Nadal scolds himself after Soderling hands the Spaniard his first defeat at Roland Garros
Nadal scolds himself after Soderling hands the Spaniard his first defeat at Roland Garros
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Spain's Rafael Nadal gathers his thoughts and baggage after losing to Robin Soderling during their French Open last 16 match at Roland Garros in Paris yesterday. PIC/AFP |
With Novak Djokovic having also been eliminated, the door is now ajar for the likes of second seed Roger Federer and third seed Andy Murray, the British number one who beat Marin Cilic today.
"I made it very easy for him - I didn't attack him, I played very short," said the Mallorcan, whose 31 consecutive wins here is a French Open record.
"It was more my fault than him playing well. I didn't play my best tennis and for that reason I lost. It wasn't my day."
Nadal may have dropped well below his usual level but Soderling, who was featuring in his first last-16 match at a grand slam, played out of his skin.
Most people were expecting his level to dip after standing shoulder to shoulder with the top seed in the first couple of sets but he continued to pound away at his opponent with his mighty groundstrokes.
"It's the biggest moment in my career. He's the best clay-court player of all time," said the 24-year-old, who is seeded 23 here and takes on Nikolay Davydenko next.
"During the match, I was just telling myself this is another match, that I shouldn't care it's the fourth round of the French Open against Nadal. I kept telling myself I have to believe."
Nadal denied he had underestimated Soderling, who had lost 6-0 6-1 to the Spaniard on the clay in Rome last month. "He didn't surprise me because I know how he plays, how dangerous he can be. It was the level of my game that was a surprise to me," Nadal said.
Murray, Davydenko win
Nadal's defeat quite understandably overshadowed everything else that happened at Roland Garros today.
Murray had hours earlier set up a quarter-final clash with practice partner Fernando Gonzalez, the 12th seed, thanks to a 7-5 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 win over Cilic. The Scot made just 14 unforced errors his often cautious approach working perfectly.
Chile's Gonzalez beat 30th seed Victor Hanescu 6-2 6-4 6-2, mainly thanks to his booming forehand that tore the Romanian to shreds.
Tenth seed Davydenko ended eighth seed Fernando Verdasco's hopes with a surprisingly comfortable 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory.
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