Roger Federer vs .....................

This is what John McEnroe said about the Wimbledon 2008 men's singles final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal:
"There was so much drama and, we have to say thanks so much to Roger. There was class from both players and their levels were incredible. It was the best final ever. People talk about my matches with Bjorn, but this was better. It was an unbelievable effort from both players. I've never seen tennis like it. I don't know how Nadal did it because Roger was playing brilliant tennis after the first two sets. At 2-2 in the fifth set, I didn't know who was going to win. To say this match was magnificent is an understatement. Federer has dominated on grass in the past few years but now he has someone to equal him. Will Federer win Wimbledon again? I don't know."

No one could have summed it all up better in these few words.

Now the question that arises is not only whether Federer will win Wimbledon again or whether Federer will win any Grand Slam in the future or whether he will break Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, but also whether he will be able to retain the no.1 spot for long. The only answer to these questions is that we'll have to wait and see.

If you ask me, Federer still has the capability to win atleast 3 more Grand Slam singles titles with which he would win a record 15 titles. But with other players (Nadal and Djokovic) not heeding the earlier aura of invincibility around Federer which had innumerably demoralised potential Grand Slam winners such as Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick apparently even before the match started, there is no doubt in my mind that winning those 3 more titles is not going to be a piece of cake as it was for him in case of most of his 12 earlier titles, but it would be a really hard earned meal. And finally when he decides to close the curtains on his illustrious career (which for the sake of tennis, shouldn't be too soon), we will come to know who Roger Federer really is: one of the all-time greats, or someone who has even surpassed that level. As far as the French Open is concerned, I feel that Fedex would be derailed until Nadal doesn't feature in it (because after what happened at Roland Garros final, 2008 I feel that Rafa is too good to be beaten on clay by any of the current frontline players, no matter how much I dislike believing it).

But all of this wouldn't make a difference to me if every future Grand Slam final is even half as good as the Wimbledon 2008 men's singles final. (And I would be hoping that somewhere in the future, Marat Safin is able to win a Grand Slam or two, out of the blue).