Best Ever? Don't Roger That Just Yet

Roger Federer finally wins French Open Sunday, tying Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles; but comparing him to "Pistol Pete" still isn't as easy as it looks. (Photo courtesy of ESPN)

The king of the tennis world did something his predecessor could never do, yet still is not being granted the throne yet. What did Roger Federer do wrong?

Definitely nothing yesterday, as Federer dismantled Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 to win the French Open. Federer's elusive first victory at Roland Garros this weekend was the 14th Grand Slam title of his magnificent career, equaling the mark set by Pete Sampras, the 1990s version of Federer who never made it past the semifinals in Paris. Federer also became just the sixth man ever to capture the career Grand Slam, and first since Andre Agassi did it a decade ago, ironically also doing it in Paris.

However, critics and fans alike are still reluctant to anoint Federer as the greatest of all-time, primarily because of two factors: The competition that he has faced, (or lack thereof in some circles) and his record against his biggest rival, Rafael Nadal.

Of Federer's Grand Slam wins, not many have come against big names, (Mark Philippoussis, Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando Gonzalez don't exactly send shivers down most spines) and his record against Nadal is only a mere 7-13. Compare that to Sampras, who had the likes of Agassi, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Goran Ivanisevic and Yevgeny Kafelnikov among others, not to mention Boris Becker in his prime, to contend with on an annual basis. All Federer has aside from Nadal are an inconsistent Andy Roddick, and young upstarts such as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, both of whom are still a year or two away from reaching their prime.

If Federer is able to defeat Nadal at Wimbledon in what should be a much-anticipated rematch of their epic finals encounter a year ago, (a match John McEnroe called the "greatest he had ever seen") then maybe the Swiss sensation may finally get the respect he deserves. Until then, however, the jury is still out until he can get the monkey off his back and beat Nadal once more.