After last year's embarassing loss to Rafael Nadal in the French Open Final, it seemed like winning the French just wasn't in the card's for Roger Federer. My what a difference a year makes.
Federer's 2009 French Open
Federer had an uneven two weeks of tennis in this year's French Open. He was tested several times throughout the tournament including surviving two four setters and two five setters. He came back from 2 sets to 0 against veteran Tommy Hass in the 4th Round, and 2 sets to 1 down to Juan Martin Del Potro in the Semis to make his way into the Final. In the Final, though, he would play his best tennis.
The 2009 French Open Final
Roger Federer would face a suprise opponent in the French Open Final. His name was Robin Soderling and he, himself had made history by vanquishing the four time French Open Champion Rafael Nadal in the 4th Round. Whether it was nerves or fatigue, or a combination of both, Soderling did not play his best tennis in the Final. Federer jumped on him early and never looked back. Federer used his entire arsenal to beat Soderling. He served well, he returned well, he moved well, he played well from the baseline, and mixed in some beautiful drop shots on route to a fairly easy 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
Federer Makes History at the French Open
Federer reached many significant milestones at this year's French Open. He tied Pete Sampras' record of fourteen Grand Slam titles. Not only that, he became just the sixth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. He also reached an unprecedented 20th straight Grand Slam Semifinal, twice that of anyone in history. His Finals appearance was his 15th in the last 16 Grand Slams, a mark that will likely never be equaled.
What's Next for Federer?
Now that Federer has tied the Grand Slam record, the only thing left for him to do is break it. He will get his chance in a couple of weeks at Wimbledon. He will go into in with great confidence after his victory at the French. Word has come out that Nadal has a bad knee and if he is unable to play or is less than 100%, Federer will be a huge favorite to reclaim his Wimbledon crown. Hopefully Nadal will get healthy in time for Wimbledon and tennis fans will get treated to another classic Federer/Nadal Final. If Federer is going to break the Grand Slam record, nothing would be sweeter than to do it by beating his nemesis at Wimbledon, the place where he won his first Grand Slam title.
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