It was an unexpected surprise to see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet again in another French Open Final. It may have been a surprise to have this matchup in the final, but there was no surprise in the final result. Nadal beat Federer in four sets to win his sixth French Open crown. Rafael Nadal is truly the “King of Clay.” With his win at the French Open, he tied Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open titles. Federer and Nadal met for the fifth time at the French Open and the fourth time in the final. This latest match up was by far was the best effort by Federer in any of the French Open finals against Nadal, but he fell short. Many experts said winning this tournament would be Federer’s greatest victory ever. However, it was the same old story with these two men in a final. Federer had his chance to take control of the first set and win it, but Nadal battled back to win taking that set. Nadal looked to steam roll Federer, but Roger found another gear forcing a tiebreak in the second set, but lost that set as well. It looked like Federer was going to comeback like he did in the epic Wimbledon final of 2008. After Federer took the third set, he was poised to set the early tone in the fourth set, but Nadal took the wind out of his sails cruising to victory.
Nadal has won 10 majors and he is only 25 years old. Can he keep this pace up and pass Federer, who set the record of 16 major titles. Even though Federer lost in the final, he proved he could play with Nadal on clay. He also showed that he can add to his record of major titles because Federer only got better throughout the two weeks in Paris. With Wimbledon coming up, no doubt Nadal is the favorite, but you have to wonder if Federer playing like he did at the French Open has a great shot to win at Wimbledon.
Roger Federer in the semifinals ended Novak Djokovic’s 43-match game winning streak. Federer pushed Djokovic to the limit and he got a win nobody thought he could do. Federer was 0-5 against his two biggest competitors this year, but he found a new gear to big Djokovic. Djokovic should take something out of this final and that is you cannot let up during any set or else Federer or Nadal will take advantage of that lapse. Federer was the last man to beat Djokovic during the ATP World Tour Finals in November. How fitting he book ends the Djokovic winning streak. Federer fought not only Djokovic, but the fading light on Friday night. Federer lost arguably the greatest match of all time against Nadal at Wimbledon, but found a little redemption against Djokovic. Federer flew under the radar the entire tournament. He played the role of spoiler, because it was Djokovic and Nadal, not Federer who was suppose to be in the final.
The question of who is the greatest of all time is open for debate. For many, Roger Federer is the greatest because he has set the record for majors and for the most consecutive semifinals made. However, Rafael Nadal is making a case for the greatest player. Nadal leads Federer in head-to-head series 17-8 and he has beaten Federer again in another grand slam final. If Federer is suppose to be the greatest of all time, how come he cannot beat his greatest rival right now. Each player has their own case and that is why we love to debate who is the best in any sport.