Amazing Rafa

Rafael Nadal made history today by willing his eighth Roland Garros trophy, beating David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. It is the first time that one man has won a Grand Slam event eight times. Nadal now owns an astounding 59-1 record in 9 tournaments of the French Open, his only loss coming from Robin Soderling in 2009.

Nadal defeated rival Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, winning in five sets, while Ferrer reached his first Grand Slam final by defeating Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. 

In the men's doubles, the Bob and Mike Bryan won their second Roland Garros trophy, defeating the French duo Nicolas Mahut and Michael Llora. It is the Bryan brothers' 14 Grand Slam crown.

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King of Clay Wins Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal bested Novak Djokovic in four sets, to win his record-breaking 7th French Open title, one more than Bjorn Borg's.



The victory is Nadal's 11th Grand Slam title, and he is now tied with Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver for fourth with the most number of Grand Slams. Only Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (13), and Roy Emerson (12) has more.


Nadal also improved his record in Roland Garros to 52-1, with the only loss coming from Robin Sodering in the 2009 French Open 4th round. This is also his 35th title on clay, cementing his moniker as "The King of Clay."

Robin Soderling

Robin Soderling is a Swede professional tennis player. Soderling, who turned pro in 2001, is currently No. 29 in the world. He reached his highest ranking in November 2010, at No. 4. He has 10 career ATP singles titles and 1 doubles titles to date. 

He beat Rafael Nadal in the 4th round in 2009 French Open Soderling, then won two more matches to reach the finals of the claycourt event. He is the first Swede since Magnus Norman in 2000 to reach the final of a grand slam. He lost it to Roger Federer in 3 sets. He reached the finals of the French Open again in 2010 but lost to Nadal in the championship. 

He missed most of 2011 and the start of the 2012 season due to mononucleosis. 

Born: August 14, 1984 in Tibro, Sweden 

Height: 6'4" 

Weight: 190 lbs 

Website: http://robinsoderling.se, Twitter

Achievements/Career Highlights: 

• career prize money: $10.42 million (as of April 2012) 
• career win-loss record: 310-170 (as of April 2012) 
• reached 2 finals in Roland Garros, in 2009 and 2010
• won the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, the first Swede to win a Masters 1000 event since Tomas Enqvist in 2000