Fed’s French connection finally arrives

ROGER 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.

After struggling for form throughout the tournament as the pressure built and his chief rivals – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – were all eliminated, Federer saved his best performance for last.

After losing the last three finals here to Nadal, Federer finally got his hands on an elusive title that was threatening to overshadow his illustrious career.

“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 (yesterday) was just part of it. I was able to handle it for two weeks.”

Federer 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’ amazing record. “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 is very fitting.”

Federer admitted he went through an “emotional rollercoaster” as he closed in on victory against Soderling.

After being outclassed in a one-sided first set, the Swede put up more of a fight in the second and third although he never came close to reproducing the kind of form he displayed in beating reigning champion Nadal in round four.

He also admitted feeling frightened when confronted by an intruder midway through the decider.

Federer was preparing to receive a serve at 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 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. “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 happened to me before. But it definitely felt uncomfortable once he came close to me. 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!

“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.

The incident instantly brought back memories of the on-court attack on Monica Seles by a German spectator at a tournament in Hamburg in 1993.

The American, at that time 19 and the world number one, was stabbed in the back by a deranged Steffi Graf fan while she was sitting at a changeover during a quarter-final match against Magdalena Maleeva.

According to the website of Swiss newspaper Le Matin, the intruder has been arrested for ‘entering the grounds of a sports event’.

The same source said he was a Spaniard who was born in 1975 and hailed from Barcelona.

Soderling labelled Federer as the greatest player of all time to which the Swiss reacted by saying: “I guess we’ll never know who is the greatest player of all time. That should be judged at the very end. I’m not addicted to beating all possible records but I’m proud of them. I’m just trying to have the best possible career I can.”