After several years of struggle, tears and turmoil, Roger Federer has won the one title which had prevented people from naming him the greatest tennis player ever.
Winning the French Open title may not help him regain the Number 1 spot in the ATP rankings right now, but in the line-up of tennis stars, he has leapfrogged over several others like Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and even Rod Laver, to be acknowledged as the greatest exponent the game has ever seen.
His 14th Grand Slam title came on a surface where he has had to chew clay for the past few years, losing 3 successive finals to Rafael Nadal, which had put a question mark over his ability to dominate on the slow surface. Like Connors, McEnroe and Sampras before him, it seemed Federer would fall short of this one title to establish his all-round genius.
The spectacular rise of Nadal over the past couple of years had added greater scepticism to Federer’s grip over men’s tennis. But, after a year of bitter struggle with Nadal, other pretenders to the throne like Soderling, and his own demons, Federer has come back strongly to reestablish who the King is.
His sublime genius remains tennis’ greatest attraction. Roger is once again the man to beat.
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