Posted on 06/07/2009 9:03:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
PARIS — In his mind, as Roger Federer imagined over the years and the frustration what it would be like to finally win the French Open, it was probably not quite like this.
How could Federer have imagined that the obstacle across the net in one of the most important matches of his life would be Robin Soderling, a relatively anonymous Swede, instead of Rafael Nadal, his left-handed Spanish nemesis?
How could Federer have imagined that with him cruising comfortably early in the second set Sunday, an intruder would jump out of the stands and onto the clay, run toward him and drape a flag over Federer’s head, leaving the Swiss champion shaken?
How could he have imagined that, on top of all the pent-up pressure and imminent tennis history already weighing upon him, that he and Soderling would also have to deal with some of the worst weather ever experienced during a major singles final?
No, it was all quite unexpected, but Federer, to his enduring credit, shrugged it all off and kept his eye on the one big prize he was lacking to win, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4.
"This could be my biggest victory, the one that takes off the most pressure," said Federer, who dropped to his knees on the clay after he had secured victory. "Now for the rest of my career, I can play relaxed and never hear again that I never won the French Open."
The victory gave Federer, 27, a complete set of Grand Slam singles titles and allowed him to tie the career record of 14 major singles titles held by Pete Sampras, the now-retired American champion.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Roger Federer has won :
* Australian Open 3 times,
* Wimbledon 5 times
* United States Open 5 times.
* The French Open Once
He is now 27. How many years of good tennis does he have ahead of him ? Can he win more grand slams ? How is he listed among the tennis legends ?
We shall see....
He was hot today. Those drop shots were killers.
I’d really like to see him beat Rafael Nadal on clay. This did not happen this year. Everytime the two of them meet, we get an instant classic match. His Wimbleton match with Nadal last year was one for the ages,
“beat Rafael Nadal on clay. This did not happen this year”
I thought that happened in Madrid this year
He did...several weeks ago...at the Madrid Open...on clay.
Looks like Roger took last year to heart and has come back with a vengeance.
Federer-Nadal is quickly turning into one of the great all-time sports rivalries, just when it looked like Nadal was starting to take over, back comes Federer.
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