Roger Federer finally won the one prize in tennis that has eluded him for much too long—the French Open. The Swiss master won in straight sets on Sunday in Paris 6–1, 7–6, 6–4 over Sweden’s Robin Soderling.
As Soderling put it, “You gave me a lesson on how to play tennis today.” Federer was awesome, winning his 14th grand slam singles title, tying Pete Sampras’s record.
After the final, Soderling’s record against Federer fell to 0–10. He joked after the match: “Next time…nobody can beat me 11 times in a row!”
Federer also became one of the select few to win a career grand slam by adding the French Open to his collection of U.S. and Australian Opens and Wimbledon titles. He accepted the trophy from Andre Agassi who also holds a career grand slam.
“It’s an unbelievable relief of pressure, so I’m happy now,” said Federer in an interview with John McEnroe after the match. “For him [Agassi] to be here means the world to me.”
Many are calling Federer the greatest tennis player of all time including McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
Federer served phenomenally on Sunday, racking up 16 aces and only facing two break points. Soderling, who had used his ferocious forehand and big serves to take out four-time defending champion Rafa Nadal in the fourth round, was unable to get into his groove against Federer.
“It’s a new situation for me, playing a grand slam final…against Roger Federer,” said the Swede after the match. The magnitude of the occasion got to Soderling who started very poorly. No need to show Federer any sign of nerves.
Even after the lopsided first set win, the French Open crowd was firmly behind Federer. Normally, they would cheer for the underdog in hopes of seeing a long competitive match but on Sunday, they wanted Federer’s dream to come true after all he’s been through against Nadal.
Federer owes Soderling a debt of gratitude as the Swede did something Federer failed to do—beat Nadal at the French Open.
“I was relieved because I knew he [Nadal] would be the hardest player to beat,” said Federer when asked the obvious question about his reaction to Nadal’s loss.
Early in the second set as the rain started to fall, a “fan” ran onto the court towards Federer. The intruder was soon apprehended but the unfortunate incident left the crowd buzzing. Soderling showed a lot of class and sportsmanship in asking if Federer was ok. A similar incident resulted in Monica Seles being stabbed during a changeover by a deranged spectator several years ago.
The second set had no service breaks and was decided in a tiebreak. Federer jumped all over Soderling in the tiebreak firing four aces and winning 7–1.
Federer also managed to use the forehand drop shot effectively. He was able to disguise it so well as Soderling expected another massive swing.
To some extent Federer probably felt Soderling suffered from a lack of belief in the final. When the Swede didn’t make an effort to run down every ball, Federer surely took note.
Soderling had beaten Nadal, Nikolai Davydenko, and Fernando Gonzalez in five sets in the semifinal. He wasn’t able to paint the lines with his powerful forehand and he only fired down two aces. Some might think he felt satisfied just to reach the final.
The third set began predictably with a Federer break of serve, as the momentum was totally with the Swiss. When returning serve up 5–3, you could see the tears about to flow from Federer’s eyes as he was only one game away from the title.
Winning all four grand slams on clay, hard court, and grass has only been done in the modern era by Federer and Agassi. Ivan Lendl won eight majors but could not win Wimbledon. McEnroe, Sampras, Stefan Edberg, and Boris Becker could not win the French Open. Bjorn Borg, who won 11 grand slams, did not win the U.S. or Australian Opens.
After getting married at the start of the clay court season, and with his wife expecting their first child, many questioned if Federer could continue to win grand slam titles. Also, with last year’s one-sided loss to Nadal in the final in which Federer only won four games, Federer had a lot on his mind at the start of this year’s French Open.
Federer won it the hard way. He’s not just a great front-runner. He even came back in two five-setters (against Tommy Haas and Juan Martin Del Potro). Against Haas, he was down two sets.
Clearly Federer is the favorite at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open. It seems inevitable that he’ll win more grand slam titles and leave no doubt that he is the greatest tennis player in history.
As Soderling put it, “You gave me a lesson on how to play tennis today.” Federer was awesome, winning his 14th grand slam singles title, tying Pete Sampras’s record.
After the final, Soderling’s record against Federer fell to 0–10. He joked after the match: “Next time…nobody can beat me 11 times in a row!”
Federer also became one of the select few to win a career grand slam by adding the French Open to his collection of U.S. and Australian Opens and Wimbledon titles. He accepted the trophy from Andre Agassi who also holds a career grand slam.
“It’s an unbelievable relief of pressure, so I’m happy now,” said Federer in an interview with John McEnroe after the match. “For him [Agassi] to be here means the world to me.”
Many are calling Federer the greatest tennis player of all time including McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
Federer served phenomenally on Sunday, racking up 16 aces and only facing two break points. Soderling, who had used his ferocious forehand and big serves to take out four-time defending champion Rafa Nadal in the fourth round, was unable to get into his groove against Federer.
“It’s a new situation for me, playing a grand slam final…against Roger Federer,” said the Swede after the match. The magnitude of the occasion got to Soderling who started very poorly. No need to show Federer any sign of nerves.
Even after the lopsided first set win, the French Open crowd was firmly behind Federer. Normally, they would cheer for the underdog in hopes of seeing a long competitive match but on Sunday, they wanted Federer’s dream to come true after all he’s been through against Nadal.
Federer owes Soderling a debt of gratitude as the Swede did something Federer failed to do—beat Nadal at the French Open.
“I was relieved because I knew he [Nadal] would be the hardest player to beat,” said Federer when asked the obvious question about his reaction to Nadal’s loss.
Court Intruder
Early in the second set as the rain started to fall, a “fan” ran onto the court towards Federer. The intruder was soon apprehended but the unfortunate incident left the crowd buzzing. Soderling showed a lot of class and sportsmanship in asking if Federer was ok. A similar incident resulted in Monica Seles being stabbed during a changeover by a deranged spectator several years ago.
The second set had no service breaks and was decided in a tiebreak. Federer jumped all over Soderling in the tiebreak firing four aces and winning 7–1.
Federer also managed to use the forehand drop shot effectively. He was able to disguise it so well as Soderling expected another massive swing.
To some extent Federer probably felt Soderling suffered from a lack of belief in the final. When the Swede didn’t make an effort to run down every ball, Federer surely took note.
Soderling had beaten Nadal, Nikolai Davydenko, and Fernando Gonzalez in five sets in the semifinal. He wasn’t able to paint the lines with his powerful forehand and he only fired down two aces. Some might think he felt satisfied just to reach the final.
The third set began predictably with a Federer break of serve, as the momentum was totally with the Swiss. When returning serve up 5–3, you could see the tears about to flow from Federer’s eyes as he was only one game away from the title.
Place in History
Winning all four grand slams on clay, hard court, and grass has only been done in the modern era by Federer and Agassi. Ivan Lendl won eight majors but could not win Wimbledon. McEnroe, Sampras, Stefan Edberg, and Boris Becker could not win the French Open. Bjorn Borg, who won 11 grand slams, did not win the U.S. or Australian Opens.
After getting married at the start of the clay court season, and with his wife expecting their first child, many questioned if Federer could continue to win grand slam titles. Also, with last year’s one-sided loss to Nadal in the final in which Federer only won four games, Federer had a lot on his mind at the start of this year’s French Open.
Federer won it the hard way. He’s not just a great front-runner. He even came back in two five-setters (against Tommy Haas and Juan Martin Del Potro). Against Haas, he was down two sets.
Clearly Federer is the favorite at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open. It seems inevitable that he’ll win more grand slam titles and leave no doubt that he is the greatest tennis player in history.
