On Thursday morning, American tennis fans woke up to the sobering reality that Andy Roddick, the nation's greatest hope on the court today, once again came up short against Roger Federer, this time falling to the Swiss in the semifinals of the Australian Open. Roddick's loss nearly guarantees the seemingly unstoppable Federer his third-consecutive major championship and his 10th such victory of his career. His trip to the finals this week marks his seventh-straight appearance in a Grand Slam final, tying an all-time record.
Federer's 10th Grand Slam title will tie him for fifth place on the all-time list at only age 26. His championships have come over a span of only five years, compared to the all-time leader, Pete Sampras, whose 14 major victories happened over the course of 13 years. Sampras retired in 2003 at the age of 32. If Federer continues at his current winning pace and plays until age 32, he might approach 20 career Grand Slam wins.
There is no question who the best player in tennis is today. Roger Federer is not only currently the world's most dominant athlete, but he might also end his career as the greatest tennis player of all time.
If you're in the mood to be impressed, come home from a night of revelry, and flick on ESPN at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday to watch Federer waltz to victory in Melbourne. He'll do it quickly enough to have you asleep by sunrise in Beantown.
The pick: Federer will beat Gonzalez.
-by Andrew Silver
