Roger, Rafa, and Roland Garros

It's time, perhaps, to engage with the most pressing, and possibly the most crazy, question in tennis in our era (i.e. the era of the 10's): Will Roger Federer ever win at Roland Garros?

There may never be a more difficult question to answer. We might all say, in 10 years time, when Roger may have ended his career, never having ever won the French, that we lived in crazy times. Possibly the more accurate question would be: Will Roger ever beat Rafa at the French? How, we might think then in our crystal ball world, could such a talented, unbelievably gifted player, never have won Roland Garros? Or how might he never have converted all his finals attempts? I am just projecting into the future, and it is conceivable that Roger might win the French soon, if not, possibly this year. 

I have harboured, secretly, the ambition of seeing Roger win the French this year. No, actually, as almost all other Federerians might say, we have harboured such ambitions every year, since his reaching No 1. But there is something to be said, something exquisitely painful, to be said about watching the tantalising efforts of the Swiss maestro to reach, finally, the pinnacle of tennis glory—to succeed where McEnroe, Becker, Sampras, had all failed.

Let us just take a moment to think about what a victory at Paris for Roger, in whatever year, would mean, not only for him, but for tennis legacy. Roger Federer would, in the days following, most likely be hailed, almost unanimously, as the GOAT. He would equal the efforts of Agassi, in winning the Career Grand Slam, and in the efforts of the few in tennis history, including the said, in winning a slam on three different surfaces—Laver, most conspicuously. He would definitely have won 14, by that stage, if it should come to it that Roger never wins another slam until a Roland Garros title. For Roger there might never be a greater moment in his career. It might even serve a greater satisfaction than his beloved Wimbledon.

We all know that Roger continually emphasizes the unique nature of victory at Wimbledon, but we may never ever truly know the significance of victory at Roland Garros for the Mighty Fed. From such a point on, I suspect, the tennis world, and the world watching tennis, will look upon Roger with a renewed admiration. He would have answered all the questions. He would have achieved, finally, the Herculean, and at one stage (as it seems right now), almost Sisyphean task of conquering the clay where it really matters. 

But isn't this fairy tale scenario missing something? Ah, yes, the Rafa. It is my belief, as a wholehearted Federerian, that the only truly glorious, and meaningful way of winning the French, would be in defeating, and overcoming, the bull from Mallorca. The grand question, and we all know it is several tournaments, and even then, six rounds (should Roger and Rafa stay at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively) ahead, is what Roger might ever do to win the French in beating Nadal. What, firstly, will Rafa look like coming into the French this year?

He will be looking, firstly, to complete the ambition, which we all know he will never blurt out, of winning the Grand Slam. He would have the memories of the drubbings he inflicted on all his opponents, roughly after the second or third rounds, when his game really started clicking. He will possibly have the greatest memories of his life come swamping back, in a wave of almost untouchable, invincible, happiness. He will relish the memory of having floated and glided, absorbing the vain assaults of all on his unconquered citadel, with Nadalesque, as may ever be the only way in which one describes his defensive acumen, ease.

We, as the tennis world, will all await his No. 5. It will bring him tennis glory of his own, being within two slams of the Grand Slam, and overtaking the record of Borg at the French. In both scenarios, one is reminded, Roger will have been outdone—never having won the Australian and the French in the same year, and never having outdone any of Borg's records (he would, had he won Wimbledon and then won in the first round of his year's Wimbledon to outstrip his consecutive wins at SW19).

What can we all say about Rafa at the French? It's just unbelievable. I shudder to think that he should lose sets there in the next few years. People say that he will suffer injury, and fall victim to his high-octane style of tennis, but I'm inclined to believe that if the guy can come back from a five hour, fourteen minute semifinal, to beat a guy who's the equal, if not better, than him on hard courts, having had more rest than him, in another five sets, nothing, truly is going to stop him at a Grand Slam event. 

We come then to the forlorn figure of Roger Federer, that other half to this rivalry cake. I am sorry if I appear to be living in the world of 2006-07, when Rafa and Roger were really the only ones worth talking about (pre-U.S. Open '07, that is) in these Grand Slam situations, because, evidently, this year's Roland Garros will certainly be slightly more competitive, with the likes of Murray, Djokovic, Tsonga, and countless others (in my estimation, however, these guys would be living on neighbouring planets, but Rafa, and maybe Roger, would be living in different galaxies).

But Roger will be, maybe, the most lonely of figures at this year's Roland Garros. He may not have a coach by this stage, and might not even be able to relate, with the eternally burning questions of GOAT status, to these other guys, who would only have minor, at best, ambitions. He will have remembered the humiliation, and the despair, of last year's final, and last year's tournament (losing a set in the second round?!). More so the final. What can losing 4-0 and 5-1 leads at Monaco, and Hamburg do to you? That final. Truly, as he might have thought, "it's killing me". 

At the back of his mind, apart from the other six, and potentially just as difficult challenges, would definitely be Rafa. Losing to the same guy more than twice the amount of times he's beaten him, and four times at the same tournament—it's gotta hurt. It is at such a fragile point in his career, and mental state, that we all Federerians would dearly love to help him, and give him some encouragement, anything. It's an almost totally negative scenario, entering the French, for Roger. Which is why it might be just about the most positive scenario. 

Roger will enter the French as a definite no-no for the title, even among Federerians, one thinks, and maybe even by me. It all depends, of course, on whatever happens between now, and Roland Garros. One has to remember, of course, that I am only writing from a Grand Slam, majors point of view, in a pretend universe where Roger and Rafa are going to be the only ones this year whose ambitions to get to major finals, and skills sets, in these biggest of moments, are going to be the greatest. So this is all still very airy-fairy, very lets-say.

But say we are in this scenario—my bet would be on Rafa, and not Roger, feeling the pressure. Maybe, for once in his still princely, albeit regalising, career, he might be feeling the pressure of expectation, and of being so perfect. That's only because, of course, he was that perfect last year. Absolutely unbelievably, crazy-good on clay.

Roger will almost, one thinks, should be get into that hypothetical four in a row Roger Rafa final, be in the same position, psychologically, as he was a the end of last year's final—the underdog. We have all thought about how this might have affected his achievements in the slams, because that was the position he was in, really, for much of last year, and coming, even into Wimbledon and the Wimbledon final. He was only the player of the moment in those precious few weeks after the Open, and until his loss to Murray at Madrid. It hasn't worked that well. Roger wants to be the best, and thinks he is the best. Which is why not being the best has only caused him to become dejected.

Maybe the "golden years of Open tennis", as John McEnroe has described Roger's reign as No. 1, were not the best times to train himself for moments like this. What we will see, and would love to see, as perhaps the only truly consummate ending to his struggle for greatness, is his rebounding, redounding, and reparation from such psychological scenarios of, really, inferiority (not just against Nadal, but increasingly against people even like Murray and Simon).

We have not talked about the actual way, however, in which we would all like to see Roger, tactically and strategically, approach a match against Nadal at the French. That would be for a different occasion. But there is no doubt that, coming into this year's tournament, Roger will be feeling piqued, and probably something much worse. Regardless of what happens between now and the opening of the gates of Roland Garros, if, of course, Roger doesn't decide to Borgesquely quit, this will no doubt be the scenario we are all waiting to examine. Hopefully Roger, however, at the end of the day, plays more freely, and more uninhibitedly. It is the tentativeness, really, that is the ultimate problem, stemming from so many other problems. Maybe we will see a classic tournament, maybe Roger's crowning moment. We shall see.