To thoroughly enjoy the accomplishment of the winners, a look back through the draw not only enhances the meaning of the trophy but also offers a look at all the accomplishments and disappointments that made the tournament such an emotional and sporting success. In the end, an athlete’s ability to put it out there, everything on the line, and perform at the highest level is a quality we all admire.

A look back at each draw will tell us who may have exceeded their expectations and may also tell the fans who might have been most disappointed. Those are the memories and emotional experiences that will drive these players through Wimbledon, our next Grand Slam.

Men’s Draw

Roger Federer - Winner of French Open 2009 Men's Title

The most compelling moment in the tournament may well have been the brief emotional response by the game’s greatest player. When Roger Federer fell to his knees and released the pent-up emotion that marked his two-week march through the field, it said volumes about the demands of a Grand Slam.

While the terre battue has proven to be the most elusive surface for the 14-time Grand Slam winner, this championship attests to Roger’s determination, work ethic and stamina. When this regal tennis competitor sets his mind to the task, he has the unique ability to convert hours of training into titles and dollars.

Unquestionably Roger Federer was the star of the Men’s 2009 French Open. Many other players provided exhilarating thrills while playing to a higher level than might have been expected. The success of the many French entrants kept the local crowds turning the turnstiles and providing excited roars from all corners of Stade Roland Garros. While Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s tournament ended abruptly at the hands of Juan Martin Del Porto, Gael Monfils established himself as player to be reckoned with. His semifinal straight set loss to the eventual Champion did not overshadow his thrilling and popular win over 6th seed Andy Roddick.

However, the tournament’s most unexpected performer was tournament runner-up Robin Soderling. Sweden’s hard-hitting 23rd seed, surprised everyone with his dominance of four-time French Champion Rafa Nadal.

That match threw the field into a state of frenzy and is the only singles match Nadal has lost at Roland Garros. His follow-up win over Nikolay Davydenko and thrilling five set comeback victory in which over a tough Fernando Gonzalez padded his resume. Trailing 1-4 in the fifth, Soderling showed his grit by rattling off the last five games against the fierce Gonzalez.

Women’s Draw

Svetlana Kuznetsova Won Women's Title at French Open 2009

There can be no dispute that Coupe Suzanne Lenglen winner Svetlana Kuznetsova was the best clay court player at the 2009 French Open. Not only did she outplay all comers, but also she bested number two seed Serena Williams and number one seed Dinara Safina along the way. Svetlana displayed the disciplined game plan and controlled execution of power backhands and forehands that won her the title. Despite a mediocre serve, Svetlana played within herself and in the moment. She played to her strength and successfully directed her play at her opponent’s weaknesses. For Svetlana, it was a heroic return to the Grand Slam winner’s circle.

There were many outstanding performers in this year’s draw and, of course, just as many unsettling performances. Despite reaching the finals, no player is more disappointed than Runner-up Dinara Safina, who marched through the field en route to the finals. Neatly overcoming quarterfinalist Victoria Azarenka in three sets and semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova in two sets, Dinara seemed poised to capture her first Grand Slam. Once again, her tentative play in a finals marred the way.

Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic had things going her way until she ran into a determined Sorana Cirstea. The unseeded Romanian put Jelena on the sidelines with a surprising three set win. The final set was 9-7.

Perhaps the most gratifying performance was turned in by Australian Samantha Stosur, who seems to have regained her form after an extended medical leave from the tour. The 30th seed knocked off 4th seed Elena Dementieva, France’s Virginia Razzano and the testy Cirstea before succumbing in three tense sets to the Suzanne Lenglen winner. Stosur will bemoan her inability to convert opportunities but performed well and will certainly be a player to watch at Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova marked her return to the tour with a solid performance that should inspire her for England. Despite being blown out in the quarters by the diminutive Cibulkova, Sharapova etched three victories. If her legs get in tournament shape, Maria Sharapova will be a force at Wimbledon.

Men’s Doubles

Lukas Dlouhy & Leander Paes Won Doubles Title

The Draw held form for most of this event. The top seed, Nestor and Zimonjic, the three seed, Dlouhy-Paes, the two seed Bryan-Bryan all reached the semifinals. Only fourth seeded Bhupathi-Knowles faltered, losing in the second round to Acasuso and Gonzalez.

Seventh seeded Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman were the event’s over-achievers topping Bryan and Bryan in a thrilling three set semifinal, 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. This may well have been the match of the event and was the best-ever Grand Slam performance by either winner.

For Americans Bryan and Bryan, it was another bitter loss and one that continues their slide from the top ranking to which they have become accustomed.

The Men’s Doubles Champions, Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes played like champions, overcoming the top seed 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in the semis before turning back Moodie and Norman in the three set (3-6, 6-3, 6-2) finals.

The defeat of India’s Bhupathi and Bahamian Knowles by Acususo and Gonzalez (7-5, 4-6, 7-5) in round two was another fierce match. The upset will serve to get the four seed back in form for Wimbledon.

