Roger Federer won’t be distracted by his place in history when he faces double French Open champion Rafael Nadal in what could be a classic Roland Garros title showdown tomorrow.If Federer wins a first French Open, he will become only the third man, after Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969), to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. Should Nadal triumph, the 21-year-old Spaniard will emulate Bjorn Borg by winning three successive Paris titles and become just the second man in 93 years to achieve the feat at the sport’s most demanding Grand Slam.Federer already has 10 majors in his collection but has known nothing but heartbreak here with Nadal beating him in the semi-finals in 2005 and in the final last year. Furthermore, Nadal has never lost in Paris, racking up 20 wins in 20 matches. He has also looked the more impressive this time round, reaching his third successive final without dropping a set. By contrast, the world number one has been stretched by Tommy Robredo, who won a set in the quarter-finals, as well as a gutsy Nikolay Davydenko in the last four.Federer won the first set in last year’s final before being swept aside and the omens for the 2007 Roland Garros were not looking good earlier in the clay court season.The Swiss lost again to Nadal in straight sets in the Monte Carlo final and suffered an embarrassing early exit in Rome at the hands of unheralded Italian Filippo Volandri. He then split with coach Tony Roche as his clay season threatened to implode.But in Hamburg, Federer finally got the better of Nadal for the first time on clay and brought to an end the Spaniard’s record 81-match winning streak on his favourite surface. It was his fourth career Hamburg win, proving to himself again that he can win on clay.Live on Star Sports — 6:30 pmMULTIPLE CHAMPIONS AT FRENCH OPEN6 Bjorn Borg (1974-75, 1978-81)4 Henri Cochet (1926, 1928, 1930, 1932)3 Rene Lacoste (1925, 1927, 1929); Mats Wilander (1982, 1985, 1988); Ivan Lendl (1984, 1986-87); Gustavo Kuerten (1997, 2000-01) 2 Gottfried von Cramm (1934, 1936); Frank A. Parker (1948-49); Jaroslav Drobny (1951-52); Ken Rosewall (1953, 1968); Tony Trabert (1954-55); Nicola Pietrangeli (1959-60); Manuel Santana (1961, 1964); Rod Laver (1962, 1969); Roy Emerson (1963, 1967); Jan Kodes (1970-71); Jim Courier (1991-92); Sergi Bruguera (1993-94); Rafael Nadal (2005-06)What is at stake for FedererRoger Federer can accomplish a lot by beating Rafael Nadal on Sunday, perhaps the least of which is simply winning the French Open. Also on the line is: a career Grand Slam, a non-calendar Grand Slam, and a shot at a true Grand Slam. But for that he has to stop a man who is a double defending champion and has never lost a match at the red clay. The question is If 25-year-old Fedex fails to figure out Nadal in this final, how many more chances will there be to add a French Open title to his collection? If we scan the list of past French Open men’s singles champions, over the past 33 years, there have been only six champions who were 26 or older. Nadal said: He has more pressure at the moment than me, because what is at stake for him is probably more difficult than just winning a final. What he’s aiming at is winning a Grand Slam. As for me, I just want to win the final of a Grand SlamFederer said: I don’t want to think about it too much—winning the four titles in a row. I want to be focused on this very specific match and win Roland Garros. And that would open the door to the Grand Slam in one year—the four titles in one year
