London, England (GenevaLunch) – Rafael Nadal’s chances of pushing Roger Federer out of the number one slot in tennis faded Monday night when he lost to Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4 in the ATP World Tour, in the first match of a round robin. Soderling had handed Nadal his first loss on clay at the French Open in Paris in May 2009. Monday’s game had Nadal running all over the court, and after the game Nadal said he hadn’t really had the “necessary calm” to stay on top.
Links to other sites: AP, ATP official site, Guardian
Wimbledon, England (GenevaLunch) - Andy Murray fought his way past Swiss number two Stanislav Wawrinski in a five-set thriller that lasted more than four hours, taking advantage of the new retractable roof that allowed play to continue until the finish at 22:39.
Wimbledon, UK (GenevaLunch) - Wimbledon had a day off for the “middle Sunday” and has not yet had to test the new roof after an unusual absence of rain. In the mens’ draw the dream final of Roger Federer, in search of a record 15th Grand Slam title, against Andy Murray in search of his first, is looking likely.
Update 15:30 Sampras calls Federer greatest player ever
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer won his first French Open to become only the sixth player in history to win all of the Grand Slam tournaments, after Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and André Agassi. It was his 14th Grand Slam win, equaling Pete Sampras’s record. He beat the Swedish sensation of the tournament, Robin Soderling, 6-1 7-6 6-4. Sampras told the Guardian Monday that Federer is the best player in the history of the game. He spoke to CNN, saying “I’m so proud right now you can’t believe it” and noting that he’s far from retirement and hopes to play for many more years.
UPDATE 6 June Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer and Robin Soderling each won exciting five set matches to set up a fascinating final for the French Open.
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - Roger Federer cruised past Gael Monfils to reach his 20th successive Grand Slam semi-final. He took the first set in the tie break and then accelerated to win 7-6 6-2 6-4. He will meet fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro in his next match as the Argentine disposed of Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-4 6-2. The other semi will be between the star of the tournament so far, Swede Robin Soderling who beat Rafa Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko, and Fernando Gonzalez, who crushed Andy Murray.
In the women’s event Serena Williams went out in a thrilling match against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
