Throughout his storied career, and especially over the past three years, Roger Federer possessed feet of clay in the men’s singles final of the French Open.

The second-best claycourt performer in the latter half of this decade showed a manifest ability to play for championships on the terre battue of Paris, but the Swiss legend could never lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires. A fellow named Rafael Nadal had more than a little to do with Federer’s enduring title drought at Roland Garros, but the fact remained that in three super-sized Sunday duels on red dirt, the 13-time major champion had not been able to play well enough to win. His record of failure in French finals represented the one gap in Federer’s otherwise-awesome resume, the one weakness that needed to be addressed if a tennis icon was to elevate his place in the sport’s history. It is said–with considerable merit–that pressure is a privilege, but if the 27-year-old Federer buckled under the weight of yet another massive moment at Court Philippe Chatrier, the only privileged person in the stadium would have been the man standing on the other side of the net. A fourth straight runner-up finish in France would have rated as a superb accomplishment 99 percent of tennis players would kill for; for Federer, that distinction would have only given the world No. 2 a reason to shed even more tears of devastation.

Such was the backdrop to Sunday’s final of the 2009 French Open, as the second-seeded Federer shuffled onto Chatrier for an encounter against a most unlikely opponent, 23rd-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden. It was a win-or-bust situation for the best player of the 21st century, and Federer knew the stakes better than anyone else. The Swiss, facing levels of internal and external pressure that are too overwhelming to adequately describe, faced a rendezvous with history and immortality; with that said, Federer would have been left in tatters on the terre battue yet again if he couldn’t find the ability to channel his roiling emotions. An enraptured world, plus a Chatrier crowd that included Bill Gates, breathlessly awaited the response of a champion to his latest and greatest test at the tournament that had frustrated him on so many prior occasions.

When the soggy dust settled on a gray and rainy day in the City of Light, Federer’s feet of clay would turn into a feat of clay.

At last able to deliver the goods on a championship Sunday, Federer played some of the most focused tennis of his career to secure an even more stratospheric spot in his sport’s pantheon. Powered by a letter-perfect second-set tiebreak, Federer defeated Soderling, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4, in 1 hour and 55 minutes. The victory enables the brand-new husband and expectant father to simultaneously lift a weighty trophy (far more substantial than the wafer-thin runner-up plate) and toss aside the burdens of a gloried but stressful professional life. If it was fair to say that Federer’s profile was somehow incomplete before this slaying of the giant-killing Soderling, it’s just as fair to conclude that the Swiss’s dossier cannot be convincingly criticized any longer.

Before taking on the debate everyone wants to talk about, a word about this match is in order. Simply stated, a nervous Soderling donated the first set by hitting only 2 winners and lacking the accuracy that defined his groundstrokes in his previous six French Open matches. Federer might have committed only 4 unforced errors in the opening stanza, but with his opponent unable to keep the ball in play–a theme that would re-emerge at the end of the match–the Swiss cruised to the set in just 23 minutes. The second set was the best set of the afternoon, and also the most dramatic. While Federer shrugged off the advances of a crazed fan who rushed onto the court, Soderling stabilized his serve and worked his way into a hugely-important tiebreak.

Then came the moment when the proud champion most forcefully announced his presence.

Throwing down four aces on his four service points, Federer–who also hit a drop-shot winner in the tiebreak–snagged seven out of eight points for a two-set lead and complete control of the proceedings. There was still one set left to be played, but at that juncture, it was hard to imagine Federer’s dream dying on the red dirt.

In the third set, Soderling remained competitive, but when the Swede–who forfeited his serve in the first game of the set–found a pair of break point chances, he bailed out of rallies. On the second of his two break points–with Fed trying to serve out the match at 5-4, 30-40–Soderling shanked a simple forehand. After a volley winner delivered a championship point to the Swiss, Soderling meekly sent a serve return into the bottom of the net. Federer produced a high-level match, but this confrontation fizzled in the drizzle because Soderling never resembled the man who rolled through Rafa and five other opponents on his way to the final.

Federer not only claimed his 14th Grand Slam title in this match, tying Pete Sampras atop the all-time list; what is far more meaningful about this truly “major” triumph is that it came in Paris, the one city that had not borne witness to Swiss bliss on the final Sunday at Chatrier.

Before this French Open extravaganza began, many observers–this one included–felt that the 15-day tournament would amount to the Rafael Nadal Invitational, a near-exhibition for the reigning four-time champion who had made Roland Garros his own personal playground, especially against a frustrated and foiled Federer in those three decisive finals. For a No. 2 seed, Federer received precious little consideration as a genuine title contender; if anyone was believed to be a rival worthy of Nadal’s attention, it was No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic, resting in the opposite half of the draw alongside Federer and therefore able to oppose Rafa in the title match. After Djokovic dusted Fed twice in the previous two months, the sense was that the Serb, and not the more celebrated Swiss standout, had the best chance of knocking heads with Nadal in the final. For all his achievements, Federer–whose game had unraveled at times earlier in the spring–was surrounded by doubts and questions as he came to Paris for another shot at unlikely glory.

Sure, Djokovic (in the third round, against Philipp Kohlschreiber) and Nadal (against Soderling in the fourth round) exited this tournament after only one week of action, but the fact that Federer still overcame the pressure of the moment revealed that this proud and driven man could block out a tidal wave of distractions, doubts, and very dogged on-court opponents. Whether he outfoxed Jose Acasuso (second round) or willed himself past Juan Martin del Potro (semifinals); whether he pulled off a remarkable escape against Tommy Haas (fourth round) or used his best tennis to deny a hot-hitting Paul-Henri Mathieu (third round), Federer found enough answers in time to live for another day. Even if Nadal had reached the final, Federer had to get there first. The rugged nature of his road to the final made it seem as though the Swiss superstar deserved to have someone other than Rafa standing in his way on the final day of play. By taking advantage of this Grand (Slam) opportunity against Soderling, Federer–in conquering Roland Garros–has made his 14th slam his most significant one.

This French title vaults Fed past a roster of legends who could never conquer the red clay of Chatrier: Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, and–last but certainly not least–Mr. Sampras. If Federer had won slam number 14 in Australia or at Wimbledon, in accordance with conventional wisdom, the feat wouldn’t exactly have detracted from his cirriculum vitae; but by triumphing in the shadows of the Arc de Triomphe, the Swiss has attained the career Grand Slam only five other men acquired.

American Don Budge and Englishman Fred Perry produced career slams in the 1930s, and Australian Roy Emerson also made the rounds of tennis’s four majors in the early 1960s, before the Open era began in 1968. Emerson’s countryman Rod Laver completed the career slam in the early 60s as well, but the Rockhampton Rocket produced a slam sequel in the Open era season of 1969. All told, only Andre Agassi–in the 1990s–had been able to join Laver as a creator of a career slam in the Open era. Federer was trying to not only become one of six men to win all four majors, but to earn a place as one of just three men to do the deed in the Open era. Now that Federer has done a victory dance in France, an already-extraordinary player can boast the best of both worlds: all the slams on one hand, and the 14 titles on the other.

Federer might not be the greatest player who has ever lived (Laver would seem to still merit that distinction, in a debate that will gain fresh momentum in the months and years to come), but what can safely be said is that the 27-year-old has gained an even better seat at the discussion table when this topic is tackled. History does not belong to the meek; with uncommon mental fortitude, Roger Federer has just earned an even greater measure of tennis immortality.