Roger Federer Wins Paris Masters for the First Time, Avenges Wimbledon

There was always an idea current, during Roger Federer's heady days of dominance, that winning the French Open would make up for all the losses he had had to suffer there. He had won five Wimbledons from 2003-07, but still couldn't quite get past the hurdle of the Parisian terre-battue.

That all ended, of course, in 2009, when he clinched that career-defining maiden Roland Garros title.

Something similar happened yesterday, when, more than two years since he last won in Paris, and nearly two years since he last won a grand slam, Federer claimed the Paris Masters 2011.

It was something on a smaller scale, for sure, and little to be compared to the other titanic achievements of his illustrious career. But as it goes with Federer nowadays, any victory makes history, and this one was no different.

For one, he faced his first final at the Paris Masters, but one which completed a remarkable set that had begun nearly 10 years ago, with his first Masters Series final at Miami in 2002. No one, ever, has made it to all the finals of the Masters Series circuit; but here, Roger the Extraordinary made history even before swatting a forehand against Jo-WIlfried Tsonga.

Unfortunately for the Frenchman, Federer did come out swatting forehands, and he did just about everything right to emerge the undoubted champion for 2011, 6-1, 7-6. For the most part it was a sublime performance. Perhaps it wasn't as dazzling as his dismantling of Tomas Berdych the day before.

He faced break points—something the Czech had failed even to muster—for many a service game, had to fend off deuces and tight moments. He was holding serve even where he probably shouldn't have, while Tsonga was losing his when he probably should have held.

The truer story was told in the second set, when both men held serve unflinchingly to force a tiebreak. Tsonga, it should be said, held close to Federer; but only close. He could not surpass.

When the right moments came the Swiss master raised his game appropriately. At 5-6, and serving for a tiebreak, one was held spellbound by a succession of ferocious forehands, inside in and inside out. Some have said that Federer lacks the power of others, but there it was unleashed, effortlessly and irrepressibly.

It was a return to the old days, simple and short. Paris 2011 will be the sequel to many a late-season title charge that Federer pursued in the past, and in fact was highly reminiscent of the last few months of his annus mirabilis in 2006. Tsonga was chalked up just as Federer had so many other victims—Gonzalez, Hewitt, Henman and Roddick, of all.

Victory over Tsonga, and Berdych in the semis, and on both occasions so convincingly, must surely be satisfying for Federer. He is not vengeful, but Paris has now avenged Wimbledon. Where he had always won, on the lawns of Wimbledon, he had lately been dethroned by these two very foes—in 2010 by Berdych in the quarters, and this year by Tsonga in the same round.

They were both, no doubt, crushing defeats in some sense. Federer will likely only achieve an apt measure of retribution in defeating them there sometime in the future. But where they had defeated him at a tournament he had always won, he had now defeated them, at a tournament he was almost never going to win.

At least, it took nine appearances before he did so. Federer isn't done yet—one would know that when, even at 30, he is achieving firsts in his career.