King of Clay

You have to feel for Roger Federer.

Here he is, just two Grand Slam singles titles away from equaling Pete Sampras’ record of 14 and already widely considered by peers and pundits alike as one of the greatest to have ever played the game.  Only, like Sampras, he’s been unable to complete that most elusive of achievements in his sport, winning all 4 versions of the titles a.k.a. the career Grand Slam.  Only five men have ever done it (Andre Agassi being the most recent), and only two have ever achieved it in a calendar year (Don Budge in 1938 and the legendary Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969).  It’s probably been the underlying reason why, despite both being in the argument among the best tennis players of all time by virtue of their record-breaking accomplishments, Sampras and Federer can never be definitively affirmed as THE greatest.  That their failure is mirrored in their inability to triumph in the French Open does not ease the pain that Federer must be feeling after falling again to a familiar nemesis in this year’s finals.

Rafael Nadal, the second-ranked player in tennis for the better part of 3 years, has just defeated Roger Federer, in turn the number one ranked player in tennis for the past 4-plus years, in straight sets (6-1, 6-3, 6-0) to claim his record-equaling 4th straight French Open title.  The lopsided score accurately reflects how dominant Nadal has been on clay against everybody he’s faced — including the top ranked player in the world.  How good has he been in the French Open?  Try 28-0, as in, he’s never lost a single match here since he started playing.  He’s also had Federer’s number to the tune of 8-1 when they meet on clay.
At least Pete had the benefit of understanding that he essentially sucked at clay, only reaching as far as the semifinals in the French Open once (in ‘96).  With no one really dominating the surface then like what Nadal is doing now.   Roger, on the other hand, has been a finalist for the past 3 years and has always only been thwarted when he’s ran into someone who many are already calling the greatest clay court player of his generation, and possibly of all time.

So Federer is at a crossroads, his dominance in the tennis world seemingly starting to slip.  With his uncharacteristic losses earlier this year, partly due to his bout with mononucleosis, but also because of the emergence of third-ranked and current Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and the ever improving all-around game of Rafael Nadal.  His march towards being crowned the greatest of all time just got a little bit harder, and a lot less sure.  And with Nadal just celebrating his 22nd birthday a few days ago, expect Federer’s chances of getting that breakthrough win in the French Open to get even more challenging.  The king will probably be holding court for a long time.

PS It’s been a weekend of upsets, none greater than when overwhelming favorite Big Brown failed to nail U.S. horse racing’s Triple Crown by — get this — finishing dead last at the final leg in the series, the Belmont Stakes.  A 1-4 favorite before the race (better than even money) and undefeated in his first five starts, Big Brown lost to 38-1 long shot Da `Tara.  An embarrassing result considering how much trash-talking his trainer said about victory being a sure thing.  Must have made a few bettors very happy though.

Also, Jim McKay, of Wide World of Sports fame and the voice behind the iconic phrase “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat” (who doesn’t recall seeing that video montage played as an intro, with the skier crashing across the slope?) passed away yesterday.