MySports Today

Roger Federer defeated 23rd ranked Robin Soderling in straight sets on Sunday afternoon (6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4) to capture his 1st ever French Open Title.  The French Open win gave Federer a career Major Championship Grand Slam, becoming only the 5th player to win all 4 major events – The Australian Open, The French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.  Federer also tied Pete Sampras with the most major championship victories at 14.  Andre Agassi – a career Grand Slam winner himself – handed over the French Open trophy to Federer and had this to say:  “It ends the discussion of where he fits in the history of the game.  This is going to mean so much to him, to have that hole filled.  I think it will change his life.”

Federer benefited from his nemesis – #1-ranked Rafael nadal – being eliminated from French Open competition earlier in the tournament.  Nadal had defeated Federer in several French Open finals matches leading up to this past weekend.

Fortunately, a crazed fan running up to Federer during a break in the action in the 2nd set didn’t unnerve Federer too much.  The man wore a red shirt and carried a red and blue flag and tried to put a red hat on the sitting Federer.  Federer was frightened by the incident:  “I didn’t know exactly what happened.  All of a sudden I heard the crowd, and I looked over and he jumped over the fence or something.  That gave me a fright, just like seeing him so close right away.”  It did throw him off his game a little, as he lost 3 straight points and Soderling’s serve, but he settled down the rest of the set and finished off Soderling in the tie-breaker to go up 2 sets to none.  The rest was history.

For a great summary of why Federer is the best male player of all-time, check out this cool tennis capsule by ESPN’s Kamakshi Tandon.