Soderling finally puts an end to Federer hoodoo

FRENCH Open giant killer Robin Soderling insisted he never stopped believing he could end his hoodoo against Roger Federer after finally toppling the defending champion last night.

Soderling followed up last year’s historic Roland Garros victory over king of clay Rafael Nadal by ending Federer’s run of 23 straight grand slam semi-final appearances.

It was very much unlucky 13 for the Swiss, who had won all 12 of his previous competitive meetings with Soderling but went down 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 in a rain-hit two-and-a-half hours on Philippe Chatrier Court.