Rafael Nadal is the undisputed king of clay, a player who has won more than anyone on the surface, showing the 14 trophies he has so far added to his collection at Roland Garros. The left-handed man from Manacor conquered the Parisian clay from the moment his eyes fell on the Musketeers’ cup, with few, very few, who could give him battle in his kingdom.
The Iberian had different rivals, and although Federer lived the best stage of his professional career, he could not defeat his great rival of the time on the slow surface. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met in the latter stages of Roland Garros between 2005 and 2008.
Rafa defeated Roger in the 2005 semi-final and went on to go on to three straight final victories in the years that followed to keep the Swiss away from a Grand Slam on the calendar. Nadal failed to win his fifth Roland Garros title in 2009, leaving the door open for the Basel native to chase a crown that had so far eluded him.
Rafa fell to Robin Soderling in the fourth round, and Roger met the Swede in the title clash. Federer took advantage of his opportunity and claimed a 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory in one hour and 55 minutes to secure a calendar Grand Slam at 27 years old.
Speaking of the final, Nadal admitted that he did not want Roger to win it and get further away from him in the race for a Major. However, the Spaniard was emotional after the match, happy for Roger and his incredible achievement.
Federer hit 16 aces, and his first serve worked like a charm. He allowed her free points or a good position for a backcourt attack, leaving Robin unanswered. Soderling broke serve four times and was unable to spoil Roger’s party despite a valiant effort in sets two and three.
The Swiss only lost 17 points on serve, avoiding both break points and increasing the pressure on the other side of the net. Federer had twice as many winners as his opponent, dominating close and mid-range exchanges to clinch the win and join the tennis immortals.
Roger clinched the opening set in the blink of an eye, barely dropping a point on serve and scoring breaks in games one, three and seven to make it 6-1.
King Roger has transcended tennis
During his interview on the set of the Daily Show in the United States, Roger Federer wanted to convey a message that refers to the debate on the GOAT (the greatest player of all time).
“We live in a very statistics-based world. We like our stats, and we like breaking records, knowing who’s the greatest, and all those things. So you just won a Grand Slam, or you just became world number 1 and the first question is ‘how long do you want to stay world number 1’? Or ‘When are you going to win the next Grand Slam? Or ‘What’s your next win?’ Instead of enjoying it. It’s a bit of a problem, I think.”
