Thinking in Systems, Not Goals

31st of May 2009: the world of sports witnessed one of the biggest shocks in its history.

Swedish Robin Soderling, the world number 23, defeats defending champion and world number 1 Rafael Nadal. He does it in just four sets, in front of a packed central court in the fourth round of Roland Garros

Nadal, the supreme clay court player of all time, had never lost at Roland Garros since his debut, winning his first title in 2005 at 19 years of age. He was a four-time defending champion.

Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that the Spaniard had just beaten Soderling three weeks earlier in Rome, in one of the Master Series of the European clay swing leading up to the French Open.

The result of that match? 6/1, 6/0

Nadal had conceded only one game to the Swedish in the Round of 16.

And to top it all off, Soderling was not a clay specialist, preferring the faster hard courts. In other words: the total opposite style of game, pace, and speed.

Soderling would reach the French Open final that year, losing to Roger Federer. It was an emotional match, where the Swiss prevailed and completed his Career Grand Slam.

This loss was an inflection point in the Spaniard’s career. He would retire from the following tournaments…