BY INSIDE TENNIS STAFF

If Tiger Woods had been sitting up there in the stands during last year's Wimbledon final, he might have lost some teeth as his jaw dropped in awe. For after 178 minutes of elegant, grass-court grandeur, Roger Federer had dismissed his greatest challenger, Rafael Nadal, with speed, power, grace and certainty. But it barely seemed like the guy had broken a sweat.

Siding up to Bud Collins for the obligatory postmatch soundbite (his retro-cream blazer offering a stunning contrast to Collins' day-glo ensemble), the unruffled Swiss looked more like a man headed for a job interview than someone who had just stretched his grass-court win streak to an unparalleled 48 matches. Not a hair was out of place.

And herein lies the problem; maybe Federer makes it all look a little too easy. Maybe that's why when Joe Sports Fan gets sucked into another one of those interminable who's-a-better-athlete-than-who ("D-Wade couldn't carry Jordan's jockstrap!") debates over wings and beers at TGI Friday's, he continuously overlooks Our Man Roger. Maybe that's why Fed's snubbed by SportsCenter and has yet to grace a cover of Sports Illustrated. How can Roger really be considered among the world's elite athletes when the guy appears to be on cruise control?

Yet if you check out the record books, Federer is nearly as accomplished as Tiger Woods and (PR aside) is actually a better athlete. But no, he doesn't roar like a Tiger, so his stunning accomplishments get a bit lost in the luster of Woods' superstardom. Still, in almost every mano-a-mano comparison, Federer wins hands down. None other than Harvard-educated James Blake — who's winless in six matchups with Roger — has lobbed up a scholarly opinion for those who rate Tiger above Roger: "I think that's a joke, not to take anything away from Tiger, because he's an unbelievable golfer. I'd make a case for Roger being the best athlete of our time — not tennis player — athlete."

Sure, we have to overlook the inconvenient truth that Federer is from a small mountainous country in the middle of Europe and his demeaneor makes Joe DiMaggio seem hyper. Instead, just picture Federer's sublime movement, which seamlessly combines an uncanny anticipation with a muscular quickness. And remember, no one has a greater ability to instantly go from defense to offense. Blessed with a near-perfect (strong, but not too bulky) tennis body, his heavy, penetrating and accurate forehand is arguably tennis' most lethal weapon and (thanks in part to the best wrist in tennis since Rod Laver) his brilliant backhand repertoire ranges from nasty, Ken Rosewall-like slices to power winners suggestive of Guga Kuerten.

Plus, he volleys with confidence, adeptly reads his opponents serve and returns with ferocity and, while his deceptively powerful serve is not quite Sampras-like, he regularly befuddles foes and can hit any line, at any speed, at any time.

A genius without a portfolio who always seems to know his place, on-court and off, he predictably imposes his unrelenting will and sometimes seems to toy with foes who get all worked up with excitement before King Roger raises his level and dismisses them with almost imperious ease. Fed is so good, he rarely is extended to five sets. Fearsome in finals, he is conscious of history, unafraid to go after records, and has already left one wannabe challenger after another (Agassi, Roddick, Hewitt, Ljubicic and even Nadal) in the dust. And remember, as a kid, he knocked out the mighty Sampras, at Wimbledon, no less.
So when you review Fed's stats over the past three years, they simply shout dominance. No. 1 since Feb. '04, he's won 11 or more titles each year, going 242-15. In collecting eight Slams, he joined Laver as one of only two players to win at least three majors in two different years. He's the only man to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in three consecutive years. He's reached the final of 22 of his last 23 tournaments. Nevermind Sampras, the men's game hasn't caught a whiff of a three-year run like this since Ivan Lendl went 232-20 between '85 and '87.

And don't forget Federer's '06: He "only" prevailed in 95 percent of his matches, won three of four Slams, plus the year-end Masters Cup, and had the best year by any man since John McEnroe went 82-3 in '83. And yeah, by winning his ninth Slam title at the U.S. Open, Federer leapfrogged Agassi, Connors, Lendl, Perry and Rosewall on the all-time list. Many feel he's a lock to surpass Sampras' hallowed record of 14.

Of course, the only player who gave him a run for his record $8-million in prize money in '06 was Nadal, who topped Federer four times, including in the French Open final. It took Rafa to finally halt Federer's Open-Era standard of 56 straight hard-court victories. But Fed prevailed in their last two encounters and outdistanced the Spaniard on the year by a whopping 3,900 points.

