Roger Federer's French Connection

When Roger Federer faced Nadal in the Australian Open Final this January, I was among the millions of Federer fans who hoped that he will annihilate Nadal and get his record equalling 14th grand slam... But as a hapless Federer broke down into tears after losing that fateful last set, I put this note on the header of my Orkut Profile “Too bad. Federer has to wait till the French Open to get his 14th!”. It was nothing short of an outrageous wishful thinking. And now, it’s all happening!

When he reached the Semi Finals at Roland Garros two days back, he was reaching the Semi Finals of the 20th consecutive Grand Slam. And that record is not likely to be ever challenged since the closest anyone has come is Ivan Lendl and Rod Laver with 10 Semi Final appearances!! Moreover Federer’s streak shows no signs of ending!

If I were Federer, I would gladly gift one of my Wimbledon Trophies to Soderling for having sent Nadal to cool in his Pool in Majorca, rather than sweat out at the Roland Garros! So with Nadal out of the way, Federer is an overwhelming favourite with a record of 29-0 against all players other than Nadal in the last five French Opens.

If Federer does falter, then I consider it a bigger upset than Nadal’s ouster because Federer is a man for the big occasions. Take this. He played 9 tournaments other than Grand Slams in 2008 without winning a title! Made it to 2 finals and 2 Semi Finals. Average, by any standard. Now take the four Majors– Won the US open, Runner-up in French and the Wimbledon, Semi Finalist in Aussie Open. It would have made Sampras proud in his hey days! And mind you, all this happening in the year when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

Moreover, every time Federer has lost in a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2004, he has lost only to the eventual Champion.

Now.. Who can stop Federer from laying hands on the Musketeer’s Trophy on Sunday. Del Petro? On six outing with Federer he has never managed to win a set. The knock-out boy Soderling? He is 0-9 against Federer and has luckily won a set out of the 19 played. Gonzalez? He has managed to win a match out of the 13 played between them. Interestingly, for all the four semi-finalists clay is the least favoured surface. And despite his record against Nadal, Federer is a legend in Clay!!!! (Read this http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/090601)

Finallly, is Federer the best tennis player ever? Arguably, Yes. Is he the most loved Tennis Star around? The answer is a firm, resounding YES! It's probably the love for Federer that prompted the French Crowd to support Soderling and boo Nadal in that “greatest-upset-in-French-Open”. And this fact was reiterated when Federer crushed the French son-of-soil Monfils in the Quarters and the crowd was firmly behind him. I feel that for most of the people who prefer Nadal against Federer it is not actually love for Nadal, but the love for Sampras that prevails. I can’t blame them if they want the Sampras record to stay! If U have any doubts, ask my friend Rani!