Roger Federer targets French Open title defence
Roger Federer is more familiar with returning to a Grand Slam to defend his title than any man before him, but to do so at the French Open this year will be a new experience for the world No. 1.
Roland Garros is, after all, Rafael Nadal’s kingdom, a point the Spaniard proved by winning three consecutive finals against Federer at the clay-court major between 2006 and 2008.
For three years the Swiss star could do nothing but watch on, his runners-up reward in hand, as Nadal took a trademark bite out of the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
It was the one major crown that, with Nadal’s dominance at Roland Garros, looked set to elude Federer as he desperately sought a career Grand Slam.
Then, last year, Robin Soderling pulled off a feat that no man had done before and defeated Nadal at the French Open, clearing the way for Federer to become just the sixth man in history to complete a career Grand Slam, and the first since Andre Agassi did so in 1999.
The Roland Garros monkey off his back, Federer should step onto the red clay in Paris feeling just a little lighter, and that’s a sentiment the player himself expressed to the media in Miami during March.
"I'll be doing everything in my power to retain my title,” Federer said. “In previous years I put myself under real pressure, but this time it will be different. I'll be able to concentrate on my tennis and enjoy my stay, which wasn't always the case in the past."
It may have been mission accomplished for Federer last year, but though the pressure has been released somewhat you can bet that won’t prevent the 28-year-old throwing everything and the kitchen sink at winning back-to-back titles at Roland Garros.
Sure, Federer might have, at the time, described his victory over Soderling in last year’s final as the best win of his career but there has to be some part of him that suspects winning a French Open title after defeating Nadal in the final could taste even sweeter.
And as the 16-time Grand Slam champion completed his clay court preparation for the French Open by reaching the final of the Madrid Masters 1000 (where he lost to Nadal), one can’t help but get the feeling that, once again, he’s timed his run perfectly for a tilt at a Grand Slam title.
If the Fed Express needed any more motivation to win a second Roland Garros crown, then the chance to move one step closer to becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to completing a calendar year Grand Slam (Laver also won all four majors in a calendar year in 1962) should provide an added incentive this year.
As ever, there appears to be only one man standing between Federer and the title in Paris, and that’s Nadal, who is the only player to have defeated Federer at the French Open from 2005 onwards. The problem is that the King of Clay has managed to do so for four out of the past five years.
There’s every chance Nadal will be waiting for Federer in the final again in 2010 – barring another upset loss by the left-hander or the world No. 1 himself – so the defending champion will need to find a way to defeat his greatest rival over five sets in Paris if he’s to extend his reign as French Open champion.
If Federer can do that then, record breaking victories included, it may just be the greatest win yet in of one of the most decorated careers in tennis.
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