Roger Federer wins the French Open on Sunday with a straight-set destruction of Robin Soderling. Federer completes the career Grand Slam and ties Pete Sampras with a record 14 major singles titles.
Move over, Pete Sampras. You've got company.
Roger Federer won his 14th Grand Slam singles title on Sunday afternoon, typing Pete Sampras for the all-time record by defeating Robin Soderling in the French Open final. With his 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 beatdown of Sweden's surprise finalist, Federer also lifted the Roland Garros trophy for the first time and thus completed a career Grand Slam.
Aside from the first point, which was an impressive baseline slugfest won by Federer, Soderling looked extremely flat throughout the first set. Clearly affected by Grand Slam final jitters, Soderling put in barely more than half of his first serves and struck a mere three winner's to Federer's 11. Federer broke in the opening game of the match and never looked back, finishing off the set 6-1 with his third break of the afternoon.
A crazed, flag-waving fan ran onto Federer's side of the court with Soderling serving at 1-2 in the second, but Federer shook off the scare and got back on track with a hold for 3-2. Both men held serve all the way through set two without facing a break point. Federer fired aces on his first three service points of the tiebreaker and seized mini-breaks on three of his opponent's first four service points to take a commanding 6-1 lead. The world No. 2 promptly finished it off 7-1 with his fourth straight ace.
With momentum fully in hand and one set away from history, Federer broke in the opening game of the third when Soderling flailed a forehand wide. The 25th-ranked Swede had a chance to get back on serve for 2-2, but he missed his first break point of the entire match when Federer abused a short ball with a cross-court forehand. Both players then held en route to a 5-4 Federer lead, giving the Swiss a chance to serve for the title.
Soderling suddenly earned a break point when Federer mis-hit a swinging forehand volley way long at 30-30. Federer saved it, however, when Soderling framed a forehand. A winning forehand volley off the Federer racket gave him his first championship point, and he promptly did it with a big first serve that Soderling dumped in the net.
"You taught me a lesson in how to play tennis," Soderling told Federer during the trophy presentation. "For me you are the greatest player in history."
"It's the most satisfying victory of my life next to my first Wimbledon," Federer said in an interview with John McEnroe. "Now the question is 'Am I the greatest of all-time?' We don't know."
Federer becomes the sixth man to complete the career slam (winning all four majors at least once). He joins Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, and Andre Agassi. Agassi had been the most recent player to accomplish the feat, finishing off his career slam at the 1999 French Open.
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