Roger Federer continues to re-write the history books; 4 US Open titles in a row following his 7-6 7-6 6-4 victory over Novak Djokovic and 12 Grand Slams to boot; the Swiss maestro is now well on his way to becoming the undisputed greatest player of all time.

Having won 3 out of the 4 majors once again this year, Federer does not look like he is slowing down in his quest to beat Pete Sampras' record of 14 career Grand Slam titles. Realistically, 2008 should see the Swiss at least draw level with the American who hitherto has assumed the position of "greatest of all time" by most pundits.

At the age of just 26, Federer has overtaken the Slam tally of tennis immortals Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver who are tied at 11. He is now equal with Roy Emerson who won 12 in the pre-Open era when professionals were not allowed to compete.

Of course, the one glaring omission from Federer's unbelievable roll of honour is a French Open title which has eluded him because of a certain left handed Spaniard by the name of Rafael Nadal, whose heavy topspin baseline game has proved too much for the Swiss for the past 3 years. A single title at Roland Garros would give Federer an almost unequivocal claim as the greatest ever even if he somehow failed to equal Sampras' total of 14 Slams. Perhaps he will have to rely on someone else dethroning Nadal at Roland Garros before the final, because winning his first French Open title against his Spanish nemesis has become too much of a mental hurdle more than anything else. His best chance will come if Djokovic or perhaps someone like Juan Monaco who have both beaten Nadal albeit on a hard court, can step up and replicate that on clay. Federer could conceivably just mop up from there and take the spoils. Conjecture perhaps, but it seems something along those lines could see Federer become a Grand Slam champion on all surfaces. It's probably his only hope.

So, Federer is peerless among those of his generation certainly, and virtually peerless among the all time greats. Just how many Slams Federer will win before he quits is anybody's guess. He has at least another 3 years at the very top even with the likes of Nadal and Djokovic breathing down his neck. A total of around 20 is certainly within his reach and if that included a French Open title, it is very hard to envisage anyone for centuries to come dethroning Roger Federer as being simply the best of the very best.

Andre Jones