Roger Federer’s campaign to become only the sixth man to win all four grand slams faces another gruelling examination at the French Open, a tournament where his mediocre record shames his standing as one of the greatest players of all time.
In six visits to the clay-court showpiece, the 23-year-old world number one has never got beyond the quarterfinals and has lost in the first round three times.
Last year, his hopes of ending that embarrassing run ended in the third round where the banana-skin draw of triple champion Gustavo Kuerten turned out to be a booby-trap as the Brazilian cruised to victory in straight sets.
Twelve months on, Federer is the tournament favourite again, but there is a host of dangers lurking with teenager Rafael Nadal, defending champion Gaston Gaudio and 2004 runner-up Guillermo Coria, as well as world number two Andy Roddick and evergreen former champion Andre Agassi all in contention.
Richard Gasquet and Marat Safin, the only two men who have beaten Federer this year, cannot be discounted from upsetting the Swiss who, nevertheless, warmed up for Paris by defending his Hamburg Masters title last week without dropping a set.
It also stretched his record to 19 successive winning finals.
”To come through without losing a set was very nice, and it gives me great belief that I can also do better at the French Open,” said Federer.
”I have a good feeling, but feelings don’t matter much once it starts. It’s the real deal over five sets for two weeks. I cannot think about aiming for the title. The last few years have been too disappointing for me, and I really have to focus on the early rounds.”
Of all the potential threats, it is 18-year-old Nadal who is the most dangerous, with the muscular Spaniard having clinched five titles this season including back-to-back Masters on clay in Monte Carlo and Rome, beating Coria on both occasions.
But the Spaniard, who has missed the past two Roland Garros showpieces because of injury, is keen to play down the expectations, especially after painful blisters meant he had to skip Hamburg.
”I am not the favourite for the French Open. It is my first Roland Garros,” he said.
”I don’t know whether I will play good or bad at the French Open. But my objective is to improve my tennis. I need to improve my serve, my volley, my slice and if I can improve these shots, I think I can win a lot of matches.”
With a good draw, French teenager Gasquet could also thrive.
He demonstrated his potential again last week by going through the qualifiers to reach the final in Hamburg, where Federer took revenge for his defeat at the hands of the Frenchman in Monte Carlo.
But there are question marks over his temperament in front of a demanding crowd who have gone 22 years without a home winner; Gasquet has never got beyond the first round in three attempts.
But Federer believes Gasquet can shrug off the domestic pressure.
”He’s dangerous. He’s got the tools, it’s a matter of consistency. That’s what I was struggling with at first and I think he was doing too,” said Federer.
Nadal and Gasquet had yet to celebrate their first birthdays when Agassi made his Roland Garros bow in 1987.
The 35-year-old American, whose victory here in 1999 made him just the fifth man to win all five Grand Slams, can’t be ruled out, especially if the weather is warm, which wasn’t the case in 2004 when he crashed out against French qualifier Jerome Haehnal in the first round.
In 16 visits here, Agassi has got beyond the quarterfinals nine times and demonstrated his appetite by reaching the semifinals at the Rome Masters two weeks ago.
Without a title in nine months, Agassi still believes he can live with players half his age.
”On clay, I have been considerably pleased,” he said. ”I have got considerably comfortable out there. I have started to believe I can play well out there.”
In 2004, Gaudio won a thrilling final coming back from a two-set deficit and saving two match points to beat Coria in a three-hour-31-minute marathon, and the Argentinian is happy to come quietly into the tournament.
He already has three clay-court titles to his name in 2005 with Vina del Mar and Buenos Aires in February followed by Estoril in April.
Seven of Coria’s eight titles have come on clay, but he is without a victory in 2005 and question marks persist over his stamina.
Kuerten would be a popular champion, but after two hip operations, he is not the player he was, while no one knows for sure how fellow crowd pleasers Roddick and Safin will fare.
Roddick has won four American clay-court titles, but looks like a novice when he plays on the European slow courts and has never made it beyond the third round at the French Open in four visits.
Safin, who won the Australian Open title in January, has seen his season plummet into a tailspin, failing to survive the third round in any tournament since. — Sapa-AFP