ESPN 2008 French Open

PARIS -- The last straight-sets men's final here at Roland Garros came five years ago. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain's man who would be the king of clay, flogged Martin Verkerk 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

Verkerk was a club player from the Netherlands who put together the tournament of his life but was never seen again. Still, he won six games.

On Sunday, the world's No. 1 player got only four.

Roger Federer was humiliated 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday in a disarming display of mastery by Rafael Nadal. You have to go back 31 years here at Roland Garros -- to when Guillermo Vilas dropped a 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 bomb on Brian Gottfried (the name says it all) -- to find a beatdown this bad.

Put another way, Nadal won 18 of 22 games against the player many think will go down as the best in history. It was the fewest number of games won by a No. 1 seed in any Grand Slam final in the four decades of the Open era. Federer had 11 service games and won only three.

"What can you do?" Federer asked, plaintively. "It's disappointing because I really thought I was playing well the last few weeks and months.

"After a loss like this, you don't want to play Rafa again tomorrow, that's for sure."

All through the clay-court season, Federer talked about the improvements in his game -- new schedule, new coach, new attitude toward drop shots, etc. But in the end, Nadal had improved even more.

Look at the record: In their first meeting here at Roland Garros, the semifinals in 2005, Federer took a set from Nadal. In the 2006 final, Federer came out flying, winning the first set 6-1 before losing the last three. Last year, he took the second set 6-4 but again lost in four sets.

Federer has made no secret of his desire to win the French Open, the final trophy in his career Grand Slam. Five men have managed to win all four -- most recently, Andre Agassi -- but as long as Nadal is healthy, it might never happen. Bjorn Borg, whose record of four consecutive titles Nadal equaled Sunday, gives Federer two, maybe three more years as a potential champion.

This shouldn't tarnish Federer's legacy.

Pete Sampras won 14 major singles titles, and the best he could do at Roland Garros was the semifinals in 1996, when he lost to eventual champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Federer should get credit for trying so hard and caring so much in his public appearances. Reaching three straight finals here, regardless of the result, makes Federer the second-best clay-court player of his generation.

"Rafa just played too good," he said. "It's a rough loss, but it's OK. I'll move on from here and try again next year."

Which begs the real question looming: Going forward, what to expect?

After losing to Nadal in the final here the past two years, Federer rallied and won at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But so far, 2008 -- outside of his presence in the French Open final -- has not looked much like 2006 or 2007.

Afterward, Federer was asked whether his psychological advantage on grass had been diminished somehow.

"Look," he said, "I've beaten Rafa 6-love in a set. I've beaten him in finals before. I've beaten him also quite comfortably on previous occasions. I haven't lost on grass for, what is it, five years now, six? I still definitely feel very strong about my chances and being the big favorite, going into grass.

"It's so far away, grass and clay, that losing in four or five -- no chance like today -- I don't think it has a big effect on me mentally."

Mononucleosis has been blamed for his subpar performance in Australia, where he was beaten in the semifinals by Novak Djokovic, and for mediocre results through the spring. But this fact remains: Federer has won exactly one tournament this year, a nice little clay event in Estoril, Portugal, and he has lost to players such as Mardy Fish, Andy Murray and Radek Stepanek.

The reality is that Federer, who turns 27 in early August, has lost the sense of inevitability that carried him past most players. Nadal has played Federer closer on grass -- remember last year's terrific five-set affair on Centre Court? -- than Federer has played Nadal on clay. Although Nadal has yet to be a factor at the U.S. Open, we saw Djokovic advance to the final and force Federer to two tiebreakers.

Federer has won his past 35 matches at Wimbledon -- seven more than Nadal has at Roland Garros -- but Nadal has played him closer there than anyone else has.

Will this match change the momentum?

"For me, it's been a good tournament," Federer said. "I go out with a positive mind-set, not with a mind-set -- 'Oh, my God, I had no chance today.'

"It doesn't matter now. I'm looking forward to grass. I think the second half of the season, hopefully, is going to be better than the first."

One thing is certain: Winning the three Grand Slam titles it will take to pass Sampras won't be as easy or as automatic as we once thought.

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.