Swedish Giant Slayer

Today on the red clay of Roland Garros, Robin Soderling accomplished the unthinkable yet again. Although the victim this time around was not a four-time French Open champion, he did take down arguably the greatest player ever to step onto a tennis court, in Roger Federer Throughout the match, Soderling pounded forehand after forehand at Federer, along with serves clocked at one hundred forty miles per hour. The defeat for Federer marked the end of his streak of twenty-three straight Grand Slam semifinal appearances. Federer's streak was more than twice that of the previous high of ten shared by Ivan Lendl and Rod Laver. The win for Soderling marks the second consecutive year in which he has beaten the French Open defending champion. In similar fashion to his monumental upset of Rafael Nadal last year, Soderling was able to push Federer throughout the match and stay within striking distance. After Federer and Soderling split the first two sets, Soderling was able to take the third set 7-5 after a lengthy rain delay. The third set featured an incredible save on match point in which Solderling hit a backhand overhead volley for a winner. After the third set, Soderling closed the match with a 6-4 victory in the fourth set. After twelve losses, Soderling was able to conquer Federer on one of the grandest stages in tennis. The final score of the match was 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. 6-4. Soderling seems determined to match his performance from last year of reaching the finals in Paris. With Rafael Nadal on the opposite side of the draw, Soderling has a strong chance to repeat as a finalist. Robin will face Tomas Berdych in the semifinals. Berdych dispatched Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets to reach the semifinals. The loss by Federer also means that Rafael Nadal will regain the number one world ranking if he can win the French Open, which he is definitely capable of doing. It will be an interesting Sunday in Paris if Soderling and Nadal can advance to the final. Sources Used: espn.com, tennis.com