Nigeria Content Online

Exactly a year and
a day after Robin Soderling of Sweden ended Rafael Nadal’s exceptional
run at Roland Garros, he caused another major upset by beating
defending champion and world number one, Roger Federer in the
quarter-final of the French Open.

From the moment I
saw the line up for the quarter-finals, I knew Federer was in trouble
even though the Swede had not won a match in 12 attempts against the
Swiss superstar, including the final of last year’s French open.

Sweet revenge

That record
doesn’t count much now because Soderling got his sweetest and most
satisfying revenge when it mattered the most. His victory not only ends
Federer’s campaign at the French open, but ended his amazing record of
23 consecutive semi-final appearances at grand slams. Also if Rafa goes
on to win the title; he takes over from Roger as world no 1, which
delays the Fed Express equalling and breaking Pete Sampras record of
286 weeks as no 1 player in the world. This is what you call “La
revanche dous” in French and “sweet revenge” in English.

The heavy
conditions on the day suited Soderling’s game; his confidence was sky
high and evident in his ground strokes and serves. He played so well
that I remember a Nadal fan saying, “I shudder to think what will
happen to Rafa if Soderling meets him in that form”.

The victory over
Roger makes the Swede the first man to beat a defending champion at
Roland Garros in back-to-back years since Mats Wilander in 1984 and ‘85
and the second man to beat Roger and Rafa in the same tournament.

As for Federer, is this the beginning of the end? This has been an annoying question in the last two years.

Tennis fans have
heard comments like, his time is over; he has peaked, he has won his
tournament, the young guys are coming, etc. Yet, since he lost the
Wimbledon final to Nadal in 2008, he has made every final in Grand
Slam, excluding this French Open. He’s won four Grand Slams since then,
yet people still suggest he’s done. Is he the player that once owned
everyone in 2003-2007?

No, but he is still
one of the 3 favourites to win every slam he enters. Clearly, one of
the most impressive streaks in the history of sports has ended but we
know he doesn’t let those things stay with him for long. He’s a great
adapter and a great adjuster. He could go on to win Wimbledon and the
US open, which are his favourite surfaces this summer, and even if he
does lose earlier than expected again, it certainly wouldn’t be a
shame, would it?

And like he said,
he “it was a great run, and I have the quarter-final streak going”. The
guy wins on every surface; he has sixteen Grand Slam titles, 23
straight semi-final appearances, over 280 weeks at number one, and has
broken pretty much every record. A true ambassador of the sport indeed.
What more could he do? I guess winning all four slams in one calendar
year is the only thing missing, but you can’t have it all, can you?

End of dominance

There’s no doubt
that Roger’s days of utter dominance are over and he’s more prone to
losing now, but to suggest or question whether he’s declining or
‘finished’ as some people have, is terrible. Andy Murray lost in the
3rd round this year; does that mean he’s ‘done’?

As for me, win or lose and even if he never wins one more title, I remain a Federer fan till I die.

The French open for
me ended after both Wimbledon defending champions exit. Serena
William’s loss to Aussie Samantha Stosur was particularly upsetting.
Stosur served for the match in the second set, but as we have often
seen it with Serena, she just refused to back-off. After fighting back
and even getting a match point, she just couldn’t close out the match.
Good for her, she’s had a great tournament and deserved a place in the
final. Not to take anything from Stosur’s game, I still think that
women’s tennis is on the decline and not as exciting as it used to be.
God help us if Venus and Serena decide to retire at this “down time”.

Interestingly, a year ago, Stosur met Schiavone in a first-round match at Roland Garros.

Stosur was the last
seed and Schiavone is unseeded. Amazing how much can happen in a year.
It’s the first time since the 2004 French Open that both finalists made
their Grand Slam finals debut.

We have a new female champion at Roland Garros this year, and hopefully, there will be a new men’s champion.