(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Originally, this story emerged in anticipation of a French Open final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. After Federer finally defeated Nadal on clay at the ATP Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in mid-May, it seemed the clash would only intensify come this Sunday in Paris.
Nadal, the reigning four-time Champion, appeared invincible leading up to his quest to conquer Roland Garros for a fifth straight time. But after a shocking fourth-round loss, the first on Nadal's French Open record, the script for Federer has changed.
Federer, who some consider the best ever to play the game of tennis, has yet to add the clay of Roland Garros to his resume. This inability has left others skeptical of his place atop Tennis' elite.
Their reasoning: Unless Roger can win all four Slams at least once, he cannot be mentioned as the greatest ever to swing a racket.
Federer will tie Pete Sampras (with 14 total majors) with his next Grand Slam victory. Sampras never won the French Open neither. He never even made it to a final match.
Bjorn Borg, who dominated Wimbledon and the French Open with five and six wins respectively, never competed in the Australian Open finale and was defeated all four times he played in the U.S. Open finals.
In fact, only five Grand Slam winners have ever won all four slams (Emerson, Laver, Perry, Budge, & Agassi).
Similar to Tiger Woods' dominance of golf, Federer held the No. 1 ranking for a remarkable 237 consecutive weeks, smashing Jimmy Connors' previous record of 160 weeks.
Still, without this elusive title, his career remains incomplete (perhaps even in his own mind).
If Federer does manage to make a trip to this year's French Open final, his fourth consecutive one, it'll extend a record streak of 19 Grand Slam finals. He'll become the only individual to appear in every Slam final at least four times.
Furthermore, with Nadal now out of the way, Federer has a golden opportunity to cement his place in Tennis immortality.
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