PARIS, (Reuters) – With no Rafael Nadal to torment  him from the other side of the net in today’s French Open  final, Roger Federer must be thinking that this must be his  year to win the elusive Musketeers’ Cup.

Right? Wrong.

Nadal may have left the building but his conqueror has not and Federer is all too aware the threat Sweden’s Robin Soderling poses to his hopes of becoming only the sixth man to win all four majors.

“There are no easy grand slam finals,” said the Swiss world number two, who also stands one win away from a record-equalling 14th grand slam crown.

“It’s very simple, because the one who is on the other side of the net has also won six matches and is definitely in the shape of his life.

“I’ve never lost to him (Soderling) but I was there during other Roland Garros finals and I never won.”

In grand slam finals, Federer has a 2-5 win-loss record against Nadal and 11-0 against all other opponents. Three of those defeats to Nadal were in the last three Paris finals.

For years, many grand slam champions have said that you  need a lot of talent to win a major but sometimes also a little  bit of luck.

While the oodles of talent that runs through Federer’s  veins helped him to capture 13 grand slam titles at Wimbledon,  Flushing Meadows and Melbourne Park, it was never enough in the  heartland of claycourt tennis.