Nothing can intrude on Federer's record.
Byline: STEVE DOUGLASROGER FEDERER last night looked back on his historic title success at the French Open and declared: "It was meant to be." The Swiss completed his haul of grand-slam titles and moved level with Pete Sampras on a record 14 Majors by posting a 6-1 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 victory over Robin Soderling thanks to a near flawless display in rainy conditions in Paris.
"I do feel like it was meant to be," said a glowing Federer.
"I was in desperate situations this tournament. The terrible rain, the swirly winds and the dangerous opponent (Soderling) was just part of it. I was able to handle it for two weeks." Federer, the second seed here, joins Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi as the only men to have won all four grand slams.
Picking up a sixth Wimbledon crown this summer will allow him to surpass Sampras's amazing r ecord.
However, Federer admitted feeling frightened when confronted by an intruder midway through his final victory.
Federer was preparing to receive a serve when 15-0 down in the fourth game of the second set when a spectator, wearing a top bearing the word 'Switzerland' on its front, entered the court having clambered down from high up in the stand opposite the umpire's chair.
He ran up to Federer and brandished in front of the player's face what appeared to be a flag of Spanish football team Barcelona.
He then attempted to place his cap on the head of Federer, who retreated way behind the service line.
Security were embarrassingly slow to react as the man danced in front of Federer for a few seconds before running around behind the chair of a line judge, charging across the court and vaulting the net.
He was then halted in his tracks as he was tackled to the ground by a security guard.
That was the only thing that threatened to derail Federer's charge to glory but he admitted it was a "touch scary".
"I don't know what happened but all of a sudden I heard the crowd, I looked over and he jumped over the fence. That gave me a fright seeing him so close right away," recalled Federer, who has also been confronted by intruding fans at Wimbledon and in a tournament in Montreal.
"It's a good thing it's
FEDERER'S MAJOR WINS 1. Wimbledon 2003 beat Mark Philippoussis 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 7-6 (7/3) 2. Australian Open 2004 beat Marat Safin 7-6 (7/3) 6- 4 6-2 3. Wimbledon 2004 beat Andy Roddick 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 4. US Open 2004 beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-0 7-6 (7/3) 6-0 5. Wimbledon 2005 beat Roddick 6-2 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 6. US Open 2005 beat Andre Agassi 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7/1) 6-1 7. Australian Open 2006 beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 8. Wimbledon 2006 beat Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (2/7) 6-3 9. US Open 2006 beat Roddick 6-2 4-6 7-5 10. Australian Open 2007 beat Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 6-4 11. Wimbledon 2007 beat- Nadal 7-6 (9/7) 4-6 7-6 (7/3) 2-6 6-2 12. US Open 2007 beat Novak Djokovic but won 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 13. US Open 2008 beat Andy Murray 6-2 7-5 6-2 14. French Open 2009 beat Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 happened to me before. But it definitely felt uncomfortable once he came close to me." Federer, who won in straight sets, was able to laugh it off.
"Normally they always look at me and go, 'I'm so sorry I have to do this', because they always have some sort of reason for it!" he added. "I remember the English guy (at Wimbledon) was actually quite funny.
"This guy here looked at me and I was not sure what he wanted. It seemed like he wanted to give me something. So I was okay, because I saw he wasn't pulling for anything stupid." Soderling added: "It wasn't great to see. I think the security were as surprised as we were.
"It's very bad that these things can happen. It's a shame." Neither the International Tennis Federation (ITF) nor the French Tennis Federation (FFT) have made an official comment regarding the incident but an investigation seems sure to be launched..
CAPTION(S):
Roger Federer Roger Federer tries to shake off an intruder during his French Open final win
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| Publication: | Daily Post (Liverpool, England) |
|---|---|
| Date: | Jun 8, 2009 |
| Words: | 727 |
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