Rafa's Reign over Roland Garros is Over

The King is Dead!  Technically, not dead, just out. Out of the 2009 French Open, that is.  

(Photo courtesy of www.morethangames.co.uk)

Rafael Nadal, the King of the Clay Court is defeated at last.  His 31-match winning streak in Roland Garros was finally ended by the most unusual of suspects.   The man responsible for this huge upset is seeded 23 Robin Soderling of Sweden.    

(Photo courtesy ofwww.rolandgarros.com)

I began to entertain hopes of seeing cracks in Nadal's unassailability after he lost in the Madrid Masters finals to Roger Federer about a fortnight ago.  I thought that maybe Federer now has a very good chance to topple Nadal.  Perhaps Nadal can be beaten too, and I was hoping that Fernando Verdasco can avenge his semifinals loss in the Australian Open earlier this year by defeating him in a quarterfinal match in Paris.   Now, if Verdasco won't be able to finish the job, I have another layer of defense in Andy Murray in the semifinals.  Remember that Murray beat Nadal in the US Open semifinals last year and in the ABN Amro finals this year.  Murray also gave Nadal a scare in Monte Carlo earlier, although in that match, Nadal emerged victorious.  ESPN even shortlisted candidates who they thought could do the impossible job of eliminating Nadal in Roland Garros.  Apart from Federer, Verdasco and Murray, they were placing their bets on Djokovic, Davydenko, Tsonga, Del Potro and Gonzales.  

But none of these things will happen now.  Soderling pulled a big surprise.   Nadal is sent packing in the 4th round, too early in the tournament.   Hats off to Soderling!   I must confess I didn't know Soderling until today.  After a little research, I learned that he is the only Swede in the top 100 ATP rankings.  His coach, Magnus Norman, is a runner-up in Roland Garros in 2000, losing to Gustavo Kuerten.  He has 3 singles career titles, and is currently ranked 25 in the world.  He has never made it past round 3 in any grand slam.  This round of 16 match with the score 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2) is probably the biggest win in Soderling's career. 

Who would have guessed that Soderling will be the man to make Nadal throw in the towel in his favorite clay surface?  Nobody thought so;  everybody was stunned.   I am now hoping for another big surprise.   I want Federer to win this time.   With Nadal out, the coast is clearer for him.   I am keeping my fingers crossed.