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PARIS: Pete Sampras tried 13 times to win a French Open and 13 times
he failed.
Roger Federer, who is surely destined to surpass
the American’s 14 Grand Slam titles, is about to embark on his
10th attempt to solve the intricate mysteries of the Roland Garros
clay.
However, it’s the world’s number one’s
misfortune that his campaign to go one better than Sampras has
consistently run into the Spanish brick wall that is Rafael Nadal,
the triple champion.
Federer has lost the last two finals to the
21-year-old.
The 12-time Grand Slam title winner, is also
enduring, by his lofty standards, a poor season having lost his
Australian Open title, suffered glandular fever and been beaten by
Nadal in the finals in Monte Carlo and Hamburg.
“Many people say that this year is the
beginning of the end. What do you think?” asked a reporter when
Federer was knocked out of the Rome Masters in the quarterfinals by
Radek Stepanek, a man best known for being Martina Hingis’ ex-fiance.
“Next question, please,” fired back Federer.
But the questions are piling up.
The 26-year-old’s loss in Hamburg took him to
a 1-8 record against Nadal on clay while, in both the Monte Carlo
and Hamburg finals, he surrendered healthy leads.
If that wasn’t worrying enough, there is the
growing threat posed to both men by Novak Djokovic, the world’s
No. 3 and the best player in the world in 2008.
The Serbian, who took Federer’s Australian
Open title and showed his ability on clay with the Rome trophy, only
turned 21 on Thursday.
“Federer has just two or three years to
realize his dream,” said Sampras, when asked if the Swiss will
ever win Roland Garros.
“He has the game to do it but things need to
fall into place for him.
“Once he hits 29 or 30, the Djokovics and
Nadals will be in their prime and it’ll become a little
tougher,” added Sampras, whose best showing at Roland Garros in 13
attempts was the semifinals in 1996.
Federer, who has six claycourt titles in his
54-trophy collection, is nothing if not positive.
“I’m pushing Rafa and I have the feeling I
can beat him if I play the right way,” he said.
“I feel like my defensive skills are getting
better and better. To compare to other years, I always feel like
I’m bringing more game into my claycourt game over the years, even
though it was good before. I just think I’m a more clever
claycourt player today.”
Twelve months ago, Federer had Tony Roche in his
corner as coach; twelve months on, he has turned to Jose Higueras,
the grizzled Spanish claycourt specialist who guided Jim Courier and
Michael Chang to victory.
Both Americans believe it’s a smart decision.
“Jose understands the mind of a champion,
knows how to deliver information tactfully and knows how to prepare
a player as well as anyone you’ll find,” said Courier, the
winner in 1991 and 1992.
Chang, who was just 17 years and three months
old when he was champion in 1989, also thinks Higueras can be a key
figure.
“Jose’s knowledge of the surface and Spanish
tennis can bring a new understanding of clay court tennis to
Roger’s game,” said Chang.
-- AFP
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