Federer enjoys 'magical moment'
Swiss maestro proves clay prowess with French Open success
Tennis Betting - Wimbledon 2009 Winner
Federer 7/4, Nadal 7/4, Murray 7/2, Djokovic 15/2, Tsonga 10/1, Del Potro 28/1 or Soderling 33/1.
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Federer enjoys 'magical moment'
Federer: Paris triumph completed career Grand Slam
It might be the greatest victory of my career...It is a magical moment.
Roger Federer
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An emotional Roger Federer was delighted to win his maiden French Open title.
The Swiss overcame Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 at Roland Garros to become the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.
He joined a select group containing Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi as the only men to have won all four Grand Slam events.
Agassi, the only other member of the sextet to have achieved the feat on four different surfaces, was on hand to present him with the French Open trophy.
Federer is now level on 14 major titles with Pete Sampras and, at just 27-years-old, appears almost certain to make that record his own in the future.
"It might be the greatest victory of my career," said Federer, who had lost the three previous French Open finals to Rafael Nadal.
"It takes away so much pressure. Now, I can play in peace for the rest of my career.
"Nobody will never tell me again that I have not won Roland Garros.
"It feels good to be on the podium as the winner for once. It is a magical moment.
Meant to be
"I do feel like it was meant to be. I was in desperate situations this tournament. The terrible rain, the swirly winds and the dangerous opponent (today) was just part of it.
"I was able to handle it for two weeks.
"It was very hard mentally for me to stay in the match. My mind was always wondering, 'What if, what if?' You can't help it. They (the thoughts) kept on coming back.
"I was very nervous at the beginning of the third set because I realised how close I was. And the last game was almost unplayable. I was just hoping to serve some good serves and hoping he was going to make four errors. It was that bad.
"It was an emotional rollercoaster for me."
On drawing level with Sampras, he added: "That almost gets forgotten - it's an incredible feeling reaching 14 and not being derailed by losing Grand Slam finals to Rafa (at Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year and the Australian Open this year).
"Equalling Pete's record here in Paris is unbelievable. And Andre (Agassi), the last man to win all four Majors, giving me the trophy seems just very fitting in a way."
Soderling, who beat four-time defending champion Nadal en route to the final, paid tribute to the new champion.
"Roger is a really worthy winner," said the Swede, who has now lost 10 times to Federer.
Best in history
"To me he is the best player in history so he really deserves to win here at the French as well.
"I think the match was what I expected, I played him so many times.
"I did not play aggressive enough. Every time I play against him, it's what I end up saying.
"Now I am learning that it's not that I play bad, it is that he makes me play bad."
Soderling, however, was upbeat about his future after reaching his first Grand Slam final.
"I always believe in myself but this gives me a lot more confidence," he added.
"Of course, beating Nadal was very nice for me. I think I made what was supposed to be impossible, beat him on clay in best of five, no one else had ever made it."