Nadal Dealt First French Open Defeat

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Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten streak at the French Open has ended.

The defending champ was defeated by Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Sunday in the fourth round, ending his record 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

Soderling’s hard serve and dominating forehand were simply too much for Nadal.

“When one player plays bad, (he) must lose,” Nadal said. “(It) was my fault. … I didn’t play my best tennis and for that reason I lose.”

Nadal has dominated the French Open since his first match on the red clay at Roland Garros. In his 31 previous matches, he had lost only seven sets — the last one coming against Roger Federer in the 2007 final.

“He can’t feel good right now,” said Soderling, who called Nadal “the greatest clay-court player of all time.”

Soderling finished with 59 unforced errors, more than twice as many as Nadal’s 28, but the Swede’s 30 forehand winners made up some ground on the top-ranked Spaniard.

“He didn’t surprise me because I know how he plays and how dangerous he can be,” said Nadal, who said he failed to attack Soderling. “I didn’t play aggressive.”

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