- REUTERS
World No.1 Roger Federer trains ahead of the French Open last week. The Open starts today.
PARIS (AP):
ROGER FEDERER pays attention to what people think.
He hears what's said about his game, his legacy. He also considers what's said about Pete Sampras, the player to whom his skills, drive and body of work are most often compared.
And here's what remains with Federer, what motivates him to work harder and - seems impossible, right? - improve the tennis game that's made him No. 1 in the rankings for the past 121 weeks and counting:
If he never does manage to win the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament he's yet to conquer, Federer will leave himself open to the same sort of criticism levelled at Sampras for never mastering the red clay of Roland Garros.
"Many people take away things from Sampras because he never won the French, saying his career was not complete, which I totally don't agree with. I think he had the best career of any player ever, you know? So to say his career is not complete, that is not fair," Federer said last week.
OPEN FOR ATTACKS
"But it still leaves the door open for attacks on him. Because they say he was maybe the best on grass, hard courts and indoor, but not the best on clay. I really don't think it's fair. That's why I really hope one day I can win the French and be one of the elite group who won all four."
When play starts at the French Open today - it's a 15-day event for the first time - Federer will be trying to become the sixth man with a career Grand Slam. He'll also be bidding to win his fourth straight major championship, following Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open, which would make him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all of the sport's top titles simultaneously.
THINKING ABOUT THE OPEN
Which is why, Federer said: "I've been thinking about the French Open since the end of January." That's right, from the moment he won the Australian Open for his seventh Slam title, Federer has been working on improving his conditioning, doing extra running, grinding through longer rallies in practice, visions of Paris - and Pistol Pete, perhaps? - in his head.
Sampras won a record 14 major titles, but only once made it as far as the semi-finals at the French Open. Slowed by the clay, his big serve and forehand couldn't accumulate as many easy points as on grass or hard courts.
"The surface was a little more difficult for me, and clay will be the toughest surface for Roger," Sampras said in an interview earlier this year. "But if things go right, if the weather's right, I think he can win it. He's such an intimidating figure right now."
To collect that non-calendar Slam, though, Federer might very well have to beat the player who's his chief nemesis: Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard with the over-the-knees white shorts, the bulging biceps and bruising game. Oh, right, and a 53-match winning streak on clay that ties Guillermo Vilas for the longest in the Open era.
Nadal, who turns 20 next week, will try to become the youngest player since Bjorn Borg in 1974-75 to win consecutive French Open titles.
NADAL THE PERFECT FOIL
The kid known as 'Rafa' - even Federer calls him that - provides a perfect foil for the Swiss. Federer plays a stylish, all-court game highlighted by spectacular shots that no one else would attempt. Nadal plays a counterpunching, power-based game that's all about imposing his will. Federer rarely betrays a shred of emotion. Nadal is never too far from a celebratory uppercut. Heck, Federer's a righty, Nadal a lefty.
Consider this: Over the past two seasons, Federer is 1-4 against Nadal (including a loss in the 2005 French Open semi-finals), and 118-3 against everyone else.
After beating Federer in a thrill-a-minute, five-set Rome Masters final this month, the No. 2-ranked Nadal felt compelled to say: "He's definitely, at the moment, better than any other player."
Federer blew two match points, then added some spice to the emerging rivalry by complaining that Nadal was getting coaching tips during the match, a no-no on tour.
"Rivalries drive this sport. You get two guys like that who are contrasting in style and personality, it's the best-case scenario," said Jim Courier, himself a ball-pounder who won the French Open in 1991 and 1992.
A victory at the French Open would not give Federer a true Grand Slam, as Laver himself is quick to note. But a non-calendar Slam would be impressive, nonetheless.
"The Grand Slam is what it was intended for initially, and that was all four tournaments in a year," Laver said in a telephone interview from Carlsbad, California.
Still, Laver acknowledged, "Any time you win one of the Grand Slams, you've accomplished a lot. And that's the goal of many players on the tour - to win one of these events. So to win four in a row is one tremendous effort."
Federer is aware of how infrequently that happens. But winning at Roland Garros right now is not as important to him as winning at Roland Garros at some point. Because as long as that title is his when he retires, it won't matter in which year it came.
"It would definitely be a dream come true to win the French," he said, pausing. "Any time in my life."
