Wiedmer: Federer the best player in tennis … for now
Monday, June 8, 2009
The best ever.
That's what we’re all sure to call Roger Federer after Sunday’s French Open final. Never mind that the Fedmeister’s straight-sets win over Robin Soderling merely ties Pete Sampras for most career Grand Slam singles titles with 14. Sampras never conquered the red clay of Roland Garros. Heck, Sampras never even reached a French final.
So Federer's better, if only by his versatility, since he now owns at least one singles crown in each of the four majors, a feat accomplished by only five other men in history — Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Don Budge and Fred Perry.
Even Sampras told Tennis.com’s Pete Bodo on Sunday, “This puts him at the top, as the greatest player in my eyes.”
And Federer surely is, and not only because of the titles. The French was his 15th Grand Slam final in his last 16 majors. He’s reached 20 straight Slam semifinals. No one else has ever reached more than 10 straight semis.
He’s also a great ambassador for the game. With rain falling hard in Paris on Sunday evening, Federer remained on the court to happily pose for pictures with the grounds crew. He may be big-time but no one ever says Federer big-times anyone.
Beyond that, we also saw over these past two weeks the fire that yet burns within him. This wasn't a title won on his outrageous talent alone. This was one from the heart and the head. Roger the Dodger rallied from behind to win two five-setters over the final week on 27-year-old legs.
Then, beyond the obvious nerves he had to control to claim his first French title in his fourth try, he also had to deal with a crazy man running out of the stands to accost him in the second set.
That security somehow let this nut case close enough to attempt to put some zany cap atop Fed's head is an issue pro athletes everywhere will almost certainly discuss in the days ahead.
Federer’s own words concerning the event did little to remove the chill: “This guy, I don’t know, he looked at me and I was not sure what he wanted … That gave me a fright, just seeing him so close right away. It was a touch scary, yes. Looking back, it definitely threw me out of my rhythm a little bit.”
No wonder he told reporters immediately after this victory over both the sublime and ridiculous, tears of joy still moist on his face, “I can go on with the rest of my career in peace knowing that I don't have to worry about never winning Roland Garros.”
Yet he didn’t defeat the scariest ghost from his past, the player who has given him the biggest frights and frustrations of his life, the opponent who moved so close to him right out of the box and has thrown him off his rhythm more than anyone.
No, thanks to Soderling, Rafael Nadal wasn’t waiting for Federer at the end of this French finish line. Having won the past three French Opens, last year’s Wimbledon and this year’s Australia Open — beating Federer in all five of those finals, by the way — Nadal was overpowered by Soderling’s booming serves and ferocious forehands in the round of 16.
By the weekend there was even talk of Nadal missing Wimbledon due to knee problems, which might all but guarantee Federer his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam.
So much is Nadal said to be inside Federer’s head when the two meet that Bodo wrote that Fed and new wife, Mirka, should name the baby they’re expecting in August “Robin,” in honor of Soderling taking out Nadal.
Veteran tennis commentator Bud Collins added that Federer should put Soderling in his will.
Given this perception, it’s impossible not to consider the Nadal factor when evaluating Federer’s place in history. Let’s say Nadal — who just turned 23 — returns to further haunt Federer in future grand slam finals. Let’s say he adds the U.S. Open to the three majors he’s already won. And just to make this really fun, let’s say Federer finishes with more majors than Nadal, but with even more losses to him in major finals, where he currently trails Rafa 5-2.
If all that happened, would we still proclaim Fed the First and Foremost?
“You have to be fair to Nadal, too,” Sampras told media outlets on Sunday. “Rafa’s just in the beginning stages of his career, but he has a good record against Roger. So what happens in the next couple of years could be real interesting.”
It will almost assuredly be enlightening regarding the eventual legacies of both.