Women’s Doubles

Garrigues & Pascual Won Women's Doubles Title

Despite the ease with which Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual dominated the finals (6-1, 6-1) the Women’s Doubles Tournament provided high-level competition, plenty of thrills and loads of upsets.

The top half of the draw featured top seeded Black and Huber who walked to the quarters with ease. Their match (7-5, 5-7, 6-2) with third seeded Garrigues and Pascual was the match of the tournament. With everything at stake, these experienced doubles teams held nothing back. Virtually every point in the two hour forty-five minute battle was contested. Play was filled with sharp volleys, crisp serving and in your face net play.

The lower half of the draw was filled with upsets. Second seed Peschke-Raymond lost in the second round where fourth seed Stosur-Stubbs also failed. Upstarts Azarenka and Vesnina overcame Hsieh-Peng in the semis (6-3, 7-5) to claim a berth in the finals. Azarenka may have been suffering from her singles defeat and never really got into the final match. However, the hard-hitting right-hander is a serious doubles player and may well advance on the Wimbledon grass.

Azarenka-Vesnina’s final effort was the most disappointing of the event, but their play achieving the finals was the most unexpected.

Mixed Doubles

In 2009 at Roland Garros, only the Mixed Doubles winner was the number one seed. Hats off to hard core American doubles performers Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan who overcame surprising eight seed Vania King and Marcelo Melo in a tight 5-7, 7-6 ((5), 1-0 (7) thriller.

King and Melo get kudos for over-achieving while the major disappointments were registered by India’s doubles specialists Mirza and Bhupathi who were turned away in their first round match. The experienced doubles team had trouble with the red clay and could not get their game together against Ram and Dechy.

For the Champions, it was another steady title and leads followers to believe they play as well as it takes to win. What a great two weeks in Paris. See you at Wimbledon!

Dinara Safina Into Final Of French Open 2009

Top-seeded Dinara Safina has played the favorite’s role to perfection. An impressive run of matches now puts the flu-ridden Safina in the finals against 7th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. Safina’s straight-set 6-3, 6-3 triumph over diminutive Slovakian upstart Dominika Cibulkova did little to unseat the husky Russian as the favorite to win her first Grand Slam title.

Safina has a history of nerves in Grand Slam events and when Cibulkova came out firing two-handed backhand bullets to jump ahead 0-2, it seemed like Dinara might fade once again. To her credit, Safina gathered herself, adjusted her strategy and decided to make use of her distinct physical advantages.

The 6 foot 2 inch Runner-up in last year’s French Open proceeded to make the 5 foot 3 inch Cibulkova beat her with her forehand. Te strategy worked as the Slovakian fireplug, who prefers her backhand, lacked the patience to wait for her shot. Her forehand volleys were not strong enough to move Dinara around the court and forehand after forehand soon began to come up short.

Even when Safina hit soft second serves to Cibulkova’s forehand, the challenger could not drive the returns. The Slovakian’s inability to capitalize on Safina’s subpar second serve, characterized her fate. As the match went on, Safina took advantage of her 20 year-old opponent’s size by lobbing over her head when needed and by effectively moving her from side to side.

Cibulkova was under pressure the entire match and it gradually began to take a toll. Dominika has had a great year, going 13-9 in her singles matches prior to Roland Garros and winning almost $1 million, but she was no match for the steady Safina in the semis.

Dinara is one of the tour’s most determined players. Since her drubbing by Serena Williams in the finals at Melbourne, Safina has dedicated herself toward achieving her number one ranking and to winning her first Grand Slam event. Thus far, Dinara is the only top seed to stay the course. With Serena’s fall to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semis, Dinara will retain her number one ranking and is a heavy favorite to capture that elusive first Grand Slam crown.

Svetlana Kuznetsova In The Final

Another player has now emerged from the well-endowed stable of Russian women to challenge her country-mate for the Roland Garros title. It seems like wherever you look on the women’s professional tour, Russian women are dominating the rankings and the earnings. After this year’s French Open finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova will be moving up and now the Russian stable boasts the return of former world number one, Maria Sharapova who vows to be even stronger by Wimbledon.

The seventh seeded Kuztnesova blinked but prevailed against 30th seeded Australian pretty-girl Samantha Stosur. In a suspenseful match filled with emotional swings, Kuznetsova took control of the final set and would not let go. Her 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 2.5 hour win proved Svetlana to be a tough-minded workhorse with the ability to maintain her focus and play through pain.

In her quarterfinal win against Serena Williams, Kuztnesova turned her ankle, yet kept on playing. The hard-hitting blonde was determined to avoid the distractions that have led to several career setbacks. Not one to complain, Svetlana got back in the saddle and powered her way past Williams and used the same toughness to put aside her game Australian opponent.

