Federer (Finally) Wins French Open
June 7, 2009 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under Tennis
Roger Federer has completed a career Grand Slam (and his 14th major title) after beating Robin Soderling at the 2009 French Open 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 today. Federer is now tied with Pete Sampras’ impressive record and is the sixth man to ever win all four Grand Slam championships.
image: Zuma Press
Getting a French Open title was not an easy task for Federer who has been the runner-up three times before. The Swiss tennis star seemed to take his victory in stride (even though he clearly feels he deserves some bragging rights). After the win, Federer said “now the question is: Am I the greatest of all time? We don’t know, but I definitely have many things going for me because I’ve finally won all four Grand Slams, and I’m particularly happy reaching Pete’s 14.”
He went on to say: “It’s maybe my greatest victory, or certainly the one that removes the most pressure off my shoulders. I think that now and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace and no longer hear that I’ve never won Roland Garros.”
The winning moment was awesome (unless, of course, you’re Robin Soderling) as Federer fell to the clay and screamed before burying his hands in his face as the people in the crowd rose to their feet. He let the tears run free as he stood there listening to the Swiss national anthem. Tennis great, Andre Agassi, presented him with the trophy!!! It must have been an incredible feeling.
To Soderling’s credit, he was a true gentleman and a class act. After being defeated he said: “Roger, really, congrats to you. You really gave me a lesson in how to play tennis today. And to me you’re the greatest player in history. So you really deserved to win this title.”
Sampras, himself, had to weigh in on the victory. In a telephone interview he said: “I’m obviously happy for Roger. Now that he has won in Paris, I think it just more solidifies his place in history as the greatest player that played the game, in my opinion.”
I think I’m going to have to agree. Federer is carving a name for himself and has definitely solidified his position among the game’s best – if not THE best.
****UPDATE****
There was a scary moment, however, that slightly marred the big day. Federer was attacked by a weird fan who managed to get onto the court in an attempt to put a red hat on the tennis star’s head. After Federer pushed the man away from him, the guy danced in front of him waving a Barcelona soccer team flag. How crazy! Watch the video:
Yes Federer finally did it. He won French Open now we can safely say that he is the greatest player of all time. Some says it would have been different if Nadal was in final but I don’t think so, Nadal wasn’t playing as good as federer. FedEx defeated him easily in Madrid and would have done the same in Paris.