Federer joy at long-awaited French glory
WORLD No2 Roger Federer toasted the finest moment of his distinguished career after finally triumphing at the French Open yesterday.
A straight-sets victory over Sweden’s Robin Soderling saw Federer snare the one Grand Slam to elude him, and equal Pete Sampras’s record of 14 major titles.
Federer sank to his knees in relief upon completing the 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win, ending a run of three years as a losing finalist to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
“It was probably my greatest victory,” said the Swiss 27-year-old. “The victory was a huge pressure for me today. It’s one of the best days of my life. Tennis is just my life. It’s nice to be up here on the podium as a winner this time.”
Soderling, who sprung the surprise of the tournament by defeating Nadal in round four, had no complaints and heaped praise on his opponent.
“You really gave me a lesson on how to play tennis today,” said the 23rd seed. “For me you’re the greatest player in history so you really deserved to win this title.”
Former star Andre Agassi, the most recent of only five men to have equalled Federer’s achievement of winning all four Grand Slams, presented him with the trophy.
Federer had been favourite to end his wait for French Open glory since the exit of Nadal, champion in Paris for the last four years.
And he will be strongly fancied to eclipse Sampras’s record and become the all-time leading Grand Slam title-winner by claiming a sixth Wimbledon crown in the coming weeks, with Nadal struggling to recover from knee trouble.
Despite the personal significance of the occasion, Federer showed few nerves in a comprehensive defeat of Soderling. The Swede gifted Federer a break in the very first game and, despite forcing a second-set tie-break, could not get a foothold in the match. Federer clinched victory when Soderling netted a forehand return.
FEDERER’S 14-GRAND JOB SLAM BY SLAM
AUSTRALIAN OPEN: 2004, 2006, 2007
FRENCH OPEN: 2009
WIMBLEDON: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
US OPEN: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008