Stosur, who has overcome her own physical setbacks, put up a noble fight. She was in every set, clawing at every point and showed plenty of heart throughout the semifinal match. Primarily recognized as a stellar doubles player, Samantha has ridden a win over Safina in Miami with her dominance of 4th seeded Elena Dementieva to propel herself into the top ten. That marks quite a leap for the 30 seed.

Kuznetsova now moves on to the finals against Safina, her confident opponent. Kuznetsova’s inconsistent serve may be the key to her match with Dinara. Stosur capitalized on the Russian’s soft first and even softer second serve. With Safina’s ability to attack the serve, the pressure will be on Svetlana to improve her velocity in the finals.

Against Stosur, Kuznetsova successfully landed 72% of her first serves, but she only averaged 150 kmh and she will not be able to drive Safina off the baseline. Kuznetsova’s second serve averaged a modest 129 kmh.

As a result, the finals shape up as a test for Svetlana. She will have to return Safina’s serve aggressively and be prepared to chase down Dinara’s driving returns of her own serves. For Svetlana to pull the upset, she will need to break Safina on multiple occasions because the top seed will certainly be on the attack.

Throughout the tournament, Kuznetsova has shown a champion’s capacity to counter-punch and play through reversals. If she gets out of the blocks quickly against Safina, she just may play her way to the title.

In a three hour thirty minute thriller, the Swede Soderling powered crisp, penetrating forehand after forehand winner past the stunned Nadal and ended the Spaniard’s run for a record fifth consecutive French Open title.

Nadal had chalked up 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros dating back top 2005. On paper, Soderling did not match up well against the left-handed King of Clay. The 24-year old eight-year veteran of the pro tour has a modest 2009 singles record of 11-10. He has never advanced beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.

Now, that is all history. Nadal’s 41-4 record this year is down the drain and by the wayside. Soderling was so powerful, and so finely tuned that Nadal was forced to play well behind the baseline. At times, he seemed mesmerized by the shots that kept ripping back from the very fit Swiss powerhouse.

In 2007, Soderling had forced Nadal to five sets at Wimbledon. On the circuit, Soderling is known as a hard surface and indoor specialist. His clay court dominance over the game’s best clay court player was unexpected to fans but not to Nadal, who trains hard for every match and expected a tough match from Soderling.

Nadal may have been surprised by the size and vocal support of Soderling’s following. With each winning shot, it seemed as if the Swede’s support grew. When Rafa bounced back to force set two to a tiebreaker, the fans quieted. When he stormed out of the gate and romped through the tiebreaker, it seemed like Rafa was back and the inevitable would occur.

The tough-minded Swede answered by breaking in the first game of the third set. Robin held the break and claimed the set. Nadal promptly broke in the first game of set four and Soderling responded with another immediate break.

Several times, Nadal attempted to change the momentum by his notorious delay tactics and unusual gamesmanship maneuvering. Soderling was not buying it. He answered every delay with thunderous volleys and let his forehand do his talking.

Soderling will next play Russian Nikolay Davydenko who blasted past the other left-handed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco to claim his seta in the quarters. Much like Nadal, Verdasco never could catch up to Davydenko. On this day, at Roland Garros, it seemed as if the seeds were fair game and relatively easy pickings.

At this level of play, the seeds have to prove their mettle. The challengers have nothing to lose and are playing aggressively.

Ana out too!

Verdasco’s latest heartthrob and French Open defending champion, Ana Ivanovic will be joining him on the café circuit. 9th seed Victoria Azarenka never let the 2008 champ in the match. She came out of the gate firing powerful groundstrokes and kept Ana on her back foot throughout the straight set match.

Azarenka handed Ivanoivc a surprisingly easy and surprisingly quick lopsided defeat, 6-2, 6-3. Azarenka’s power left French fans drooling over the prospects of the Safina-Azarenka quarterfinal pairing. The ninth seed looks ready to break through and shows no fear at taking on higher seeds. Safina, who has yet to been challenged in Paris, will know she has been in a match against the very solid Azarenka.

In another fourth round match at Roland Garros, Maria Sharapova dropped the second set 0-6, but covered the set with two 6-4 victories to seal a quarterfinal berth against Slovakia’s 20th seed, Dominika Cibulkova.

Sharapova has had moments of brilliance but moments of mediocrity this year. She is making a habit of three set matches and the Grand Slam is difficult enough without expending energy in subpar sets.

Sharapova advances but without appearing dominant. Cibulkova, who bested Venus Williams slayer Agnes Szavay, will provide a stiff test for Maria. Szavay never got untracked against Dominika, but her loyal fans voiced their admiration in defeat. So, it was on Sunday in Paris.

On the Men’s side the top seed and the four seed, the two bookmaker favorites are gone. On the Women’s side, the three seed, the defending champion and the four seed are out. At Roland Garros, it’s anybody’s guess, just the way they planned it.