All hail Federer after career Grand Slam feat

Tracy Austin

Roger Federer’s long quest is over. It’s buried in the dirt of Roland Garros. In his 11th attempt, Federer won his first French Open, and in doing so he made history becoming only the sixth man to have won all four majors, and equaling Pete Sampras’ record for most majors won in a career (14).

Federer’s achievements make him the greatest player of all-time. But leaving Paris a champion was a daunting challenge. He had lost the last three French Opens to Rafael Nadal, but Nadal never made it to the second week, stunningly upset last Sunday by Robin Soderling.

Once that happened, all eyes turned to Federer, and it was Soderling on the other side of the net in the final. With all that was at stake for Federer, he was playing under the most pressure of his career. But he seemed to handle that pressure with ease, the same ease he displayed in making quick work of Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4.

For Federer, every match after Nadal was beaten was like a final for him. He had become the favorite, and rightly so since next to Nadal, he’s the best clay-courter on the tour. He became the story of this major, and he had to deal with a ton of attention. It was not an easy second week at Roland Garros for Federer, but he survived it, not giving in to the pressure. Maybe that’s why he has been to 20 straight Grand Slam event semifinals, and 15 of the last 16 finals at the majors.

Four times in six matches prior to the final, Federer had to come from behind to win. Against Tommy Haas, he was five points from defeat. But in the final, Federer played his best tennis of the fortnight, His serve, and his forehand were magnificent, and he effectively employed drop shots. All elements of Federer’s game stood out. He never allowed Soderling to get settled.

There was some rain over the last 24 hours in Paris, and rain fell during the match. That made the court slower, and that helped Federer as it neutralized Soderling’s power somewhat. Soderling’s serve clearly came up lacking.

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Federer’s cause was also helped by Solderling playing in his first Grand Slam event final. Prior to this, he had never been past the third round at a major. He looked tight at the start, he didn’t move well, nor did he serve well. He played nothing of the sort of match he did against Nadal, when he was super aggressive, and booming serves, even second serves.

A lot of things came together to make Federer finally the champion on red clay, not the least of which was Soderling knocking out Nadal. And Federer beating Nadal in the clay final at Madrid just prior to the French Open raised the confidence of the Swiss.

Federer had tears in his eyes at the end. They were tears of excitement over what he had accomplished, and tears of relief after making it through all the pressure, and winning a major that will go a long way to defining his great career.

Although Federer didn’t say it publicly, there had to be some doubts in his mind over whether he would ever be king of the red clay. In last year’s French Open final, Nadal dominated him. And this season, there were signs Federer might be slipping. He smashed a racquet in Miami, frustration seldom seen from the Swiss. And Madrid was his first tournament win of 2009. So coming into Roland Garros, it was like Federer had more negatives than positives regarding his chances of winning the title.

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Federer had to dig deep, but once again showed the heart of a champion. He’s also a champion who is one class act. What a gracious person Federer is, both personally and professionally. He just handles everything so well. And when he cried you could see how much this meant to him, and fans enjoyed the moment with him.

Along with his winning his first Wimbledon in 2003, Federer said this was the most satisfying victory of his career. It was a win achieved like so many of his others, with grace, just a beautiful thing to watch. Federer had a day he has dreamed of for so long. And good for him because he certainly deserved it.