Spanish player Rafael Nadal (L) and Swedish player Robin Soderling (R) leave the court after their French Open tennis round of 16 match on May 31, 2009 at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. The event, the second Grand Slam tournament of 2009, runs from May 25 to June 7, 2009. Soderling won 6/2,6/7,6/4,7/6.
Rafeal Nadal's shock defeat leaves the door open for Roger Federer
If the Eiffel Tower had suddenly toppled, or the Arc de Triomphe had crumbled into small pieces, the shock could hardly have been greater than the sight of Rafa Nadal, four times the French Open champion and chasing a place in history as the only man to win the title five times in succession, losing yesterday in the fourth round against Sweden's Robin Soderling, a player who previously had failed to progress beyond the last 32 of any slam in 21 attempts.
Now all has changed, and suddenly the chances of Federer winning the title for the first time have increased one-hundredfold. Nadal has been Federer's nemesis, not only here but more recently at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Could it be that Soderling, this unheralded Swede, has presented Federer with the chance to equal Sampras's record of 14 grand slam titles, and also to join Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Fred Perry and Donald Budge as the only players in tennis history to win all the four slams.
Nadal's defeat could see Federer, if he wins the title, acknowledged as the greatest player of the modern era, or at the least placed shoulder to shoulder with his all-time hero, Laver. It will be barely possible to watch his next three matches before Sunday's final, and the first is today against German's Tommy Haas, in case he loses. Such an opening may never come his way again here, although everybody left in the draw, including Britain's Andy Murray, will feel as if a curtain has been lifted.
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