sportsfanIQ

Originally, this story emerged in anticipation of a French Open final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.  After Federer finally defeated Nadal on clay at the ATP Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in mid-May, it seemed the clash would only intensify come this Sunday in Paris. 

Nadal, the reigning 4-time Champion, appeared invincible leading up to his quest to conquer Roland Garros for a fifth straight time.  But after a shocking fourth-round loss, the first on Nadal's French Open record, the script for Federer has changed. 

Federer, who some consider the best ever to play the game of Tennis, has yet to add the clay of Roland Garros to his resume.  This inability has left others skeptical of his place atop Tennis' elite. 

Their reasoning: unless Roger can win all four Slams at least once, he cannot be mentioned as the greatest ever to swing a racket. 

Pete Sampras (14), though, whom Federer will tie with his next Grand Slam victory, never won the French Open neither.  He never even made it to a final match. 

Bjorn Borg, who dominated Wimbledon and the French Open with 5 and 6 wins respectively, never competed in the Australian Open finale and was defeated all four times he played in the U.S. Open final.

In fact, only 5 Grand Slam winners have ever won all four slams (Emerson, Laver, Perry, Budge & Agassi).

Similar to Tiger Woods' dominance of golf, Federer held the #1 ranking for a remarkable 237 consecutive weeks, smashing Jimmy Connors' previous record of 160 weeks.  

Still, without this elusive title, perhaps even in Federer's mind, his career remains incomplete. 

If Federer does manage to make a trip to this year's French Open final, his fourth consecutive one, it'll extend a record nineteenth Grand Slam final, and he'll become the only individual to appear in every Slam final at least four times. 

Furthermore, with Nadal now out of the way, Federer has a golden opportunity to cement his place in Tennis immortality. 

If he can hoist the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the first time, not only will he equal Sampras' mark of 14 Grand Slams, he'll finally remove the doubt that rests in the minds of his critics.

If, on the other hand, Federer were to lose in the final, his chance to capture the final of four legs may shrink further, leaving the naysayers to press on.   

To make matters more complicated, a Federer win over anyone besides Nadal could potentially leave an asterisk - both in his mind as well as others unwilling to claim him the "greatest."  

Despite it all, the reality is that a winner defeats those placed in front of them.  The skeptics must accept this truth; the perfectionists - which Federer appears to be - may have a harder time.  

Rafael Nadal has proven to be his personal hurdle toward #1 all time.  After losing three consecutive French Open final matches to Nadal, and having him end his Wimbledon streak of five consecutive titles, then losing earlier this year in the Australian Open final to Nadal, one thing is certain: Roger Federer was determined to take his torch back on Nadal's home turf.  

Not only would it have shown the Tennis world he can win them all, it would have demonstrated he could do it via the path less chosen - over Nadal.  

Now, come Monday, if Federer is French Open Champion, he'll have to accept a consolation prize of "greatest all time."