Roger Federer Wins 2009 French Open; Completes Career Slam

Roger Federer beat Robin Soderling in the Finals of the French Open in straight sets (6-1, 7-6, 6-4) to win his 14th career Grand Slam, tying Pete Sampras for the record, and became the sixth man to complete the Career Slam that has been eluding him for years. Federer won his first French Open title, to go with his three Australian Open titles, five Wimbledon titles, and five US Open titles.

Both men took different but difficult paths to reach the finals.

Federer lost only two sets in his first three rounds. In the fourth round of the French Open, Federer lost the first two sets against Tommy Haas and was in big danger in the third set, but battled back to win the last three sets and the match. Federer rebounded well in the quarterfinals, beating fan-favorite Gael Monfils in straight sets. He next faced Juan Martin Del Potro in the semifinals, who Federer had never lost a set against. Federer was down two sets to one at one point in the match but came back to win the last two sets to advance to his fourth consecutive French Open Final.

Soderling did even better in the first three rounds, losing just one set, beating David Ferrer in four sets in the third round. Soderling faced four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, who had never lost a French Open match, and had won his first three matches in straight sets. Nadal was 31-0 coming into this match, which was a record, but Soderling pressed the action and pulled off the upset of the year, beating Nadal in four sets. Soderling faced Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals, and pulled off another upset, beating Davydenko in straight sets (6-1, 6-3, 6-1). Soderling entered his first semifinals against Fernando Gonzalez. It was a highly competitive match, with Soderling battling his way back to take the match in five sets to advance to his first Grand Slam Final.

Coming into this match, Federer had a career record of 9-0 against Robin Soderling and the different level of play showed again in this match.

Federer had to be relieved that he wasn't playing Nadal in the finals. Federer had lost to Nadal in the finals or semifinals for the past four years and had never beaten him at this event. This was Federer's fourth French Open Final and the first one he did not face Nadal in.

After the match was over, Andre Agassi, who was in the crowd, congratulated Federer and presented him with his trophy. Agassi was the last man to complete the career slam.

This was a well-deserved victory for Federer, who has to now be considered as the greatest of all-time.