Bud Collins

MELBOURNE, Australia - Roger Federer’s straight-set victory over Fernando Gonzalez in the Australian Open men's singles final was confirmation that the very best player in the world is still getting better.

To my mind, I think he has a stronger chance than ever of becoming the first man since his hero Rod Laver to complete the elusive Grand Slam by winning all four major titles in one year.

Already aiming for the red clay
In winning his tenth grand slam title, Federer is the first man in history to win three majors three or more times.

He is also the first man since Bjorn Borg won Wimbledon in 1980 to go through a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set.

Yet Federer is already a more complete player than Borg. Unlike the silent Swede, Federer is never chained to the baseline, and he is showing us more and more of what he can do all the time.

He is coming to the net more, trying new things, and constantly tweaking his game. I think he is doing that with Roland Garros in mind.

Winning the French Open remains the only gap on his resume, and he knows he came very close last year when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final. Winning in Paris is a huge goal, and not the least of the reason why is because it keeps alive the possibility of a calendar Grand Slam -- which would be the first since Rod Laver accomplished the feat in 1969.

Will Nadal remain a nemesis?
We were talking about the Grand Slam this time last year, but I think Federer's chances of achieving it have improved in the last twelve months.

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Not only has he got better all around, but he has improved on clay in particular, whereas Nadal, his clay-court nemesis, has been showing signs of vulnerability in recent months.

I think people are beginning to work out how to play Nadal --Andy Murray did here and so did Gonzalez, who beat Nadal in the quarterfinals after Murray had softened him up.

As Federer said, there may come a time when Nadal doesn’t make the Roland Garros final and even if he does, he may find Federer tougher to beat than ever before.

Stefanki's coaching make a difference
Federer was never really worried in Melbourne. I thought Gonzalez was terrific and it was great to see Federer pushed a little. Gonzalez did everything he could, but came second to one of the greatest players of all time.

In its way, the final was the best men’s match of the tournament in that there were two guys out there showing everybody how wonderful tennis can be if you play it the way they do -- with lots of spin, a one-handed backhand, moving the ball around.

MEN'S GRAND SLAM SINGLES TITLES Aus French Wim U.S. Total Pete Sampras 2 0 7 5 14 Roy Emerson 6 2 2 2 12 Bjorn Borg 0 6 5 0 11 Rod Laver 3 2 4 2 11 Roger Federer 3 0 4 3 10 Bill Tilden 0 0 3 7 10 Andre Agassi 4 1 1 2 8 Jimmy Connors 1 0 2 5 8 Ivan Lendl 2 3 0 3 8 Fred Perry 1 1 3 3 8 Ken Rosewall 4 2 0 2 8

I will be keeping my eye on Gonzalez now because he is a reformed player. Larry Stefanki has done a terrific job coaching him, and Gonzalez has done a terrific job responding to that coaching.

Apparently Gonzalez was never pushed this hard by a coach before, but clearly he is willing to allow himself to be pushed be Stefanki.

I think Gonzalez has great potential for the rest of the year. He will be up to No. 5 in the world rankings, and now that he was proved that he is not Senor Forehand anymore, the rest of the field had better be on their toes.

The run he had in Melbourne could be repeated elsewhere and I expect him to make a name for himself in 2007. He can leave Melbourne knowing he played well enough to force Federer to greater and greater heights.

Headed towards being the greatest ever
I am still not ready to say that Federer is the greatest player of all time just yet because I think he needs to win Roland Garros before I will say that and he also needs to prove that he has longevity.

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That said, I think triumph in Paris is moving closer, and I expect him to be around for a long, long time.

He moves so beautifully, like a dancer, that he is less likely to get injured than most players and he is showing no signs of getting bored with winning.

He still is extremely driven to play his best tennis match after match, no matter the tournament. And that's also a sign of true greatness.

I may not be ready to call him the greatest just yet, but let’s just say I’m warming up my voice.?

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