Day after Rafael Nadal’s shocking loss to Robin Soderling, this is how the king of clay and the rest of the tennis world reacted...
I need to face the fact I didn’t play well this week. When I practiced, I felt good. I felt very good, but it wasn’t the case during the match. This is not a tragedy, losing here in Paris. It had to happen one day. That’s the end of the road, and I have to accept it. I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm.
Soderling didn’t surprise me because I know how he plays, how dangerous he can be. I didn’t play my best tennis. I played very short, and I made him very easy to play at this level. So when one player plays bad, he must lose. I am not going to put any excuse right now. I didn’t have my day. When you lose, everyone starts to analyse if I played too much; if I am tired. The truth is I won four years in a row playing the same. This year I played the same and I lost. What happened? I lost. That’s it.
It is always tough losing in a Grand Slam, especially in one Grand Slam where you have the better chance to win than the rest than the others. But I did. I did very well in Wimbledon and in Australia and semifinals last year in US Open. I have to be confident on myself to keep going, keep working.
Defeats never make you grow, but you also realise how difficult my achievement was, and this is something you need sometimes. You need a defeat to give value to your victories.
Current players
Maria Sharapova: It caught me off guard. But that’s life and that’s tennis. He’s won this tournament so many times, and he’s an incredible athlete. It’s just part of the game.
Nikolay Davydenko: I think everybody was expecting Nadal to win again. But he lost. Maybe now (Roger) Federer is thinking, oh, now I have chance to win Roland Garros for a first time.
Fernando Verdasco: I think it’s a great opportunity for Federer. He can win it. Soderling and Davydenko, and also (Andy) Murray have a chance. But I believe Federer is the favourite. We’ll see what happens.
Former players
Bjorn Borg: If you can beat Nadal on clay in Paris then you can beat anybody. I think that Soderling can now win the French Open.
Mats Wilander: If Nadal couldn’t play his game it was because he was facing someone who was convinced that he could be beaten. Rafa wins at least 90 percent of his matches before going onto the court. Sunday was a different story.
Albert Costa: The problem wasn’t physical but rather on his racquet. He didn’t have the usual power on his strokes. I really didn’t expect him to lose. I saw him comfortably winning a fifth title.
Media The Guardian: 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.
The Telegraph: That Rafa, who was bidding to become the first man to ever win five straight singles finals here, has not made it to the second week. This is without doubt one of the biggest upsets in tennis history.
Times: It is not that Nadal has declined, his rivals are improving, getting closer to the standards he has set on clay, and they are hunting in a pack.
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