In his mind, as Roger Federer imagined over the years and the frustration what it would be like to finally win the French Open, it was probably not quite like this.

How could Federer have imagined that the obstacle across the net in one of the most important matches of his life would be Robin Soderling, a relatively anonymous Swede, instead of Rafael Nadal, his left-handed Spanish nemesis?

How could Federer have imagined that with him cruising comfortably early in the second set Sunday, an intruder would jump out of the stands and onto the clay, run towards him and drape a flag over Federer’s head, leaving him shaken?

How could he have imagined that, on top of all the pent-up pressure and imminent tennis history already weighing upon him, that he and Soderling would also have to deal with some of the worst weather ever experienced during a major singles final?

No, it was all quite unexpected, but Federer, to his enduring credit, shrugged it all off and kept his eye on the one big prize he was lacking to win 6-1 7-6 (1) 6-4.

“This could be my biggest victory, the one that takes off the most pressure,” said Federer, who dropped to his knees on the clay after he had secured victory. “Now for the rest of my career, I can play relaxed and never hear again that I never won the French Open.”

The victory gave Federer, 27, a complete set of Grand Slam singles titles and allowed him to tie the career record of 14 major singles titles held by Pete Sampras. But Sampras never won the French Open and Federer is now one of only six men to have won all the Grand Slam titles during his career.

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