Roger Federer Better Win the French Open with Nadal Out

Roger Federer may be on the verge of a historic weekend, as he's in grasp of completing the career grand slam by winning the French Open at Roland Garros and tying Pete Sampras with a record 14 career Grand Slam titles.

It wasn't but a year ago when Roger Federer was routinely hailed as the best tennis player not just of his generation, but of all time. But after finally being bested on what amounted to his home turf of Wimbledon last summer by Rafael Nadal, Federer's unthinkably long and uninterrupted reign as the top tennis player in the world came to an abrupt end.

A string of further losses, not just to Nadal but to other young and fearless foes such as Novak Djokovic, helped speed his historic fall from grace. It wasn't enough that Federer was outgunned or out dueled by his counterpart, but the media labeled him as mentally beaten, afraid and intimidated by the game of Nadal. How the world can hail someone as the best of all time one month and label him as outclassed and afraid the next is beyond me, and is a story for another day.

The story for today is that Federer is the last remaining big gun in the French Open field. The path is clear for him to finally ascend the mountain of Roland Garros, a place he has never won, a place where Sampras only once reached the semifinals. Nadal and Djokovic have both been eliminated from play. His toughest remaining challenge, if he faces him, may be Robin Soderling, the tall Swede who bested Nadal with his power game.

With his path to the French Open championship cleared up, Federer must seize the opportunity and win this weekend. Not winning now, while not permanently relegating him to second place status at Roland Garros, will only make the road in the future that much more difficult. He's not getting any younger, and the media swarm isn't getting any kinder.

If Roger Federer does succeed and win his first French Open title at Roland Garros, will the victory be as sweet or as meaningful as it would have been if he had conquered Nadal along the way? The critics have said that Federer must be thrilled that Nadal is out of the field, but that once again undermines his status and ability as a world class athlete.

The best want to face the best and while Federer has to realize that his path to a French Open title is clearer now than ever before, he most certainly would have preferred to take Nadal out along the way. There is no lack of confidence in Federer's game and there's also no lack of respect for Nadal. Facing him and beating him, if he did, would have made the victory that much sweeter and more meaningful.

The sports world is filled with stories of victors who for one reason or another didn't have to meet their largest adversary en route to the win and as a result never got the credit they deserved. This should not be case if Roger Federer goes on to win the French Open this weekend.

Let's not forget that in the tournament right before the French Open, Federer faced off against Nadal on clay, and won. If they had met in the finals at Roland Garros, he would have faced he same exhausted Nadal he bested a few weeks before, and the same one that would go on to be bested by Soderling.

For Roger Federer's sake, I hope he wins the French Open this weekend at Roland Garros, gets the monkey officially off of his back and gets the credit he deserves for the victory and for his renewed and rightful status as one of the best men's tennis players of all time.