‘Even John Got Quiet’- Tennis Insider Recounts Roger Federer’s Deeply Emotional Moment at the French Open

Roger Federer and clay courts didn’t go hand in hand as much as tennis fans would’ve wanted to see him during his illustrious 24 years of tennis career. Clay courts were generally considered as Federer’s weakest surface. Federer has always said, it’s easier to play the decisive points on grass than on clay. He has won 20 Grand Slam titles in his career and 8 of them have come on the grass and 1 on the clay. And winning one Grand Slam which was the 2009 French Open got the legend “crying” in utter happiness.

In 2009, Federer bagged his first and last French Open title defeating Swedish former tennis pro, Robin Soderling by 6-1,7-6(1),6-4 in the finals. It was Roger Federer’s fourth consecutive French Open final and he had lost his previous three to Rafael Nadal. So, emotions were bound to out-pour after that emphatic victory. Recently, American sports commentator and former tennis player Mary Carillo spoke about that moment during a conversation at the Racquet’s Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

She was doing the commentary in that match and was left speechless after seeing an emotional Roger Federer. Carillo said, “The one time that Roger Federer won in 2009. It wasn’t a good match. I was in the booth with Ted Robinson and John McEnroe. And, but towards the end of the match, he was winning so easily Roger, and he’s finally going to win this one major that he wasn’t even sure he could win.“