Rafael Nadal’s hopes of a record fifth successive French Open title were crushed into the Roland Garros red dust by Robin Soderling’s Swedish sledgehammer on Sunday.
In one of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament, the Spanish king of clay slumped to a first ever defeat here having racked up 31 wins in 31 outings since his 2005 debut.
Soderling’s stunning 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2) fourth round victory came just a month after he’d won only one game in a rout at the Rome Masters, his third defeat in three matches against the world No. 1.
The six-times Grand Slam champion seemed lacking in energy on Centre Court, losing the first set in 34 minutes before rallying back to win the second in a tie-break 7-2.
Soderling brushed that off as a mere inconvenience on his way to making sure a second champion was dismissed that day after women’s holder Ana Ivanovic was earlier beaten by Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3.
In one of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament, the Spanish king of clay slumped to a first ever defeat here having racked up 31 wins in 31 outings since his 2005 debut.
Soderling’s stunning 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2) fourth round victory came just a month after he’d won only one game in a rout at the Rome Masters, his third defeat in three matches against the world No. 1.
The six-times Grand Slam champion seemed lacking in energy on Centre Court, losing the first set in 34 minutes before rallying back to win the second in a tie-break 7-2.
Soderling brushed that off as a mere inconvenience on his way to making sure a second champion was dismissed that day after women’s holder Ana Ivanovic was earlier beaten by Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3.
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