R. Federer v. R. Nadal
This is assuming that Nadal gets past I. Ljubicic, whom he leads 6-4, 5-1 at the time of this typing.
Federer will be playing in his first French Open Final, and a lot of history is on the line for him in the match. If he wins he will be just the 3rd player in history (D. Budge, R. Laver) to hold all 4 grand slam titles at the same time. He would also become just the 6th player in history to win all 4 majors in a career. He would get the French monkey off his back, as it is the only major he lacks. The French gets more difficult as a player gets older, and the window on Federer winning it is closing more as each year goes by, IMO.
Nadal (just 19 yrs old), on the other hand, is a BRILLIANT clay court player. By winning his first rd match in this French Open he broke G. Vilas' nearly 30 yr old consecutive clay court match victory streak record of 53. Vilas was a freaking war horse, and for Nadal to eclipse his record says a LOT about his guts and willpower. Nadal has Federer's number on clay, although they have had some very close ones.
On paper, this is one of the truly GREAT tennis match-ups in recent memory.
I'll take Nadal.
Side note: Roger Federer is the world's greatest athlete that 'nobody' knows. If he was an American he would be a MEGA star. This guy is a phenomenal talent. He has the total game. Silky-smooth, great court coverage, and big shots off of both wings, and the serve. He's got a quiet demeanor, he doesn't stir shit up, and he is from Switzerland. For those reasons, non-tennis fans don't know that much about his greatness. I have never seen a more complete player. Never seen a player who is more of a joy to watch.
Federer will turn 25 in August, and he currently holds 7 grand slam titles. Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 is on the radar screen. It is fashionable to say that he will break that record. I LOVE Federer's game, but it says here that he won't break Pistol Pete's record. Pete had a bigger serve, a bigger forehand. He was able to blast his way to major titles (particularly on the fast Wimbledon lawns) on the strength of his serve. Federer lacks the blunt FORCE on his serve that can carry him along if his movement, for instance, starts to taper off with a little mileage on the legs. I say he'll win about 4-5 more though.
Nadal wins his 2nd French Open on Sunday.
