He can also breathe much easier as well.

For the Swiss tennis star just got rid of a 188-pound Spaniard who's been weighing him down. At long last, Federer has gotten the dynamic Rafael Nadal off his back.

The monkey who was quickly growing into a massive gorilla has finally been purged.

To say that Nadal had Federer's number was no hyped up claim. Nadal owned a 6-1 record over the world's top player and had slayed Federer five straight times including a convincing pasting in last month's final of the French Open.

The rumblings were that "Rafa" was already firmly entrenched in Federer's head. As incredible as it may have sounded, it seemed Nadal was on the verge of turning Roger into his own personal whipping boy.

Federer was pointing to Wimbledon as the place where he would make a stand and draw the line. In London, he would clearly be in his element, not to mention his comfort zone. No excuses could be made there. After all, only John Deere is better on grass than Roger "the Dodger." 

If only he could get Nadal on the lawn, Federer would be ideally positioned to exact some serious payback. That scenario would play right in Federer's more than capable hands.

And almost as if scripted, that's how things played out.

To the surprise of many, Nadal demonstrated an amazing adaptation to grass and with one lone exception, breezed thru his bracket. No longer could he be considered merely a specialist on clay, where he's won 60 straight matches, or a force on the hard surfaces.

In one single fortnight, Nadal had shown a remarkable versatility and maturity to his game. The still precocious 20-year-old embraced the cozy confines of  Wimbledon and mowed down opponents with impressive dispatch.

His journey to a finals at Centre Court wasn't expected to happen nearly this soon if at all. The experts claimed that "Rafa" needed much more time to condition himself to the nuances of grass.

But Nadal has proven himself to be a fast learner. He catches on quick. Already a master on clay, Nadal has now grown into a legitimate danger on the lawn.

So the stage was set. The titans were again to do battle. The world's No. 1 was once more to stare across the net at the world's No. 2.

Only this time, the situation was reversed. Unlike at Paris where Nadal was much more at home on the dirt, Federer would have the advantage of playing on his favorite surface.

To Federer, toiling on grass was the equivalent of Linus' blanket. It brought him peace and security

And given his recent history with the young Spaniard, Federer would need every edge he could get.

To say that Nadal was under no pressure is ludicrous but Federer clearly had much more at stake. Without question, the Swiss marvel  had a lot more to lose.

The 24-year-old  was trying to capture his fourth straight Wimbledon, a feat matched in the Open era by only Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras.

He also was gunning to extend his historic winning streak on grass to a 48th consecutive match.

Moreover, an eighth Grand Slam title was tantalizingly within his reach.

But of all the weight that was pressing down on him, perhaps the specter of Nadal made him sweat the most.

Nadal had become a ghost that was haunting Federer. He was a bad dream that Roger couldn't escape.

No one, least of all Federer himself, could avoid the glaringly obvious. Against every everyone else he'd played in 2006, Federer's record was a mind-blowing 55 and 0.

But when matched up against Nadal, Federer had been blanked, going 0 for 4. A disturbing pattern was clearly developing.

If Nadal could somehow accomplish the unthinkable and best Federer on his favored ground, a monumental sea change in men's tennis might be in the offing.

It could very well signal that seminal moment when the ambitious young prince fully asserts himself and displaces the reigning king.  

Federer's seat upon the throne was suddenly looking very precarious. Was it possible that his empire was about to fall?

The answer on Sunday was a resounding no!

When the racquets were done parrying and the balls done flying, order had been restored. Federer's kingdom had been preserved.

Roger came up bigger than the clock known as "Ben." Nadal would have to wait another day to lay siege to Federer's realm.

In a performance both technical and artistic, Federer spanked Nadal in four sets. It was competitive but not all that close. Federer was challenged but he was hardly pushed to the limit.

With his serve humming, his groundstrokes smooth and fluid and his reflexes super sharp, Federer made sure he'd gain his revenge.

And it had to taste sweet after all the humility that Nadal had forced him to eat. This time it was the gifted Spaniard who left the scene a bit bloody and bruised.

And so, at least for the immediate future, Federer has reestablished his dominance. His stature as the game's top dog has been reinforced. The Swiss sensation is still the big cheese.

What's more, it figures that he'll get even better from here given the fact that he just shed himself of 188-pounds of dead weight. The burden of having to carry the pesky "Rafa" on his back is now gone. The monkey has been forced to vacate.