Rafael Nadal waves to crowd after being dethroned at Roland Garros.

Four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal finally proved human at Roland Garros. There will be no five consecutive titles in Paris and no history made due to unlikely Swede Robin Soderling, who blitzed the Spaniard with relentless power serving and forehands en route to the biggest win of his career- upsetting Rafa in four sets 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2).

And so ends one of the great runs in tennis history with Nadal’s 31-match winning streak coming to a stunning end. Despite not playing his best tennis which was partially due to how well Soderling played dictating much of the play, the classy champ stayed that way not dodging any questions unlike other superstars. Here’s what he said in defeat:

“I didn’t play great. I didn’t play with calm at any time during all the match. That makes him easy to play at this level during all the match. So it was my fault, and he did well. He did very well, but I didn’t play my best tennis and for that reason I lose.

I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm. I need to learn, and you learn more when you lose than when you win. This is not a tragedy, losing here in Paris. It had to happen one day, and this is an excellent season for me. Of course it’s a bit sad, but I have to overcome this as quickly as possible.”

Of course, he’s right. It’s not the end of the world. But it sure makes for a huge story because nobody ever thought it could happen. Especially in the Round of 16 to a guy who’d never even made this round of a grand slam. Sometimes, sports can be so unpredictable giving us unlikely stories we never see coming. Like The Miracle on Ice in 1980 and Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, this was another moment we’ll remember.

Sure. It’s disappointing because I so wanted to see Nadal reach another final with possibly Roger Federer, still chasing Pete Sampras standing in the way. Now, that changes. Federer can now go for No.14 and try to complete a career grand slam without his biggest obstacle. It doesn’t mean the former world No.1 is a lock. Not when you consider how close he was to bowing out in the second round before a great four set comeback win over Jose Acasuso. Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu also pushed him yesterday before falling in four tight sets.

Many liked No.4 Serb Novak Djokovic to finally win on clay. He was having an excellent season but that meant little when he shockingly also bowed out yesterday to No.29 German Philipp Kohlschreiber in straights. So, two of the big favorites are gone with only Federer left.

Can someone else like rising No.3 Scot Andy Murray emerge? Or can Andy Roddick continue his surprising run tomorrow against 2008 French semifinalist Gael Monfils? Or perhaps it’s someone else like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or fourth round foe Juan Martin Del Potro who emerges with a first ever slam. Fernando Gonzalez is still around as is Nikolay Davydenko, who easily dispatched Australian Open semifinalist Fernando Verdasco.

In fact, Davydenko will be Soderling’s next opponent in the quarters. Not exactly an easy match following his best ever moment in which he slugged 61 winners (28 better than Nadal) and won 27 of 35 points at the net.

“I kept telling myself, ‘This is just another match,”’ the thrilled 24 year-old No.23 seed said. “That helped me.”

He later noted that he needed to stay focused and remember he has another big match coming against “a great player.”

Perhaps the oddest thing about this upset was that it was exactly a month ago that he got derailed by Nadal in Rome 6-1, 6-0. What a turnaround.

It should also be noted that a couple of years ago at Wimbledon in the third round Soderling pushed Nadal the limit in a match which took five days to complete. It also included some animosity between the two players with the Swede mocking how long Rafa takes to serve clearly agitating him. After the Spaniard prevailed, they barely touched each other’s hands.

At least today, it was different with no such antics. As NBC’s Mary Carillo echoed, “It was just great tennis,” with both giving their all till the end when Nadal finally pushed a forehand volley wide allowing Soderling to celebrate his biggest win. After a clean handshake, he tossed his racket into the crowd, then pumping his fist.

A player who’s never been well liked in the locker room did a classy thing by quickly exiting Philip Chatrier court first so Nadal could get a proper hero’s salute from the crowd. A rarity for a winner.

So, who does Rafa want to see win now that he’s out?

“If one guy deserves it,” Nadal said, “that’s him,” referring to Federer. A guy he’s beat the last four times including three consecutive finals handing him the worst defeat of his career last year.

What else would you expect from a classy champ who clearly gets it. Even in the most bitter disappointing defeat of his career, Mr. Nadal proved again what he’ll always be.

A winner.