Defending champ Rafael Nadal knocked out of French Open in 4th round by Robin Soderling

Defending champ Nadal knocked out of French Open

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

The four-time defending champion lost to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) Sunday in the fourth round, ending his 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.

“This is just one more match,” Soderling said.

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.

“He can’t feel good right now,” said Soderling, who called Nadal “the greatest clay-court player of all time.”

Defending women’s champion Ana Ivanovic also lost, while top-seeded Dinara Safina advanced to the quarterfinals with another easy win.

Also on the men’s side, No. 3 Andy Murray of Britain and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile made the quarterfinals.

The last time two defending champions lost in the same round at a Grand Slam tournament was in 2004 when Justine Henin and Juan Carlos Ferrero lost in the second round of the French Open.

Nadal had won three of the last four major titles, missing out only on the U.S. Open. After winning the Australian Open, he had a chance to complete a Grand Slam this year.

He was also trying to become the first man to win five straight French Open titles.

Instead, the draw has opened up for three-time finalist Roger Federer. The former No. 1 needs only to win the French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, and his road got clearer Saturday when potential semifinal opponent Novak Djokovic was eliminated.

The eighth-seeded Ivanovic did little right on Court Suzanne Lenglen, converting only two of five break points and making 20 unforced errors in her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Before the final game of the first set, Ivanovic called for a trainer to look at her neck. Azarenka then held to take the lead, and broke Ivanovic’s serve in the first and third games of the second set to take a 4-0 lead.

Ivanovic won her only Grand Slam tournament title at last year’s French Open.

The 19-year-old Azarenka lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year, and will next be playing in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Safina had a much easier time on center court, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Aravane Rezai of France.

The top-seeded Russian won 11 straight games to close out the match. She has lost only five games through four rounds, and has won four of the eight sets she has played at love.

“I’m just surprised that it’s really like five games that I lost before getting into the quarters,” Safina said. “It’s not a bad feeling, and I hope if I continue like this I can go a long way.”

Safina took over the No. 1 ranking this year, but she has yet to win a Grand Slam title. She lost to Ivanovic in last year’s French Open final, and fell to Serena Williams in this year’s Australian Open title match.

But since taking over the top spot in the women’s rankings, Safina said things have been easier on her.

“It was too much pressure for me,” Safina said of the rise to the top. “It was always going on the court not to lose a match, and of course it’s always difficult to play when you step on the court and you’re afraid of losing.”

No. 20 Dominika Cibulkova advanced by beating No. 29 Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-2, 6-4 in a sloppy match that had a combined 17 winners and 66 unforced errors.

“I felt like I was going to cry because I was just so happy,” Cibulkova said of how she felt after winning match point. “This moment — for this, I play tennis, for these moments.”

Back on the men’s side, Gonzalez became the first player to reach the quarterfinals, beating Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, and Murray soon followed with a 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over No. 13 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Gonzalez, who reached the 2007 Australian Open final, ended the match with his 21st forehand winner. He finished with 50 winners and only 16 unforced errors.

“I tried to win every point,” said Gonzalez, who will face Murray in the next round. “And then I’m trying to not be risky if I don’t need it. Maybe I got a break, and then I can start to hit my huge shots. … When I have to use my shot, I use it, because I know I’m going to win the match with my forehand and my serve.”

The 12th-seeded Chilean also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year, but lost to eventual finalist Roger Federer. Hanescu reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2005 but also lost to Federer.