This is a commonly asked question for new and neutral tennis fans and will be asked more than ever before this year with Federer's return to the dirt surface at Roland Garros after four years absent. Thousands of tennis fans will be flocking to France to get a look at Federer in what could be not only his final attendance here, but on clay all together as the Swiss approaches his 40's - who knows exactly how long he has left in tennis in general, never mind on clay - his least favoured surface.

Source - Federer - Getty Images

But to get to the articles main question - the answer is yes, Federer has won the French Open once way back in 2009. But before you presume the obvious the answer is no, that was not vs Rafa Nadal in the final but instead Robert Soderling - who did Federer's dirty work for him by defeating the king of clay in the Semi Finals.

Federer has competed in 17 French Open tournaments in total and made the final on 5 occasions including his victory. His single win at Roland Garos allowed him to become one of only 7 male tennis players to achieve a Career slam of winning all four Grand Slams.

Federer's greatest ever adversary at the French Open is obviously the king of clay himself Rafa Nadal who he has lost to in the final all four times plus once in the Semi Finals. Here are the statistics:

2005 - Nadal won 3 - 1 (Semi Finals)

2006 - Nadal won 3 - 1 (Final)

2007 - Nadal won 3 - 1 (Final)

2008 - Nadal won 3 - 0 (Final)

2011 - Nadal won 3 - 1 (Final)

Federer has never managed to take more than a set off Nadal at Roland Garros, so if they came head to head it would be interesting to see if with Federer's new change of tactics vs Nadal would gain him more traction. Can Federer claim 2 sets off him or even a victory? Since the 2017 Australian Open Final where Federer broke a 6 match losing streak vs Nadal in Grand Slam meetings, the Swiss has been playing more aggressive vs Nadal to overcome the king of clay who still maintains a strong head to head advantage at 23 wins to Federer's 15. But since that final at the start of 2017 and the change in his style he has won the last 6 meetings vs Nadal - which is quiet extraordinary.

But none of those meetings have come on clay so fans will be itching to see a clash between the two on clay. Again this could prove to be the last time we see these big rivals clash on the orange dirt.

Excellent Outside Bet for the French Open

Federer's proven track record of reaching the French Open final five times including his single win at the tournament makes him an excellent outside bet this year. Especially considering he is currently 25/1 to win the tournament, i'd advise you have a punt with him!