Federer's real struggle starts now

Roger Federer, the most anxious player to claim the French Open title before its too late, has three considerable hurdle en route to victory. Although, the World No 1 is looking in good shape, the real tests begin only now when he plays some big names.

• QF against Fernando Gonzalez : not as simple as one may think. The Chilean is capable of pulling surprises and he got the better of the Swiss in their last meeting in 2007 as well.
  
• SF against Ferrer : The Spaniard (another clay court specialist) has had two 5 setters in last 2 rounds but has survived names like Hewitt and Stepanek. He troubled Nadal in Barcelona finals and may prove a hurdle in Federer's track. This is all meaningless if Ferrer loses to the local favorite Monfils, who eliminated Ljubicic earlier, in the QF. It may be a close call given that Spaniard's exhaustion may play a role.

• F against Rafa/Nole : Well, the SF between the No. 2 Spaniard and No. 3 Serb would be as mouth-watering as any Grand Slam final itself. If their match in Hamburg was any indication, this SF will be nothing less than a treat to watch. This should go to 4 sets in worst case and unless Nole has picked up some new tricks, Rafa will prove to be an unsolvable mystery once again. It will be a matter of who can survive and persist longer in the end.
  If Federer makes it till here, which he should, he will have to display an unparallel determination and confidence if he is dreaming of his career grand slam this time. Saddened to say but he doesnt have much time left to prove himself and as seen in Monte Carlo and Hamburg, he needs extra mental toughness and self belief to defeat Rafael Nadal. Probably, it will be better for him to face Novak Djokovic in the finals just to avoid that mental block against Nadal. In any case, his actual fight begins only now. Lets see if third time is lucky for him.