Tennis Country’s snapshot of the memorable moments on the men’s pro tennis tour during the Second Quarter…  We’ll revisit the Wimbledon Finals in the Third Quarter Highlights!

•    Greatest Accomplishment:  After losing three of the previous four Grand Slam Finals to Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer took advantage of Nadal’s surprise loss at Roland Garros to win his first French Open title and fourteenth Grand Slam singles crown.  With the victory, Federer achieved a “career Grand Slam” by winning all of the Slams at least once, i.e. in addition to the French Open, Federer has won three Australian Opens, five Wimbledon titles and five at the U.S. Open.  It was so “apropos,” that Andre Agassi, the last man to also achieve a career Grand Slam, presented Federer with the La Coupe des Mousqetaires after the Final.

•    Major Surprise: Swede, Robin Soderling, not only upset Rafael Nadal in the round of sixteen at the French Open, but then followed up that impressive win playing his way to the Final at Roland Garros.  At Wimbledon, Soderling continued his strong play and maintained his seeding by reaching the round of 16 where he lost to Federer.  Soderling was long considered a dangerous player by many tennis pundits, especially on hard courts and indoors.  However, Soderling has now shown his versatility on all surfaces, as well as the “power” of his new-found confidence to complement his huge serve and forehand!

•    Biggest Disappointment:  Rafael Nadal losing his unbeaten streak at Roland Garros and then being unable to defend his title at Wimbledon, where he beat Roger Federer in the epic 2008 Wimbledon Final.  Nadal has been resting and rehabbing his injured, and tender, knees since the French Open.  Rafa recently announced that he has started practicing again in anticipation of resuming competition again at the Canadian Open in early August as he prepares for the 2009 U.S. Open.  Perhaps entering the Open more refreshed than exhausted as he has been in past seasons after playing so well at the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics last year, will bode well for Nadal’s performance at Flushing Meadows.

•    Fresh New Face: Thirty-one-year-old German, Tommy Haas, is a “refreshed” new face again on the men’s Tour.  At Roland Garros, Haas led Roger Federer two sets to love in the round of 16, eventually losing in five sets.  Tommy followed up that performance by winning his twelfth career title on grass in Halle, Germany, prior to Wimbledon defeating Novak Djokovic in the Final.  Haas is now in rare company by having won titles on all surfaces, i.e. grass, clay, hard and indoors.  At Wimbledon, Haas upset Marin Cilic and Djokovic again before losing his ten match winning streak when he bowed out again to Federer, this time in the semis.  With his strong play in the past few months, Tommy’s ranking has climbed from the 80s in early April to just inside the top 20 by early July.  His highest career ranking was second in 2002.