In one of the biggest upsets in Tennis of recent years, world number one Rafael Nadal lost to Robin Soderling at the French Open on Sunday.
Clay court specialist Nadal went into the match with a record unequaled in modern tennis: he hadn’t lost a match at Roland Garos since debuting there in 2005, an unbeaten run of 31 straight matches, and four consecutive titles.
24 year old Swede Robin Soderling, currently ranked 25th in the world had other ideas. Over 3 1/2 hours, Soderling broke Nadal, winning the match 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) through a range of strong forehands and some amazing serving.
Nadal was philosophical about the result, saying that “Well, that’s the end of the road, and I have to accept it. I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm.” Soderling, who has never won a third round match in a major before beating Nadal, faces 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko in the next round.
