Robin Soderling has performed the biggest upset of the 2010 French Open Men’s Singles tournament today by knocking out number one seed Roger Federer in four sets at Roland Garros.
Swede Soderling, whom Federer defeated in the final last year, came back from one set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 with some stunning tennis to which the Swiss had no reply.
The result means that second seed, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, is now a strong favourite to win the French Open on his favoured clay, though, on today’s evidence, Soderling must be one obstacle should he make it to this weekend’s final.
Soderling will have a tough semi-final against clay-lark Tomas Berdych, who skittled out Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2, to add to his impressive straight sets victory over fourth seed Andy Murray in the previous round.
In This Story: Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles and the 2016 Olympic gold medal in doubles. In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.
In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal has been involved in five Davis Cup titles with Spain, and currently has a 29-win streak and 29–1 record in singles matches at the event. In 2010, at the age of 24, he became the seventh male player and the youngest of five in the Open Era to achieve the singles Career Grand Slam. Nadal is the second male player after Andre Agassi to complete the singles Career Golden Slam, as well as the second male player after Mats Wilander to have won at least two Grand Slams on all three surfaces (grass, hard court and clay).
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