Nike also salutes Roger's 14 grand slam titles

I laughed even harder at this Nike commercial which someone posted on YouTube. And it features a cute ___--well, I'm not spoiling things so you better watch it yourself--whom I've never considered cute at all. Federer is ever so much more good-looking. Ha ha ha... [Oh, my mom's gonna kill me for this.]

NetJets Commercial pokes fun at Roger's trophy haul

I had a good laugh when I saw this ad which was aired by NBC right after match point at the Roland Garros men's finals last Sunday. It's obvious they taped this some time ago in anticipation of the great event. I hope they didn't have to wait too long to finally run it on television.

Mission accomplished, at last!

I thought I'd drop a short note about our beloved Roger Federer finally fulfilling his dream of adding the Coupe des Mousquetaires to his already large collection of Grand Slam trophies. Not to mention equaling Pete Sampras' haul of 14 Grand Slam titles and completing a career Grand Slam. Talk about hitting three birds with one stone!

The Swiss champ dismantled opponent Robin Soderling in straight sets 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 in the finals yesterday to win the one Grand slam title that has eluded him for the longest time, thanks to longtime rival, Rafael Nadal's incredible feats on clay in the past four years.

A clearly relieved Federer said of this historic win:

I think that now and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace, and no longer hear that I've never won Roland Garros.

Now that that gap in his already impressive resume has been filled, one can't help but look forward to the rest of the season and the years to come.

All hail, King Roger the Great! Long live King Roger the Great!
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images (Top) and AFT/Getty Images (Bottom)

Mission still unaccomplished

Roger Federer here looks utterly dejected after seeing his quest for a first title at Roland Garros effectively crushed this year by Rafael Nadal in straight sets 6-1 6-3 6-0.

The world number one's error strewn game simply could not hold up under the relentless shotmaking of the Spaniard who with this latest victory has matched Bjorn Borg's record of four straight French Open titles.

Federer who has twelve grand slam titles to his already illustrious name will just have to put this dismal loss behind him and consider that the great run he had to the finals--for the third year in a row no less--was no mean feat. Then there is of course the coming grass court season to look forward to and where he can continue working towards a thirteenth grand slam title and a record breaking sixth straight crown at the prestigious All England Club in Wimbledon.

It is there after all where the grass is much greener for him, literally and figuratively, than it has ever been in Paris.
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Roger's road to the finals

World number one Roger Federer has made it to the finals at Roland Garros for the third straight year. Likewise, he will be battling his nemesis Rafael Nadal for the only grand slam title missing on his trophy case.

• Federer played a masterclass of a tennis match in his third round match against Mario Ancic. The Swiss was apparently in superb form as he dismissed the Croatian, 6-4 6-4 6-2.
• In the next round, Federer met a tougher challenger in France's Julien Benneteau who managed to put some pressure on the Swiss in the last two sets of their three-set battle 6-4 7-5 7-5.
• His next opponent was Fernando Gonzalez who previously defeated him on an indoor carpet court during last year's Masters Cup in Shanghai. Federer had a shaky start as Gonzalez clinched the first set on a double break. But Federer bravely fought back to repeatedly frustrate and eventually wear down the Gonzalez, physically and mentally, to take the match in four sets, 2-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.
• In the semifinals, Federer brought to a halt the amazing run of another Frenchman, Gael Monfils, who put up a brave fight for a place in the finals. But the tennis great from Switzerland was simply too good, especially at the crucial points of the match, and set up a showdown with Nadal via a four-set victory, 6-2 5-7 6-3 7-5.

Roger's road to the finals indeed has been relatively rocky compared to that of Nadal who has shown his utter dominance on the red stuff by winning all his matches this year at the French Open in straight sets. Yes, Federer has had some periods of brilliance but in my opinion--I'm sorry to say--will not have enough consistency to stop the three-time Roland Garros champion from winning a fourth straight title.

Of course, I hope Federer will prove me completely wrong.
Photo credit:Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Still en route at Roland Garros

After two rounds, twelve-time grand slam champion Roger Federer remains en route to a thirteenth grand slam title and first at Roland Garros.

There was talk that Federer would have his hands full in the first round since he was drawn there against big-serving Sam Querrey. Happily for Federer fans, the Swiss was virtually untroubled as he dispatched the 6ft 6in American in straight sets, 6-4 6-4 6-3.

In the next round, Federer went up against Albert Montañes of Spain. That matched was interrupted by rain which made Federer struggle with his rhythm and lose the opening set in a tie-break 5-7. But that first-set loss apparently only served to spur on the Swiss to step up his game. He bounced back spectacularly, surrendering only a single game in the next two sets (6-1 6-0), and wrapped up the victory with a 6-4 score in the fourth set.

Next up for the world number one is Mario Ancic who himself is playing some of his best tennis this clay court season. The Croat, who also came down with mononucleosis last year, is known to be the last person to have defeated Federer at Wimbledon.

Note:
I'm afraid my posts about Federer's matches at the French Open will be relatively short since the sports cable channel which is available in our part of the country and carried live coverage of Roland Garros in the past years has opted not to buy the rights this season. I can only watch the live scores available online (oh, bummer!) as well as listen to Radio Roland Garros which isn't much help, by the way, as the people there rarely comment on the ongoing match. Talk about live "coverage"!
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images