'I gasped' - The story of Roger Federer’s most important shot of his career at 2009 French Open

There was a compilation video released on Roger Federer’s 41st birthday last month titled ‘41 Roger Federer Shots That Defied Science’. You can probably picture most them: glorious half-volley backhands, wonderfully-disguised service return drop shots, forehands down the line, flicked winners on the run, that leaping back-court smash against Andy Roddick.

One shot that doesn’t feature in the compilation, or in many other Federer montages, is a shot from the fourth round of the 2009 French Open, a shot that Federer would last year describe as the most important of his career.

Had he not made the shot, he may be retiring after this week's Laver Cup without ever winning a French Open title.

The 2009 French Open is largely remembered for two things: Federer winning and Rafael Nadal losing to Robin Soderling.

Nadal had not lost at the French Open since lifting the trophy on his debut in 2005 and had thrashed Soderling 6-1 6-0 just a few weeks earlier in Rome. But the 23rd seed crushed 61 winners as he recorded one of the biggest shocks this century.

A day after Nadal’s defeat, Federer took to the court for his fourth-round match against Tommy Haas. While Nadal had been dominant in Paris since winning in 2005, Federer had ruled the rest of the tour in that time. He’d reached the final at 14 of the last 15 Grand Slams, winning nine of them, and had been world No. 1 for a record 237 straight weeks until the 2008 Olympics. The only thing missing was a French Open title.

Federer had lost to Nadal in the final for the last three years in a row and it was expected he would somehow have to find a way past him to win in 2009. Then came Soderling.

"This is where these expectations started, when the journalists started saying it's this year or never,” Federer recalled in 2019.

“From then on, the next nine or 10 days felt like forever… I knew that instead of the tournament becoming easier, it was going to become more difficult because of the pressure."

The pressure showed against Haas.

Federer was on the ropes, his forehand misfiring as he trailed 6-7 5-7 3-4. Despite being willed on by the crowd, Federer looked set to fall before the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2004 French Open, 20 Slams ago.

Former world No. 5 Jo Durie was commentating on the match against Haas for Eurosport.

“Roger was definitely very nervous in the beginning, that was so obvious,” she says.

“The viewing gallery was packed as the match went on and especially in that third set. I remember very clearly the break point…”

At 30-40 on Federer’s serve, Haas is five points from victory and a place in the quarter-finals. Then came the shot.

A second serve to Haas’ backhand was returned cross court into the corner. The percentage play would be for Federer to reply with a backhand, most likely down the line to force Haas to run across. But as soon as Haas returns the serve, Federer is quickly side stepping along the baseline to open up his forehand wing. His feet are almost in the tramline as he hits the next shot. It’s surely one that Haas isn’t expecting: an inside-out forehand ripped across the court with Federer’s feet both off the floor at contact.

It’s an incredible shot at any moment, let alone with the match on the line and having missed so much on the forehand throughout the match. The ball just clips the tramline, with Haas not moving from his spot.

“I actually gasped when Roger went full out for the line and hit the winner,” remembers Durie.

“What an audacious shot to save the game and, in reality, the match, as Tommy could sense that Roger was feeling more confident and playing better as the match went on.”

Even Haas was stunned.

"He was missing his forehand all day. The next thing you know, he makes that almost impossible first shot off the return. It kind of takes your breath away for a second."

The shot would change the entire course of the match.

Federer held for 4-4 then broke in the next game when Haas snatched at a high volley at the net, having double faulted on game point. He was still thinking about the shot.

"I was kind of playing with my mind, thinking, 'Wow, that ball should have gone out, I could be serving for the match.' I knew I shouldn't be thinking about that."

After Federer clinched the set there was only ever one winner. Haas won just two more games in the match and Federer breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"I knew I was going to look back on that shot,” he said afterwards. “I knew if I come out of that game, I can create some opportunities later. That [shot] saved me on that day."

Federer said last year it was the most important shot of his career.

“We still talk about it every time we see each other,” he told GQ. “And that I ended up winning that match and the French Open in 2009. And that got me to tie Pete's [Sampras] record.

“I don't know, it just felt like it had something super important about it in that moment. Clearly, I know if I would have missed it and not hit the line, I would have probably lost that much for sure. Tommy knows that. I know that.

“The whole momentum changed. So I had a wonderful summer - maybe it was just meant to be.”

Federer might have survived against Haas, but there was another rollercoaster to come in the semi-finals. He was two sets to one down against Juan Martin del Potro before rallying to win in five.

"I was mentally drained because I felt like I had to play like four finals at the end of Paris because of the pressure,” Federer would admit later in the summer.

The final was a far more straightforward affair as Federer swept aside Soderling in under two hours to claim his first, and only, French Open title. The celebration told its own story as Federer slid to his knees, head in his hands and seemingly struggling to hold back tears.

It was Federer's 14th Grand Slam title - equalling the record at the time which was held by Pete Sampras - and he became only the sixth man to win all four majors titles. Andre Agassi, the last man to do it in 1999, presented him with the trophy.

Federer would follow up with a record-breaking 15th major at Wimbledon before reclaiming the world No. 1 spot. He then narrowly missed out on a sixth straight US Open title as he lost to Del Potro in the final.

Federer was the clear No. 2 on clay from 2006 to 2009 when he made three straight French Open finals before breaking his duck. But if he hadn’t beaten Haas, would he have got another chance to lift the title?

Nadal was the champion again in 2010 as Federer lost to Soderling in the quarter-finals. The following year Federer made the final but lost to Nadal. That would be Federer’s last final in Paris. He made the semis in 2013, losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic, then the quarters in 2014. In 2015, when Nadal’s 39-match winning streak at the tournament was ended by Djokovic, Federer lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.

Would Federer’s legacy be any different without a French Open title? Would it impact his place in the GOAT standings?

“I think it was huge for Roger to win a Slam at Roland-Garros,” says Durie.

“In reality he was the next best player on clay to Rafa but to actually beat him at Roland-Garros seemed insurmountable at the time. The pressure he must have put on himself in that situation in 2009 as his route became clear must have been enormous.”

That Federer handled the pressure, made the shot and won the tournament in 2009 is testament to his quality.

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