French Open: 2009 French Open Review
The clay surface at the French Open had always served as a nemesis to Roger Federer.
The splendid Swiss star had dominated the three other grand slam tournaments on the ATP Tour, but it wasn’t until 2009 that Federer broke through at Roland Garros. Perhaps the greatest player in the history of the sport, Federer finally solved the French Open last year when he beat Swede Robin Soderling in the final for his first French Open title and became of one of the most favorite tennis stars of all time.
Prior to Federer’s championship win, his rival Rafael Nadal was dominating headlines. The powerful left-hander set a French Open record by winning his 30th consecutive match at the tournament when he beat Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili in the second round.
Nadal, who had won four consecutive French Open titles from 2004-08, ran his streak to 31 consecutive wins prior to be defeated by Soderling in four sets in the quarterfinals.
Soderling was able oust Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals. Federer defeated Fernando Gonzalez to make it to the final.
On the women’s side, a championship upset stunned all.
Seventh-seeded Sveltana Kuznetsova beat top-seed Dinara Safina. Prior to the championship match, the semifinals featured two participants with double-digit seeds. Dominika Cibulková was the 20th seed and Samantha Stosur was seeded 30th, yet both made it to the semifinals.
Second-seed Serena Williams was bounced in the quarterfinals as was former world No. 1 Maria Sharipova. Serena’s sister, Venus, could not get past the third round.
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