The Greatest of All Time?

Roger Federer, arguably the best tennis player of all time, has just made a major push to be considered the undisputed greatest of all time by winning the French Open. The French Open is the only Grand Slam event that has eluded Roger during his illustrious career. Though were it not for clay court god Rafa Nadal, Roger would have won the tournament four times before, as Nadal is the only player to have beaten Roger at Roland Garros in the last four years. Eliminated in the fourth-round by Swede Robin Soderling, the path seemed wide open for Roger to claim his first title on "la terre battue". Other top players like Novak Djokavic and Andy Murray were dismissed early on in the tournament, which some might argue diminishes Roger's accomplishment. I disagree wholeheartedly. While his fellow top players were eliminated, Roger kept his sights set on his goal. He could have easily been defeated in a similar fashion by lesser-known players. And he almost was. Coming from behind more than once, Federer refused to be defeated. He pushed ahead with sheer will power and determination. As his most formidable foes were defeated early on, the pressure and expectations mounted for the Swiss superstar. At times, it seemed too much, but we witnessed first hand why he is so great. Playing the man who defeated his arch nemesis, Roger easily defeated the young Soderling, who was in his first grand slam final ever. The nerves seemed to be getting to him in the first set, which Roger won easily, 6-1. After a fan jumped out of the stands and disrupted play by rushing Federer and waving a flag in his face, Roger seemed to cool off. Soderling found his game and managed to take Roger to a tie-break. But Roger would not be denied. He dominated the tie-break. He only needed one break in the third to wrap up his historic win in Paris. Congrats to you Roger, and I'll be rooting for you to break Pistol Pete's grand slam record in this year's Wimbledon.