Rafael Nadal lost the final of the Madrid Open to Roger Federer. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup. By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of French Open, Nadal set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. This was Nadal's first and, until 2015, only loss at the French Open. After his surprise defeat
2009 French Open Aravane Rezaï beat Michelle Larcher de Brito to move into the fourth round. The newest French star, Josselin Ouanna, saw his run come to an end at the hands of 12th seeded Chilean Fernando González, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5. Following that, Gilles Simon, seeded 7th, suffered a collapse to 30th seed Victor Hănescu 6–4, 6–4, 6–2. Rafael Nadal, the four-time defending champion and World Number 1, looked in stellar form as he continued his undefeated run against Lleyton Hewitt, a former holder of the top ranking, 6–1, 6–3, 6–1. Stanislas Wawrinka was eliminated in four sets by tenth seeded Nikolay Davydenko,