For years now the one thing missing on Roger Federer's resume has been the French Open title. As he chased down Pete Sampras record of 14 Grand Slam titles and the quest to be declared the greatest player of all time, it was the French Open title that was meant to be the clincher. Prior to yesterday it was a title squashed repeatedly by Rafael Nadal. Then in consecutive sundays Federer gave a big thank you to a random Swedish player you likely never heard of before.
I've been one of those advocates for Federer as the greatest player of all time and always thought the clincher would be when he won the French. But I also always thought that the clincher would require him defeating his greatest nemesis, that no way would he be able to win the French without overcoming the Capri Pantsed wonder. Yet it wasn't to be, Robin Soderling opened up the French Open for Federer and Federer capatilized. I'm just left with the lingering feeling that it's not nearly as special as it would have been if Nadal was the opponent. That despite the 14 majors and the career Grand Slam, Federer still has one gigantic question in his campaign for Greatest of All Time. Is he even better than Rafael Nadal?
I've been one of those advocates for Federer as the greatest player of all time and always thought the clincher would be when he won the French. But I also always thought that the clincher would require him defeating his greatest nemesis, that no way would he be able to win the French without overcoming the Capri Pantsed wonder. Yet it wasn't to be, Robin Soderling opened up the French Open for Federer and Federer capatilized. I'm just left with the lingering feeling that it's not nearly as special as it would have been if Nadal was the opponent. That despite the 14 majors and the career Grand Slam, Federer still has one gigantic question in his campaign for Greatest of All Time. Is he even better than Rafael Nadal?
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