WHAT'S UP, FED?: Are Fed's main rivals the records of a retired legend (Sampras), a golfer (Tiger) and something called history?... What's more impressive, Federer's balance, relaxation, creativity, beauty, elegance, movement, his ability to raise his level of play, or the time he gives himself on court? HOW TO BEAT GOD: There is an abundance of hand-wringing over one question: how do you beat Federer? Here's a sampling: • "Bully his forehand and hit his backhand, serve him wide and get him on the run." —Jim Courier • "He's been most bothered by players who are big off the left side: Rafa Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Marat Safin and Marcos Baghdatis." —Pat McEnroe • "Serve-and-volley guys like Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter and myself stand the best chance." —John McEnroe • "Don't overplay, just stay solid." —Andy Murray, who beat Fed in Cincy. • "Come to the net on the first and second serve, attack his second serve, same as with Andre. Nobody takes his time away... Come at him and keep coming." —Pete Sampras • "Players are not doing everything within the rules to disturb him, like talking to him, nudging him, or getting in his head. Can you imagine McEnroe not getting into Roger's head? No. Jimmy Connors? No. Boris Becker? No. He wins a lot of matches in the first 40 minutes and it just looks like, 'Oh, well, he's too good.' ...There's no fire to beat him because they like him." —Mats Wilander • "Deny Federer his creativity and bore him to death by hitting to one spot." —John McEnroe • "Tennis [needs] Martians with four legs and three legs in order to take on Federer." —Bill Dwyre ROGER FEDERER AND THE GLOW OF PERFECTION: • "Federer doesn't sweat, he glows." —Eleanor Preston • "Just when Federer reaches perfection, he finds another gear." —Sue Barker • "He'll break every record out there, [including] the Grand Slam record. He has all the tools, the demeanor, the whole package." —Sampras • "Federer has the little hairs on the back of my neck standing on end." —Radio Wimbledon • "If your hear Roger grunting, you're in trouble." —Mardy Fish • "Ivan Ljubicic approaches playing Fed...the way everyone else does, with a good-natured fatalism." —Mary Carillo • "One thing we [players] have in common. We play against Roger and we lose...Every time you play him, it's like, okay, maybe this is the one. But it's never happening...I consider myself a top-five player, but that doesn't mean I'm close to Roger." —Ivan Ljubicic • "I never panic, that's the key in the end. What shot can I hit in what moment, and what are the percentages? That's what I calculate very well in that split second." —Roger •"I have such an unbelievable belief in my game." —Roger

What's amazing is that Fed has accomplished all this by the age of 25. And in recent years, aside from some timely tips from Tony Roche or girlfriend/manager Mirka, the ever-confident No. 1 has soared sans a full-time coach. But why not? He seems to manage so much in his life — the flow within his matches, his Swiss precision schedule for the year, his metro-hip meets humanist image — with ease and mastery. Of course, it certainly helps if you have virtually no weaknesses in your game and your fluid, Baryshnikov-like, all-court game makes virtuoso strokes seem pedestrian. Yes, it's true, Fed's stats sometimes become a mushy blur, but true fans are quick to recall some of his magical, oh-so-inventive shot-making, his uncanny ability to get to balls in the corner and promptly slap them back for slight-of-hand winners. For instance, at the '02 Swiss Indoors, Federer countered an imposing, angled Andy Roddick overhead smash with what can only be described as aeroballistics. Pulled far off court, he seemingly sprinted to Luxemburg where, legs flailing, he went vertical and swatted an on-the-run overhead that screeched down the line for an astonishing winner. Roddick, who was convinced he had already had the point tucked away, could only watch in utter disbelief, flinging his racket over the net in a white-flag moment of ("you da man") surrender. This was vintage Jordan dunking from the top of the key, the whimsical but nasty "float-like-a-butterfly" ring work of Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong erasing an insurmountable deficit on Mont Ventoux.

For Federer all the intangibles are there, too — the head, the heart, and, of course, the "grace-is-good" beauty that permeates his game. Simply put, Federer is a cross-courting chameleon, a savvy, multisurface performer who can change strategies mid-match, serve-and-volleying one minute, hugging the baseline the next. Fact is, he always seems to have an answer for every ball you hit and, like a cunning, unblinking chess master, is continually thinking two or three shots ahead.

