that it is these new people in Federer’s tennis life that enabled him to win his 17th grand slam title after several failed attempts. To emphasize the role of these ‘new’ persons, Tignor uses the comparison and contrast rhetoric strategy. While using a comparison and contrast rhetoric strategy, the author attempts to demonstrate the differences and similarities existing between two people. Frequently, the aim of using this strategy is to prove a preference. In his article, Tignor effectively uses the compare and contrast rhetoric strategy to demonstrate that Annacone, Myla and Charlene, and Lynnette had a positive impact on Federer compared to Mirka (Federer’s wife). Mirka had been accompanying Federer to the several other failed campaigns to win a major trophy in the last two years. However, on their first attendance in a major tournament, the twins and Lynette enable Federer to win the 17th title after more than two years. The use of the compare and contrast rhetoric strategy is also exemplified when Tignor compares Federer to other tennis stars such as Jimmy Connors. Tignor asserts that just as Federer, Connors had struggled to win a major title after the birth of his son (Tignor 28). Therefore, Tignor assures Federer’s fans that his failure to win a major title was as a result of making the difficult transition to being a father. Once he had completed the transition, Tignor assumes that Federer will continue winning major trophies in tennis. Apart from the narration and compare and contrast strategies, Tignor utilizes the augmentation strategy to prove to Federer’s fans that Annacone, Myla and Charlene, and Lynnette had a positive impact on his tennis career. The aim of using augmentation as a rhetoric strategy is to influence other people through logic. Throughout the article, Tignor uses augmentation to convince tennis fans that Federer had won his 17th grand slam because of the successful transitions he had gone through in the last two years before winning the title. Tignor quotes Federer who asserts that the presence of the twin daughters has had an enormous impact on his life (Tignor 28). Through this, Federer confesses that balancing all aspects in his life had been difficult because of the presence of the daughters. This explains why he had not been able to win any major tournaments in the last three years. However, after finishing the transition, Federer was able to win his 17th grand slam title. Similarly, Federer uses augmentation to explain his decision to re-hire Annacone for the 2012 season. Tignor (28) asserts that Annacone had helped Federer to improve on his net-rushing game. It is the improvement in Federer’s net-rushing game that enabled him to win the final against Murray. Through augmentation, Tignor explains to Federer’s fans the vital role played by Annacone in ensuring that Federer won his 17th major title in tennis. In the article, Tignor also uses the process analysis strategy to explain how Federer had prepared for the Wimbledon final. In the process analysis, the writer explains how something in the story being written happens. Through the process analysis, the audience gets the chance to gain an enhanced understanding of a subject being discussed. The use of this strategy is again displayed by Federer’s decision to hire Annacone as his coach. Tignor (30) explains that hiring Annacone was an attempt by Federer to defeat his youthful opponents. Through the process analysis rhetoric strategy, Federer’s fans are able to see the impact of Annacone on Federer and his contribution to winning his 17th grand slam title in Wimbledon. Tignor (30) reports that under the guidance of Annacone, Federer improved his game by trying to exploit his strong volleying skills. During the Wimbledon campaign, Tignor (30) asserts that Federer was able to defeat Djokovic by taking advantage of his strong servings. Through the use of the process analysis, the readers are able to get an enhanced understanding of the contribution made by Annacone to the success of Federer in winning the 17ths grand slam time. Just as Tignor expertly uses the process analysis strategy, he similarly effectively uses narration to explain how Federer had succeeded to win his 17th major grand slam. While using the narration rhetorical strategy, the author aims to report an event with the aim of convincing the audience. Tignor’s article is replete with narration. Tignor narrates to the audience why winning the Wimbledon was of utmost importance to Federer. He also narrates how Federer had defeated Djokovic during the tournament (Tignor 30). Similarly, Tignor narrates how Federer had defeated Murray in the finals of the Wimbledon Tennis finals. In his article, Tignor successfully utilizes a combination of rhetorical strategies to convince Federer’s fans that Annacone, Myla and Charlene, and Lynnette played an important role in Federer’s winning of his 17th grand slam title in Wimbledon. Through the use of augmentation, process analysis, narration, description, and compare and contrast rhetorical strategies, Tignor succeeds in convincing the audience that Federer’s win at Wimbledon was as a result of the successful transitions he had made. The aforementioned rhetorical analysis strategies enable Tignor to convince his audience that three people: Annacone, Myla and Charlene, and Lynnette enabled Federer to win his 17th grand slam title at Wimbledon.
Work Cited
Tignor, Stephen. “Roger Federer arrives at this year’s US Open in the midst of a new chapter in his storied career”. Tennis.Com. N.p,. Sept/Oct. 2012. Web. 10 October 2012.