Unbelievable!

First, I could not believe my eyes. And later, I could not trust my ears. So unbelievable was Rafael Nadal's inexplicable defeat at the hands of Robin Soderling at the French Open.

It had to happen some day, OK. But not in that manner and method, surely. The four-time champion with a winning streak of 31 matches on the red clay was made to look like a fumbling novice and repeatedly floored. If it were a boxing match, the referee would not have bothered to go for the count and instead stopped the contest immediately.

The meek submission and eventually the final, one-sided result was not part of the script of even the worst cynic. The French Open was supposed to be another royal battle with Nadal vying to match Bjorn Borg's record of five titles in Paris, Roger Federer battling to win this elusive crown to complete his collection of Grand Slam silverware, and at another level it was supposed to be witnessing the coming age of Andy Murray or offering a surprise wedding gift for Andy Roddick.

But a little-known man from Sweden changed it all on a bright and sunny day at Roland Garros. Just four weeks ago, the same man was at the receiving end of Nadal in Rome and could manage just one game in a straight set defeat.

But on Sunday, Soderling looked as if he did not belong to this planet. He seemed to be guided by some divine doctrine. His first serve was cosmic, the forehands toxic, the court craft magical and overall he was perfection personified.

Nadal, on the other hand, was anything but himself.

Frankly, I have never been a great fan of Nadal. As an athlete he is great, he has an admirable work ethic and more importantly is scandal-free. He also has a clean record, both on and off the court in a country where he is hero-worshipped.

But my take on his game is that it is all about power and punch. If the power goes off or the punch misbehaves, he is in deep, deep trouble. That's exactly what happened on Sunday and Soderling, who believes Nadal is just another guy on the circuit, made the most of it. He in fact made Nadal look as fragile as a toothpick.

That was for the eyes and only one part of the story. What I heard later was even more surprising.

Anybody after such a heavy and humiliating defeat can be excused for being crude or plain rude. But Nadal presented a totally different picture. He was exactly the opposite of what he was on centre court just a few hours ago. He was cool and collected, analytical and even philosophical.

Speaking in two languages, he never uttered a wrong word. He blamed himself for the defeat and congratulated his opponent. "Well, that's the end of the road, and I have to accept it. I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm," said the Spaniard. "I congratulate him and I'll keep working hard for the next tournament," he added. "You need a defeat to give value to your victories."

There were no excuses, no short-tempered curses, nobody blamed or accused like it happens on such occasions. He also spoke of the other players and even tipped his old foe Federer as the favourite now to win the French Open.

"He (Federer) deserves it the most. That would be great. He's tried to win it for many years and he was very unfortunate to lose three finals and one semi-final to me," said Nadal. He was being such a gentleman that I have begun to like him a lot more.

That's not all. To a question about the wind conditions, many players offered their own opinions. To some, like Murray, it was a problem, others made their own adjustments, like Roddick.

"It's the same for everyone and it was the same for my opponent today," said Nadal putting the issue in perspective. Even when he had an opportunity to sight an excuse when someone suggested if he was playing too much tennis and if his knee hurt, Nadal refrained.

"Yeah, when you lose, always everybody starts to analyse if I play too much, if I'm tired," he said. "The truth is, I won four years in a row playing the same. That's the truth. This year, I play the same and I lost. What happened? I lost. That's it."

Well said, Nadal. You are indeed a great player and a true gentleman.

Contrast this with the behaviour of LeBron James of Cleveland Cavaliers who lost their NBA semi-final playoff to Orlando Magic. He disappeared soon after the defeat, leaving his teammates to speak to the media.

Like the French Open, the NBA final was supposed to be a battle royal between James and Kobe Bryant of LA Lakers in the final. But it did not. Does it mean it's the end of the world. I'm not sure about you, but I know what Nadal's answer would be. "Certainly not."