Its a sad day for all die-hard fans of Roger Federer as his 5 year supremacy at the US Open comes to an end as the 20 year old Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro defeated Federer with a 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory. Had Federe won, he would have become the first man since Bill Tilden (1920′s) to win the tournament six times in a row.

Del Porto played a strong match, astonishing many as he won his first grand slam. His win was aided by Federer’s unfortunate and less the stellar service. Nonetheless, this was riveting match to watch and cudos to Del Potro for bringing down the 15 time winner .

Win or lose, in the hearts of his fans, Roger Federer will forever remain the greatest player in the history of tennis.

“I’m one of the lucky few who gets cheered for, so thank you for that. I just want to say congratulations to Roger, he is a true champion and he deserves all he gets, I hope to come back one day and get my name up on that winners’ board. ”Sorry Pete, I tried.” to compatriot Sampras while looking up to the Royal Box.” Roddick said.

“I have to give it to him, The critics say Laver, and Nadal’s beaten him a few times … in my book he is the greatest of all times. Roger’s a friend, he’s a good guy. He can get 17 or 18 majors. If he just keeps it going and stays healthy, he could go to 18, 19, actually. The guy’s a legend and now he’s an icon. He’s a credit to the game.” said Sampras.

“Andy played unbelievable, It feels great. It was a crazy match with an unbelievable end and my head’s still spinning, but it’s an unbelievable moment in my career. It’s not one of those goals you set as a little boy but it’s been quite a career and quite a month. This is not why I’m playing tennis, to break records, and this doesn’t mean I’m going to stop playing tennis. I hope to come back for many more years. It’s staggering that I’ve been able to play so well for so many years, staying injury free. For me to be the player I am now, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect it. I never thought I could be this consistent. When he walked in I did get more nervous, But it’s especially nice that so many legends were sitting there – especially Pete. I know how much the record meant to him and he knows how much it means to me. I still feel like we share it just because he was such a wonderful champion. It’s nice that he shows appreciation for what I’m doing.

I’m still processing the whole thing because a lot has happened in the last few weeks, It was such a historic day in tennis and me being the main character in this… I have so many pictures going through my mind. It’s hard to switch off, I want to see the match point again, I want to read something about what the fans saw, how the media saw it. I had about two hours sleep, but it doesn’t matter. I slept enough to last three weeks and I still feel great.

I get inspiration from Tiger Woods and from Michael Jordan who was one of my childhood heroes, Also Michael Schumacher as well, he was at the top for so long. I always get inspired by guys who did something at the highest of levels for such a long time and who are true champions and great ambassadors for their sport.” Federer said.

Roger Federer moves on to Wimbledon Finals after defeating Tommy Hass (7-6, 7-5, 6-3), where he is going to face the american Andy Roddick. Federer is on the verge of making tennis history yet again!.

They say numbers don’t lie folks, even when the numbers are as fantastical as Federers. Consider this …

• This will be Federers 7th straight Wimbledon Final.
• He has never lost a set in seven Wimbledon semi-finals over the past seven years.
• This will be his 15th Grand Slam title. He is currently tied with Pete Sampras on 14.

You would think this tennis giant would be a little nervous about the upcoming match, perched on the cusp of tennis immortality as he is but he says …

“I don’t think so. It helped me a lot going through trying to achieve the fifth straight Wimbledon and equalling Bjorn Borg. For some reason that meant the world to me. I was like in a bubble for two weeks just trying to achieve that.So this time round I think I am much more relaxed. Maybe it is also because of Paris.”

Venus Williams, having beaten Dinara Safina in the 2nd semi-final at Wimbledon AND Serena Williams having defeated Elena Dementieva are now going to face off for the wimbledon finals. No, not for the first time either … for an impressive 4th time!! 

Venus v Serena at Wimbledon
2000 semi-final Venus 6-2, 7-6
2002 final Serena 7-6, 6-3
2003 final Serena 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2008 final Venus 7-5, 6-4

My bet is on venus … though either ways it should an interesting albeit predictable match.

“It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure. I did it and it’s phenomenal, It was great to be on the podium as a winner for a change. Andre said it was my destiny to win this and that I deserved it. Until the end of my career, I can play peacefully knowing that I will never again hear it said that I never won Roland Garros.” said Federer who broke down in tears after being presented with the trophy by Agassi, the 1999 champion, and while the Swiss national anthem was played.

“Roger was too good for me today, he played much better. He is a worthy winner and for me he is the best player in history, He gave me a lesson in how to play tennis.” said Soderling.

A tearful Federer slumped to the Paris clay in celebration as he secured his place as arguably the greatest player of all time.

“What he’s done over the past five years has never, ever been done – and probably will never, ever happen again, Regardless if he won there or not, he goes down as the greatest ever. This just confirms it,I’m obviously happy for Roger, If there’s anyone that deserves it, it’s Roger. He’s come so close.  He just is a great, great player that is a credit to the sport and is a positive influence for young kids and just tennis in general, It looks pretty tough to beat now with 14 majors, and I’m sure he’s going to go on and win a lot more. Now that he’s won in Paris, I think it just more solidifies his place in history as the greatest player that played the game, in my opinion, I’m a huge Laver fan, and he had a few years in there where he didn’t have an opportunity to win majors. But you can’t compare the eras, and in this era, the competition is much more fierce than Rod’s.” Pete Sampras said.