14 and Counting

**Apologies for the long absence from the world of On The Fence Sports. It seems life, work, and the books are all conspiring together to keep me away from posting.

The guy finally has achieved his goal of tying the unthinkable, 14 grand slams that Sampras achieved through his career. Congratulations are in order for Federer for, finally, winning the French Open. This story has been covered thoroughly through the world of sports but has anyone really talked about the "other side" of the story? What other side? Well, how about that famous guy who took his #1 spot from him, Nadal.

The whole 14 grand slams is a great story and I know Federer is satisfied with taking the title but if I was him I would still have a little feeling inside me, "do I really deserve this?" Just think about how many years and finals appearances where he finished behind Nadal at the French Open. Nadal is the real deal when it comes to the clay and if I was Federer I wouldn't feel complete unless I beat him at the French Open...finals, semis, or any match at the French.

Don't get me wrong, winning a grand slam is nothing to sneeze over but when it comes to the French Open, in my eyes, Federer needs to beat Nadal on the championship route to be considered a champion on clay. Just think about Nadal winning on grass at Wimbledon.

There is not much for me to say other than, he is the 2009 French Open champion and one grand slam away from breaking Sampras's grand slam record. There is an asterix beside the win at the French, not the same kind of asterix that should sit beside all the steroid abusers in baseball, because Federer lucked out and watched Nadal fall before reaching the finals.

Remember the Bulls before and after Jordan? The teams who took down the Bulls and won the NBA championships didn't really beat the Bulls.