Roger Federer finally beats Rafael Nadal

Imagine being one of the best tennis players in the history of your sport, still in your physical prime and on the verge of breaking the few records to allude you and some young guy comes along and stops you in your tracks.

That has been the story of Roger Federer who, in the last 12 months, has been beaten by Rafael Nadal in the finals of Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the French Open and also lost his long-held number one ranking to the studly 22-year-old Spaniard.

But this afternoon on a clay court in Madrid, the five-time defending US Open champion and winner of five Wimbledon crowns beat his rival for the first time since 2007.

I got the win I needed badly,” Roger said after the match.

The French Open begins on May 25. It is the only grand slam title Federer has never won (he also has three Australian Open championships). He has lost to Nadal in the final the past three years so he has been awfully close. If Roger can win in Paris, he will tie Pete Sampras as the man with the most grand slam championships in the history of the sport.

Good luck Roger!