Roger Federer's standing in tennis's pantheon of champions should not be judged on whether he ever wins a French Open crown, the Swiss master said.
"Winning the French Open might put me in another atmosphere," a bleary-eyed world number one told an invited group of journalists after scooping his third Australian Open title.
"But I don't think that is quite right. It's (the French) a totally different surface. It would be different if the last one missing for you is the Australian Open or the US Open because those are on hard courts and you can think 'oh that's the one anybody can win'.
"But the French Open and Wimbledon seem specific surfaces and you have to be an expert to win."
Just when the world thought that they had already seen the Swiss master at his peak after an unforgettable 2006 season in which he reached all four grand slam finals and won 12 titles, he proved he still had plenty in reserve.
He completed the most dominant men's grand slam campaign in 27 years when he won his 10th grand slam title at Melbourne Park with victory over Fernando Gonzalez on Sunday.
Not since Bjorn Borg's run to the 1980 French Open title had a man won a grand slam title without dropping a set.
The Wimbledon, US and Australian Open champion realises that the pressure to hold all four majors at once - and emulate Don Budge and Rod Laver - will again build on him during the European summer season.
But after chalking up grand slam title number 10 in just three years, Federer was in reflective mood.
"Number one (Wimbledon 2003) will always stay the most memorable one for me," he said.
"I don't like comparing different grand slams. It depends so much on how you feel at the moment itself."
But for a man who has probably forgotten what it feels like to be a loser, winning one of the big four still gives him a buzz.
"You go to your room and you can't sleep because your head is still spinning," said the 25-year-old who was out celebrating in Melbourne till dawn.
"Went to bed late, around six. It was already light outside, I slept for 1/2 hours so it's been a bit of an awkward sleep. But I feel pretty good now. I could win a match," he grinned.
Serena Williams reaped the benefits of her astounding run to the Australian Open at the weekend when she rocketed up 67 spots in the WTA rankings to 14th yesterday. Maria Sharapova drew some consolation from her Melbourne Park final defeat to Williams by replacing Justine Henin at the top of the rankings.