~STORY OF THE WEEK~
A CHAMPION YET AGAIN

How can you make breaking records look so easy? Ask Roger Federer. He did it Sunday night, winning his 16th Grand Slam title with a straight-sets victory over Andy Murray and re-establishing his grip on tennis supremacy. With Federer adding to his record for men’s Grand Slam singles titles, there is little doubt his place in the history books is secure. By winning his fourth Australian Open, Federer may have his best opportunity to join Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962, ’69) in taking down the sport’s holy grail: a Grand Slam, a sweep of the four major tournaments in the same year. Three times, Federer has won three out of four but was unable to conquer the clay surfaces of the French Open. Two of those times, in 2006 and 2007, he made it to the final in Paris only to be dashed by his great rival and a wizard of Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal, a four-time French Open champion. But Federer finally won his first French Open last year, when Nadal lost in the fourth round. Now Nadal is out for at least a month tending to a tear in his right knee that contributed to his retiring in the quarterfinals against Murray. There is no guarantee Nadal will return to top form for Roland Garros in May after a year battling tendinitis in his knees and other nagging injuries. He has not beaten a top-10 player since November. “I mean, it’s something if it happens, it does, it’s great; but it’s not something that’s like my No. 1 goal,” said Federer, who has made eight consecutive Grand Slam finals dating to the 2008 French Open, winning four of them. “It’s the same as I haven’t put a number on how many Grand Slams I want to try to win. Whatever happens, happens. (NY Times)