FedEx Delivers Yet Again

This is not intended to be one of my standard posts about a Grand Slam tournament, updating you on the latest action. Rather, this post is purely a tribute to Roger Federer. Even though he officially owns the record for Grand Slams with 15, and is recognized by many people as the best tennis player in history, I still don't think he gets enough credit. Oh, and just in case you weren't sure, the picture above is of Federer winning his first ever Grand Slam, which came at Wimbledon in 2003, the beginning of his Reign of Terror, I mean dominance.

As we all comfortably slept through last night, Roger Federer was doin' work. Facing off against 6-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, considered by many to be playing his best tennis ever right now, Federer dropped the first set 6-2, despite holding a lifetime 12-2 record against Davydenko coming into the match. Federer didn't just battle back in this quarterfinal match... he came back with a vengeance, going on to win the next three sets, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5, sending him into his 23rd STRAIGHT Grand Slam semifinal. Please stop reading this for a few seconds and think about that stat. I truly think that's by far the most impressive current streak in sports. 23 IN A ROW. And that's in the biggest, most pressure-packed tournaments of them all. If Federer is once again able to make it to at least the semis at the French Open in May, that will mark 6 straight years of Grand Slam Semi Finals including the name Roger Federer. That's unheard of... in fact that's way beyond unheard of, to the point where I really don't have a strong enough word to describe it. FOR 6 STRAIGHT YEARS, HE'S BEEN ONE OF THE FINAL FOUR PLAYERS LEFT IN EVERY MAJOR TOURNAMENT. That's a record by far. Nobody has ever come close to doing what Federer has done, and probably never will. That type of consistency is off the charts.

Think about the rest of the top players we have today. Some really great players, right? Well, of the rest of those top guys, including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydendko, Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling Fernando Verdasco, and Jo-Wilfried, Tsonga (the rest of the men seeded in the top 10 of the Australlian Open, in order), how many of those guys have even been to two straight semifinals? None. A big, fat zero. None of the rest of the top 1o even have a current streak of at least two in terms of Grand Slam semifinals appeaerances. It's just unbelievable what Federer has done.

So how about Rafael Nadal... hands down a great player. He's won 7 Grand Slams, being only 23-years-old, and we all know the type of success he's had against Federer. BUT, and this is absolutely nothing against Nadal because I'm a huge fan of his, the consistency he's had doesn't even come close to marveling what Federer has done. Sure, you can cite injuries as a huge reason for why he hasn't done much since winning down under last year, but even so, that's yet another reason why Roger Federer is so incredible. Even at 28-years-old, which is actually old by tennis standards, this guy has never been hurt, and always manages to show up and compete. He's truly inspiring.

Wait... there's more. Somehow, I'm not sure how, but somehow, Federer is not cocky at all. In fact, he's arguably the classiest guy in sports. I'm still a major Tiger Woods supporter, but we all now know what he's done, and criticism of his attitude on the course and lack of maturity has now come out. Well... have you ever heard any such thing pertaining to Roger Federer? Neither have I. He's beyond classy, even though at this point, he has every right to walk around like he rules the world. And, from a tennis standpoint, he really does.

The combination of Roger Federer's physical skills and mental strength are simply unmatched by any other athlete, let alone tennis player. My apologies to Pete Sampras, who was a fantastic tennis player, but coming from a fellow American, Roger Federer is hands down the greatest tennis player to ever play the game.