French Open - Reed: Emotions run high in Paris

Eurosport - Tue, 09 Jun 09:54:00 2009

Eurosport commentator Simon Reed reflects on a French Open he believes will go down in history as the one of the great Grand Slams.

Roger Federer with the French Open trophy - 0

The final of the French Open was one the most uplifting occasions I've been privileged to commentate on.

It was in many ways the perfect end to a perfect tournament at Roland Garros.

The weather was brilliant, the crowds were brilliant and there were so many top-class matches and big stories. In my opinion, it was the best French Open for 10 years.

Roger Federer's win against Robin Soderling was greeted with so much emotion, it was extraordinary.

People have so much love for him, and for what he stands for as a person.

Of course, the fact he has experienced so much disappointment at Roland Garros also motivated fans to get behind him.

But I do find it a bit strange that Rafael Nadal wasn't treated with the same respect when he played.

Men's tennis is blessed by two top-notch blokes in Federer and Nadal and their example filters down throughout the game. Both are terrific individuals.

Ultimately Federer has been unlucky to have Nadal playing in his era. He would have won the French Open a long time ago if not for Nadal - who I believe is the greatest clay-court player the world has seen.

But strangely enough, I believe Federer's performance was probably his least impressive in clay court tennis for four years.

I still maintain he's not the player he used to be, and he probably won't get back to where he was. But you have to admire the way he dealt with the pressure in the final to make history.

Simon Reed / Eurosport

Comment 98 - 117 of 117

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  1. federer is a idiot

    From Florin, on Fri 28 Aug 10:00PM

  2. cool man

    From David W, on Wed 24 Jun 11:56AM

  3. tenis is made by federer

    From cristi, on Sat 20 Jun 12:15PM

  4. Brilliant for RF getting the only Grand Slam Trophy he­ was missing ( I was really choked up especially during­ the award ceremony !!), but I spose Nadal will be back­ with a revenge during the remaining slams of the­ season.Good luck, Roger!

    From Michaela F, on Wed 10 Jun 12:33AM

  5. ok geek

    From ragmaster1, on Tue 9 Jun 1:09PM

  6. ragmaster1
    well, I have given enough unworthy­ attention. So please, return to ur underworld, vampire.

    From owen, on Tue 9 Jun 1:06PM

  7. No.112, well said. I absolutely agree. I see no reason­ to love one of them and hate the other. I see no reason­ to compare them and their trophies ad nauseam and to­ make predictions as to who will win. Let's just­ enjoy tennis.

    From Jimmy, on Tue 9 Jun 9:45AM

  8. Started off as a Federer fan and naturally a­ "Nadal hater". But not anymore. Nadal has­ been winning me over. Fedex has more grace on court.­ Nadal has more grace off court. To be able to turn on­ the TV and see any of these two play, is pure joy.

    From gw_loo, on Tue 9 Jun 9:34AM

  9. for me roger federer is the best tennis in history,­ watching roger playing in all king od surface was­ fantastic, the way hed played very intertaining, abd he­ gave people emotions too, when he lost the sets but hes­ always survive. people respect him, he deserve to be­ respect by people, his nice person and roger his good­ example to those young peole.

    From Sophieroos, on Tue 9 Jun 7:52AM

  10. Boow are you some kind of bible basher or something­ cause you do seem really weird ?

    From ragmaster1, on Tue 9 Jun 7:52AM

  11. Nike today released Federes outfit for Wimbledon. It­ will be a skirt......................

    From vmatise, on Tue 9 Jun 2:57AM

  12. Please,oh please,my fans give moi the,thumbs,up cheers­ guys; D
    Hihihihihihihihihihihihihihhihihihi
    Love Jess­ xxx