Speaking of masters, Andre Agassi, whose career spanned three decades, is clear about Federer. Never mind that Sampras was Andre's consummate rival. Agassi insists that Federer was "the best I have ever played. He can squeeze you from every part of the court. There is just no place to go."

But how does Roger stack up against the other present-day world-beaters? In leading Miami to the NBA championship last year, Dwyane Wade, who was recently named SI's Sportsman of the Year (you didn't actually think a U.S. mag would pick a Swiss tennis player over an American hoops prince, did you?), established himself as an acrobatic scoring machine, a lightening-fast two-guard who has few peers when it comes to taking it to the hole with the game on the line. Colt Peyton Manning is a calm-under-pressure field marshal who holds more records than any other active NFL QB, and LeDainian Tomlinson is a wondrous runner who astonishes more than ever. Newly crowned World Series champ Albert Pujols is the first Major Leaguer to hit 30 home runs in each of his first six seasons. Jaromir Jagr has been skating circles around his NHL counterparts for more than a decade-and-a-half.

These are all world-class athletes who've risen to the top of their games. But while they can all boast freakish athletic prowess, none of them has had to prove themselves in a gladiatorial, one-on-one, international arena like Federer has. Unlike Roger, they've all blossomed in a team environment. And who among them has really shown the range of athletic skills Roger has or has so distanced himself from his colleagues quite like R-Fed, who's long plagued his ATP brethren with a collective case of agita. (His record against fellow top 10ers Nikolay Davydenko, James Blake, Tommy Robredo and Fernando Gonzalez is 29-0, and he has a punishing 12-1 record over Roddick).

The only current athlete with a curriculum vitae that can compare with Fed is the iconic Tiger, who strides the land with his stunning stats: More PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer; ranks second to only Jack Nicklaus with 12 majors; the only player to have won multiple majors in consecutive years. Tiger's prodigious from the tee; his iron play is masterful, his short game nonpareil.

He's a mental monster who always delivers in the clutch. But don't be fooled. This is a mismatch. To say golf has the same requirements as tennis (with all its demands for eye-hand-coordination, strength and stamina, speed and explosive quickness, mental toughness and nonstop decision making, while dealing with a moving ball and a wide range of unrelenting opponents) is a bit like lumping the Soap Box Derby with the Indy 500. What's more taxing — a stroll 'cross the gold-green fairways of St. Andrews or grinding out a four-hour five-setter in the 85-plus-degree humidity of Flushing Meadows? Golf certainly has its physical and psychological rigors, but pro tennis (which is kind of tough to play with a pot belly) is far more demanding.

Plus, as James Blake notes, "Woods' record is not overly impressive in match-play events — tournaments where you have one bad day [or you face one hot foe] and you're out. That's what we [tennis players] do every single week. Roger is winning every Grand Slam except for the French, winning every Masters Series tournament. That means he can't have one bad day."

Federer and Woods, of course, had a much ballyhooed summit inside Ashe Stadium at last year's U.S. Open final. Backers of Federer's opponent, Andy Roddick, balked at the Nike-orchestrated photo op, insisting that Tiger, who earlier had appeared in Federer's Friend's Box, should have been supporting his fellow American. But the meeting provided a rare opportunity for the two heads-above-the-rest superstars to compare notes.

"I asked him how it was for him and many things were similar. He knew exactly how I felt out on the court," said Fed, "That's something that I haven't felt before — a guy who knows how it feels to feel invincible at times, what it's like when you have the feeling that there's nothing going wrong anymore."
"Tiger is charismatic and has brought something new to golf," he added. "It's what I try to do with the beauty of my shots."

Watch Roger Federer play and you know you're witnessing something special. It's history unfolding. It's a reauthoring of the record books. And he's doing it at a time when the sport is globally infused with more talent than ever. Which is why, pound for pound, skill for skill, no other athlete equals The Basel Basher. Not LaDainian Tomlinson. Not Kobe Bryant. Not Barry Bonds. Not Dale Earnhardt, Jr. And, no, not even Tiger Woods. When all is said and done, The Raja will be clustered with the all-time greats, side by side with the likes of MJ, The Great One Gretzky, Montana, Lance, Ali and The Babe.
And he'll make it look easy.

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