Federer simply the best of all time, says Noah

PARIS, Jan 29 (Reuters) Former French Open champion Yannick Noah says he has never seen a player dominate the game as Roger Federer does.

''At this level, I have never seen that. (Bjorn) Borg could beat you any time he wanted but you always had the feeling you could have a chance, grab a game or a set,'' Noah, who won the French Open in 1983, told sports daily L'Equipe today.

''As for Roger, he wins the tournament without losing a set and you still have the feeling he has a lot of resources left.'' Federer won his third Australian Open on Sunday by beating Chile's Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 6-4 6-4.

''Gonzalez had two set points in the first set but you got the feeling that Roger told himself 'alright, it's time to push on the pedal and I will just kill him on the spot','' Noah added.

''You feel he is on gear four at the maximum while he has six gears. It's awesome.'' Swiss Federer will emulate Borg and Rod Laver with an 11th Grand Slam victory if he wins the French Open in June.

The all-time record is held by Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slam triumphs.

REUTERS SAM HT1804