(posted by OMDQ)

It never fails. Just when you think Roger Federer might be on the ropes, might actually be human (arguing with the umpire? Openly showing frustration? Who IS this guy?), he turns it up a notch and takes command - just buckles down and blows the opposition off the court.

He didn't have an easy time of it today against Rafael Nadal, who battled gamely for the first four sets and raised the possibility that today would be the day that the great champion finally fell on his most dominant surface. By the fifth set, however, it was clear that Federer was the better, stronger player - at least today.

Nadal's reality is that he is both a great and an unlucky player. In any other era, against any other set of players, he would almost certainly own more than the three Grand Slams (all French Open titles) currently on his resume. But he plays now, against a guy who is constantly updating his case as the best player ever (at least on any surface other than clay), which means that Nadal's own place in history will be tough to judge when the time comes.

With Federer, on the other hand, we know what we have: if not the greatest player ever, then clearly the best of his generation.