MAIN Recreation Sports Tennis 2009 Roland Garros

Less-than-optimum traction on the red clay surface (that also gives the ball its extra bounce) can be a special challenge for top professionals at Roland Garros stadium in Paris - the traditional home of the French Open.

All the excitement begain this year with the opening on Sunday, May 24, 2009 leading up to the men's final on Sunday, June 7.

Of course, the big story was the Clash of the Tennis Titans - as French Open champ Rafael Nadal once again planned to go up against Roger Federer, for the title of 'King of Clay". That is until Nadal was upset by Robin Soderling, a 24-year-old from Sweden, in one of the biggest upsets in tennis history!

Federer went on to victory after defeating Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4.

In the U.S., the complete TV schedule was hosted by ESPN, and NBC Sports, with top notch UK coverage on BBC1.

More about the French Open around the Web:

Around the Web, check out additional news & updates, history, player profiles, and assorted French Open trivia, in this - the 2nd round of the 2009 Big Four Grand Slam championships...

Roland Garros - The official stadium site for the showdown of the world's top seeded male and female champions. And check out the virtual tour at the Roland Garros Stadium Visit.

Roland Garros - Grand Slam Tennis - The game's official site sponsored by IBM with a traditional showcase of breaking news and photos, audio feeds and video clips, feature stories, interviews, schedules and scores. In French, Spanish and English.

Yahoo! Tennis - Who's in and who's out, with all the latest headline news, pictures, opinion, schedule and results, and lists of how they rank.

Slam! Sports Tennis - French Open - Keeping up to date with the latest news as it happens with news highlights daily.

BBC Sport Academy | What It's Like to Play on Clay - In short, it ain't easy...with links to more descriptions of playing conditions at other major venues in the Grand Slam of tennis. And while you're here don't miss the BBC's look at French Open History.

French Open - Wikipedia - The free online encyclopedia with historical color commentary and info on men's and women's singles champions from 1925 - 2006 plus more on the Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon.

Tennis-Heroes.net - 190 photos of French Open champions of the past and present including vital stats, scores and trivia.

also see ->> Australian Open | U.S. Open | Wimbledon

also see -> Roger Federer | Lleyton Hewitt | Rafael Nadal

Andy Roddick | Marat Safin | Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams | Venus Williams