The Missing Piece

Although Roger Federer found success on the biggest arenas of the world, it took him some time before he eventually managed to conquer Paris. His struggles in the French capital are legendary. For years, the Roland Garros title eluded him. He finally completed his Grand Slam collection in 2009 when a magical run enabled him to get his hands on the precious 'Coupe des Mousquetaires'. The other big Parisian event was also missing from Roger's resume, as prior to this year, the Paris Indoor was the only ATP Masters 1000 in which he didn't reach the final. Last year, in what has been his most successful campaign, he surrendered 5 match points before succumbing to Frenchman Gael Monfils in a dramatic semifinal. A year later, revitalized by a great week in hometown Basel, Roger was ready to go all the way and collect this missing piece.

Considering a field that included world number 1 Novak Djokovic and red-hot Andy Murray, Federer's chances seemed limited. He remained confident though, ensuring easy wins over home hopes Adrian Mannarino and Richard Gasquet in his first matches. The Swiss was far from his utmost best in the quarterfinals, but he still managed to overcome the challenge of Argentinean Juan Monaco, triumphing in two sets, 6-3,7-5 to become the 7th player in the Open Era to join the elite club of those with 800 wins under their belt. Worries were raised following his rather shaky performance especially as his next opponent, Czech Tomas Berdych, has beaten Federer in three of their last four encounters. A day after snapping Murray's fabulous 18-matches winning streak, Tomas seemed prepared to tackle the Swiss superstar. Roger was back at his best though, taking control from the very beginning. A break of serve in the very first game of the match proved enough for him to take the first set 6-4. He followed a similar path in the second set, breaking Berdych's serve to set a 2-0 advantage. It was cruise control from then onwards for Federer who broke again, this time to love, to seal a 6-4,6-3 victory and get the ticket to his first indoor final in Paris. The performance marked the breaking of yet another record, as he became the first player to reach the final act of all Masters 1000 events. This was not enough for the 'greedy' Federer who was determine not to lose this rare opportunity of grabbing the title. After saving two break points in the inaugural game of his final showdown with French number 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Swiss was unstoppable. He took the first set 6-1, but Tsonga was not showing any white flags just yet. The Frenchman who experienced a rather successful head-to-head with Federer lately (stopping him in the quarterfinals of both Wimbledon and Montreal) knew he had it in him to challenge the Swiss. After failing to take his chances though, he faltered in the second set tiebreak gifting his opponent once of the sweetest victories of his prolific career.
At this point, one can firmly state that Federer has won it all. Nevertheless, he appears as hungry and driven as always. Riding on this incredible form, he now sets his goals on defending the Season's Ending Championships in London. A victory there would slap the criticism that had him written off and would save his rather poor 2011.

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