Federer's place at the top of the tennis pantheon (From The Northern Echo)

Federer's place at the top of the tennis pantheon

11:07am Thursday 9th July 2009 in

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AT the start of the season, Roger Federer had to achieve two things to conclusively establish himself as the greatest tennis player of all time.

One, he had to win the French Open, in order to become one of only six players ever to have completed a clean sweep of all four Grand Slams.

Two, he had to come through an epic in order to prove he possesses the tenacity and passion demanded of a champion as well as the style and skill.

In the space of four weeks, the Swiss supremo has done both. Now, his place at the top of the tennis pantheon cannot be in doubt.

By passing Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major victories, thanks to wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the statistics are in Federer’s favour.

But this month’s dramatic double has been about more than simply adding another two trophies to the cabinet.

Last month’s Paris success was a thrilling rebuttal to those who claimed the 27-year-old was incapable of performing on clay.

Not consistent enough from the baseline, claimed a raft of continental Europeans.

Not patient enough to construct a claycourt rally, chimed the detractors who cited the lack of a French Open title as evidence of Federer’s Achilles heel.

Suddenly, the doubters are doubters no more. True, Federer’s path to the title was smoothed by an injury to Rafael Nadal, but the re-crowned world number one was forced to battle back from injuries and illnesses of his own last year and, in the absence of his greatest rival, he could only beat what was put in front of him.

By winning in Paris, Federer joined a list of tennis’ true greats. After almost a decade of trying, he finally did something that Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Sampras never managed, and conquered the clay.

Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge, Fred Perry and Andre Agassi are the only other players to have won all four Grand Slams, but none were as dominant or as long-lasting as Federer.

Paris in springtime sealed the deal, but the Swiss still travelled to SW19 with a question to answer.

Does he really have the stomach for a fight? When the chips are down, and his natural flair is insufficient to put his opponent to the sword, does he possess the instincts of a street fighter?

Nadal does, as evidenced by last year’s thrilling five-set final, a match that seemed to posit the Spaniard’s belligerence in direct contrast to Federer’s elegant grace. Federer might be a brilliant puncher, but would he always be destined to miss out in a brawl?

Thanks to last weekend’s sensational success over Andy Roddick, we now know the answer to that question is ‘No’.

By coming through 16-14 in an unforgettable final set, Federer proved he can scrap with the best. He failed to unsettle Roddick’s serve, struggled to establish a dominance at the net and missed with an uncharacteristically high number of passing shots.

Yet he still found a way to win the match.

As the shadows began to lengthen, and Roddick’s game refused to buckle, Federer searched deep within his soul and summoned the will and determination required to succeed.

When he looks back on his career, he will no doubt highlight other Wimbledon victories as his favourites. His first triumph, courtesy of a straight-sets win over Mark Philippoussis, was sublime. His 2005 success, in which he clinically dismantled Roddick to win 6-2 7-6 6-4, was emphatic in the extreme.

But it will be 2009 that truly defines his greatness. No one can perform to the peak of their powers every time they walk onto the court.

But the best of the best can still ensure they emerge victorious in the end.

WITH that in mind, where does that leave Andy Murray? The draw seemed to have opened up for him in the absence of Nadal, but he still found someone too strong.

There is no disgrace in losing to Roddick, as the American’s performance in the final showed, but it is telling that Murray was unable to match Federer in terms of character and resolve.

He didn’t do a lot wrong in his semifinal, but at crucial moments in the game, he didn’t seem to trust himself enough to succeed.

Federer has learned to convince himself that he will not get beat. Murray still seems to regard defeat as a possibility.

DEFEAT is certainly a possibility when it comes to Newcastle and Sunderland’s battle to host matches in the 2018 World Cup, despite Peter Beardsley’s assertion that both cities could be selected.

It looks like one or the other, and most critics seem to believe Newcastle are in pole position, thanks to St James’ Park’s greater capacity and the city’s superior facilities in terms of amenities and hotels.

That is as maybe, but behind the scenes, Newcastle United are an unholy mess. Niall Quinn, on the other hand, is charm and control personified. If I was the Football Association, I know which one I would choose.