Roger Federer needs Rafael Nadal. History might not care, because if Federer beats Robin Soderling in the final of the
French Open Sunday, that will be his 14th major title. He will tie Pete Sampras' record, and will have done something Sampras never did: win the big one on red clay.
,
Federer can only beat the player standing on the other side of the net. And the tennis world will be buzzing about King Roger, and his crowning, if he wins. But deep down, everyone will feel it: Something will be missing.
Nadal.
"No, not really," Federer said. "Not really."
But you have played him in the French final three years in a row.
"Four years. Four years."
Federer advanced to the final Friday when he beat Juan Martin Del Potro, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. An awfully tight match against a guy that the general sports fan has never heard of, I know. But don't worry. Del Potro is the real deal.
He's the fifth-best player in the world, just 20 years old and 6-foot-6, thin, strong and athletic. He's basically a basketball player with a racquet in his hand, and he has a big future.
That just goes to show Federer's problem, though. He beat Gael Monfils in the quarters, demolishing a darn good player. Then he fought past Del Potro, but no one notices that, or counts it.
The Main Event in tennis is Federer-Nadal. It's last year's Wimbledon final. It's the greatest individual rivalry in sports. If Nadal had beaten Soderling last year at Wimbledon, it wouldn't have been the same, either.
See, Nadal needs Federer, too. And in the past year, since the rivalry became so big, that's who he has beaten to be the best.
So will the French Open itself be enough for Federer? I don't think so.
But honestly, we'll have to watch and see how it feels.
"I just congratulated him and wished him good luck," Del Potro said.
"I said everybody wants him to lift the trophy at the end."
Federer lost the French and Wimbledon final to Nadal last year, and the Australian this year. He won the U.S. Open, but Nadal -- on his worst surface, hard courts -- had lost earlier and wasn't there.
But while Federer's fans were just thrilled to learn that their guy could still win majors, they missed Nadal, too.
No, Federer says. And sure, he has had his head knocked off by Nadal enough times to feel some relief without him. But every champion wants a shot back at the guy who beat him.
Pete Sampras never won the French, but was considered the best ever because of all the majors. And because he beat Andre Agassi. He was better than Agassi early in his career, and they traded places occasionally in the middle. And in the end, Sampras beat Agassi in the U.S. Open final.
This talk matters only if Federer wins, of course. He has beaten Soderling nine times, and never lost to him. So lose to this guy, at this moment, and the doubts will be there about Federer.
The best-ever argument, or the why-can't-he-do-it argument. One match can mean so much in tennis. That's Federer's pressure.
Soderling is talented, but has never been consistent. He knocked Nadal out on Sunday, and he has worked to get into serious shape. He's having one of those dream tournaments. The funny thing about Soderling is this: While every tennis coach, and every kid is trying to wing as much topspin as possible to be like Nadal, here came Soderling with the gameplan to beat him: Take any short Nadal spinning shot, step in and crush it.
Flat. If he beats Federer, too, then there are going to be coaches scampering in panic.
I would like to know where Federer's head is now. He has been perfection flawed since that Wimbledon final. We've seen him smash racquets, fall apart to top players, cry in Australia.
He has been getting better the past several weeks, but even at the French, his game has simply deserted him several times, briefly.
The truth is, Nadal, for the first time, has lost his perfection now, too.
On Friday, Nadal pulled out of the Queen's Club tournament, a grass court warmup for Wimbldeon.
"I have been having some problems in the past months with my knees, that's no secret, that did not allow me to compete at 100 percent always," he wrote on his website. "I need to work with my team to recover well, work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. I hope I can be ready to compete by then."
Nadal's knees have been an issue, and he has been criticized for playing too much. But, just guessing here, I wonder if Nadal's problems might be partly in his head. Maybe he needs to step away for a week or two for a mental break.
Nadal should be strong enough to come back, but with a loss on his best surface, word is now out that he can be beat, even on clay. His opponents won't be finished before the match starts anymore.
Federer knows about this. Nadal knocked him there last year. He has finally accepted what's happening, and has been changing, working on being more aggressive, and on mixing in dropshots. He underwent grueling preparation the past few months, with four-hour on-court sessions, serving and running and sliding sessions on the clay.
The idea was to simulate a five-set French Open final, and do it over and over.
"It's been a good clay court preparation,'' he said.
No, it was a Rafa Nadal preparation.
Now, he gets Soderling instead. That's not what he needed, not who he needed.
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