14

He did it. After the unseemly meltdown in Australia, where he frittered away the finals in a wrenching display of nerves, Roger Federer left no doubt from the beginning of the French Open final that he would seize the one title which had eluded his grasp. Gone were the nerves which had plagued him in the first sets of his previous matches in Paris, particularly once Nadal was eliminated, replaced by the return of the Federer that has stalked tennis courts for nearly a decade now. Roger applied the rapier to Soderling from the beginning of play and in a flash the first set was squared away. The match, which was concluded briskly in straight sets, might well have been more lopsided still had there not been the bizarre intervention of that spectator, which naturally unnerved Federer at a crucial stage in the second set when a break of Soderling's serve seemed on. And so Roger Federer fell to his knees in rapture, the accompanying tears finally being shed in joy rather than in agony. Much deserved superlatives descended on this remarkable champion, banishing the doubts which had dogged him since Nadal ruthlessly relieved him of the prizes that seemed his almost by right.

Tying Sampras at 14 grand slam titles was of course impressive, a testament to an unrelenting drive to succeed and the rare marriage of supreme natural gifts with a capacity for hard work. What I found more remarkable still was the fact that Federer had made the semifinals or better for 20 straight grand slam tournaments. What is more, on those occasions when he did not actually win the title, he lost only to highly seeded players who, more often than not, went on to win the tournament. This seems like his most enduring mark on the record books, the record that is likely to stand the test of time. It is worth dwelling on this achievement somewhat more though; there have been no "Soderling moments" in Roger's history. No interloper has been able to sneak up on him and bundle him out of a major tournament. Whatever Nadal may go on to do, I think we have to give Federer his due. He has set a standard of sustained excellence that puts him in a stratum of his own.

The question of whether Roger now goes down in history as the greatest of all time (GOAT) is not completely decided for me though. I recognise that this is something of a contradiction based on what I said above, but I think he needs to try to get his rivalry with Nadal into something approaching balance first. This would preferrably be done in Grand Slam finals, especially, albeit improbably, at Roland Garros! There is a disconnect between according someone that title when they are being overmatched by a contemporary on every surface. I tend to think though, that having won the French Open, thereby quieting his critics and completing his resume, Federer will relax again. Puzzling statistics over the last year or so, which show his effectiveness at breaking serve declining spectacularly, surely the result of pressure, might begin to turn around. His victory over Nadal in Madrid revealed a Federer more willing to go on the offensive against Nadal, the only way to prevail against the greatest counter-puncher of all time. Soderling underlined the wisdom of this approach when he authored his great upset in Paris. He punished every short ball and declined to let Nadal work his way into points. Throw in a serve that was at 140 mph on several occasions and you have a number one seed out of the draw. Incidentally, there was a delightful crackle of intensity to that match provided by the tincture of unpleasantness between the two men left over from their epic match at Wimbledon in 2007. It was a contest that lasted for five days, caused by the typically foul weather that descends on London in June. The natural frustration that would ensue from playing a match seemingly without end was compounded for Nadal by Soderling imitating his foibles (notably the apparently incessant need for Rafa to extract his underwear from the crack of his ass) and refusing to acquiesce in Nadal's repeated flouting of the time limits between points. All of this suggested Soderling's refusal to accord Rafa the respect that can at times make defeating a top player impossible for a lower ranked one. This was the attitude that was in evidence on that middle Sunday at Roland Garros as Soderling methodically executed his game plan against Nadal. To his credit he then went on to win two more rounds before succumbing to Federer in the finals. Interestingly, Soderling had practiced with Federer in the past and clearly liked and respected him deeply. I think these facts, combined with fatigue and a sense of the weight of the moment, prevented him from playing at his best for most of the match.

So, bravo Roger and on to the grass court season. Who could have imagined that Federer would be going into Wimbledon holding the French Open title and being the favourite at the AELTC particularly given the uncertainty of Nadal's health. Certainly not I! Mindful of the imperfections of my crystal ball, and the wisdom of Mark Twain when he said that nothing is harder to predict than the future, I will decline the opportunity to prognosticate. Let me finish by saying that I would not at all be surprised if the Centre Court was once again Federer-owned real estate.