Roger Federer finally had his tryst with destiny. For someone whose game is flawless this trophy should have been his eons back. However the powerhouse from Mallorca,Rafael Nadal had other ideas. Nadal stood between Federer and his destiny for four years.
Players never to have won the French Open like Sampras, Edberg, Becker, Mcenroe, Connors had a host of people beating them at the French. Players who were never heard of before and after their defeat of these greats took these great men for a ride at the show courts of Paris. True Mcenroe came within a whisker of winning in 1984 but could not last the distance against Ivan Lendl who till that Final had never ever won a Grand slam title. Edberg too was unlucky in 1989 when rookie Michael Chang ousted him in a shocking upset in five sets. Roger had been beaten by only one man in four years -Nadal from the semis in 2005 to the finals from 2006 to 2008. Federer had never played a five setter in Paris to make it either to the semis or the finals.Except for 2008 he was hardly tested in Paris till he ran into Nadal.
This year he played five-setters for a change. Tommy Haas and Del Potro took him the full distance. The final though it had its moments was by a large a one-sided affair. The center court playing even slower than usual thanks to the rain thus rendering Robin Soderling's power game a bit impotent.
Where does Federer go from here? Will he complete a calender Grand Slam ever in his career. He had his chances in 2006 and 2007 where he won 3 out of 4 and made it to the final of the other one. This year the road for the 'Great Slam is sealed' Next year he will be close to running 29...which is definitely old by tennis standards. But the genius of the man is such that with the monkey of the French off his back he may find resources to finally conquer the 'final frontier' which is winning all the four in the same calender year besides of course conquering his all-time bete noire Rafael Nadal. Exciting times ahead.
