Six Is Sweet

Nadal is slowly cementing his legacy with
the all-time tennis greats.

Sunday night in Paris, France was a little more magical than usual for the No. 1 tennis player in the world. Rafael Nadal won his record sixth career French Open title defeating his longtime rival Roger Federer in four sets, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1.

    The win tied him with tennis legend Bjorn Born for the most career wins at Roland Garros. Born, who many consider to be one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, was also able to win five consecutive Wimbledon titles during his career compared to Nadal's two, which did not happen to come in consecutive years.

    Nadal continues his unbelievable dominance of arguably the greatest tennis player in history. The Spaniard is now 17-8 in his career head-to head matchups against Federer including a 6-2 advantage in Grand Slam finals. Nadal is now 5-0 against Federer at the French Open and 45-1 overall at the event. His only loss came in 2009 when he lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth-round on a court, he had never really been challenged on. Oddly enough that would be the year Federer captured his only French Open title of his career thus far.

    For Nadal, it is tenth major championship of his career tying him with American Bill Tilden for sixth on the all-time list. Federer is the all-time leader with sixteen of his own, but at twenty-nine and ranked as the third best player in the world he might need to increase that total with Nadal just turning twenty-five.

    The question will be if in fact Nadal can stay healthy to achieve those heights. The southpaw has had ongoing knee injuries for quite some time causing him to miss major tournaments, most recently at last years Australian Open. Federer would go on to win that tournament completing his career Grand Slam.

    Injuries might be the only hinder between Nadal and Federer's all-time Grand Slam mark. As for his continued dominance on clay, the record speaks for itself. "He plays better against the better ones and that's what he showed today," said Federer, who ended Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay back in 2007. "He's a great champion, on clay especially."

    This is a story of man and his surface.

41-1

Djokovic looked lost at times against
Federer.

The streak has finally come to a close and it couldn't have come at a worse time. Novak Djokovic started off the 2011 season with one of the most remarkable streaks in tennis history winning his first forty-one matches, second only to tennis legend John McEnroe's streak of forty-two in a row to start the 1984 season. That all came to a halt Saturday when Djokoic was defeated by the world's former No. 1 Roger Federer in four sets, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the French Open semi-finals.

    Djokovic had an overall 43-match winning streak before his loss Saturday at Roland Garros dating back to last season. Not only does the loss knock Djokovic out of the French Open, but it also sees him squander a golden opportunity to claim the World's No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal.

    Djokovic was vying for his first finals appearance at the French Open and if he would have done just that, Nadal would have ceded his No. 1 ranking to the the native of Serbia.

    As for his match against Federer, Djokovic didn't seem comfortable from the outset, slipping and sliding across the classic clay-court at one of the most historic venues in tennis. The matches first set between the two went to the first of two tiebreakers, both won by Federer, taking the wind out of Djokovic's sail and sending him home earlier than expected.

    For Djokovic it's the third time in the last five years he has lost in the semi-finals at the French Open. He has only been crowned a Grand Slam champion twice in his career, both coming at the Australian Open including one earlier this year as apart of his 41-match winning streak.

    This marks the third time in Federer's career he has ended a prestigious winning streak. At the 2001 Wimbledon tournament and only nineteen years old, he ended tennis great and his idol Pete Sampras's 31-match winning streak at the All England Club. Sampras was the four-time defending champion of the tournament at the time. In 2007, he ended Nadal's 81-match winning on clay at Hamburg and now has taken down Djokovic.

    Federer will now face Nadal in the French Open final on Sunday, it will be the eighth time the two have met in a Grand Slam final, with Nadal currently holding a 5-2 edge over Switzerland sensation. It is a blessing for Nadal that Djokovic was unable to reach the finals as the he has defeated the Spaniard in their last four meetings.
  
    At the young age of twenty-four and his powerful two-handed backhand one of the best in professional tennis, Djokovic may be entering the prime of his career with a new streak waiting in the wings.