King of clay
June 7, 2010
Rafael Nadal was back on top of the tennis world on Sunday as he outplayed Sweden's Robin Soderling to win the French Open for the fifth time in six years.
Playing in front of Spain's Queen Sofia, the 24-year-old Spaniard scored a solid 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory, becoming only the second man to win five French crowns. His win sends rival Roger Federer to second, and makes his the first of eight qualifiers for the year-end Masters finals in London in November.
"This is a very important victory for me, one of the most important of my career," said Nadal, who suffered from injuries at the event last year. "2009 was very difficult for me. I worked a lot to be here. I was nervous all during this event.
"All tournaments I win give me huge satisfaction but winning a grand slam tournament here in Paris after I lost last year, because I was not well prepared and I had very low morale, is extra special."
Nadal lost to Soderling at last year's French Open, leading to nearly a yearlong title drought.
Despite Soderling 's disappointing defeat, he will still move to a career-best ranking of sixth on the ATP list Monday.
Author: Martin Kuebler (dpa/Reuters)
Editor: Nigel Tandy