Nadal, Ivanovic lose in 4th round at French Open

PARIS — Rafael Nadal's unbeaten run at the French Open is over.

The four-time defending champion lost in a stunning upset to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) Sunday in the fourth round, ending the Spaniard's record 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

Soderling, seeded 23rd at this year's tournament, ran Nadal ragged on center court with his hard serve and booming forehand.

"When one player plays bad, (he) must lose," Nadal said. "(It) was my fault. ... I didn't play my best tennis and for that reason I lose."

Nadal has dominated the French Open since his first match on the red clay at Roland Garros. In his 31 previous matches, he had lost only seven sets — the last one coming against Roger Federer in the 2007 final.

"I played well today, but I think I played some even better matches in my career," said the 24-year-old Soderling, who called Nadal "the greatest clay-court player of all time."

"I worked good with my forehand, and my backhand worked well, as well. I worked my backhand flat and tried to go around and hit my forehand. I think I played exactly the way I wanted to play before the match. I served well, extremely well, and that really, really helped me today."

Defending women's champion Ana Ivanovic also lost, while top-seeded Dinara Safina advanced to the quarterfinals with another easy win. Maria Sharapova joined her with a fourth straight three-set win.

Also on the men's side, No. 3 Andy Murray of Britain, No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile made the quarterfinals.

Soderling finished with 59 unforced errors, more than twice as many as Nadal's 28, but the Swede's 30 forehand winners made up some ground on the top-ranked Spaniard.

"He didn't surprise me because I know how he plays and how dangerous he can be," said Nadal, who said he failed to attack Soderling. "I didn't play aggressive."

The crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier was split, many cheering for Nadal to continue his record run but others supporting Soderling.

"Maybe at one stage they supported Soderling more than me, and that was a bit sad," Nadal said. "But I wish when I'm back they can support me a bit more in key moments."