June 1, 2009
Four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, the No. 1 seed at the 2009 French Open, fell to No. 23 Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Sunday. Nadal had won all 31 of his previous matches at Roland Garros and hadn’t dropped a single set since 2007.
“I know it for a fact anything can happen, and I have to accept them both in the same way,” Nadal said after the match. “You cannot collapse either because you’ve won a match or because you’ve lost it. This is sport, and you can have victories or defeats. No one remembers defeats on the long run. People remember victories.”
Soderling will play No. 10 seed Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals. They will be joined by No. 2 seed Roger Federer, who bested Tommy Haas 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 on Monday. Federer, who needs a Roland Garros title to complete a Career Slam, has lost in the finals to Nadal each of the past three years. The field is rounded out by No. 3 seed Andy Murray, No. 12 seed Fernando Gonzalez, No. 16 seed Tommy Robredo and the winners of two matches to be completed today. No. 6 seed Andy Roddick will play No. 11 seed Gael Monfils, while No. 5 seed Juan Martin Del Potro will play No. 9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