    From jexbj, on Tue 9 Jun 1:34AM

  13. I am proud to,be,a total,cretin;­ D
    Hihihihihihihihihhi
    Love Jess xxx

    From jexbj, on Tue 9 Jun 1:32AM

  14. Roger was given,the Grand Slam for free,in the­ final,thanks so much,Robin; D

    From jexbj, on Tue 9 Jun 1:19AM
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    And one more thing to those who actually doubt that­ Soderling wanted to win rg,look at the stats,all the­ swede serves were above 210 kph,his forehands reached­ speed of 190kph,but Federer returned all but the aces­ and the ones at 220,as in the match with Del Potro,most­ returns were near the far end line and made a winner­ very difficult to prepare for the swede,Gonzales also­ returned all of his serves but mostly in the middle of­ the court where Soderling had all the time in the world­ to kill the game with huge forehands.Federer played­ great,point.He even matched Sod for serve pace, from­ less height and less muscle mass,because of greater­ technique and confidence. enough said,you won't­ change your mind,i get it,but try anyway

    From coolworld, on Tue 9 Jun 12:34AM

  16. ragmaster1

    You are just a shadow of a graveyard! You­ possess all the armies of hell in you and to think you­ are a human being frightens even the worms of the­ grave! I am sure you are zombie an ancient dead pig­ that was butchered for its ugly muse!

    From owen, on Tue 9 Jun 12:07AM

  17. WELL SIMON REED, I HAVE TO CONGRATULATE YOU BECAUSE­ WHEN THE DRAWS FOR THE FRENCH OPEN WERE RELEASED YOU­ PREDICTED THAT RAFA COULD FACE A TRICKY 4th ROUND CLASH­ AGAINST SODERLING.
    YOU WERE VERY CRITICISED BECAUSE­ RAFA CRUSHED SODERLING IN ROME BUT YOUR PREDICITION WAS­ RIGHT, OR EVEN OVERCOME, AS SODERLING WON.

    From Vítor, on Mon 8 Jun 11:46PM

  18. Like coolworld, I agree with starman. Roger & Rafa­ have a great respect for each other & would be­ horrified at some of the things being said against the­ other player to try & score points off each­ other.
    Think Simon meant it was the best RG overall­ & not counting the final. I feel that Roger's­ 2 Houdini matches, really were of high quality and­ Gonzo played a v. clever match vs Murray - and he fed­ off AM becoming increasingly frustrated as the match­ went on. However, I can't understand why people­ were sjurprised at this loss, gonzo is a v. good clay­ player, with a good deal of flair & he's beaten­ top players without trouble before. AM played too­ passive a game - how boring is that - & got kicked­ for not being more agressive. Soderling wasn't­ allowed to be agressive yesterday and of course he­ followed several other outisders who reach a Slam final­ & just can't cope.

    From dianabc44, on Mon 8 Jun 11:40PM

  19. HA how silly do you feel now Simon Reed? QUOTE from­ REED after last years Wimbledon final: 'Nadal is­ the new number one Federers dominace has come to an­ end, he probably only has one slam in him but i doubt­ it.' And look now he has leveled Sampras'­ record, achieved a career grand slam, won two slams­ since last Wimbledon and made the final of the AO. Eat­ your words Reed.

    From borisncfc100, on Mon 8 Jun 11:37PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Good point 97,it's been said that Nadal and Fed are­ good friends,and praised eachother many times­ publicly,Nadal saying how great Fed is all the­ time,while at his fifth Wimbledon title,Federer­ said,i'm trying to win all i can now before Nadal­ takes all. Many underdog play absolute great tennis­ then crash in finals,the few that don't become­ number one and stay there,and if it wasn't for­ Federer,Nadal would have been number one for 4 straight­ years already.these two are the greatest right­ now,Federer's game is absolutely­ fabulous,Nadal's is no less awe inspiring,add to­ that the ultimate warrior spirits of the spaniard to­ the unbelievable consistency of Federer and you get the­ best tennis ever to watch.But don't forget­ Djokovic,the only new guy to have quite a winning­ record against both and win the only grand slam our two­ favourite monsters didn't.Plus Murray,you know i­ almost hate the guy at the moment,but i will never deny­ that he is a rising star and a contender for top­ spot,and it's good for tennis that it's getting­ crowded at the top,but it's good for us that­ manly,our favourites still manage to keep them at­ bay.Fair enough ?

    From coolworld, on Mon 8 Jun 11:32PM
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