Robin Söderling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Country |  Sweden |
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|---|---|---|
| Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco | |
| Date of birth | 14 August 1984 | |
| Place of birth | Tibro, Sweden | |
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | |
| Weight | 87 kg (190 lb) | |
| Turned pro | 2001 | |
| Plays | Right-handed; two-handed backhand | |
| Career prize money | $5,367,761 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record | 215–139 | |
| Career titles | 4 | |
| Highest ranking | No. 8 (November 30, 2009) | |
| Current ranking | No. 8 (November 30, 2009) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | 2R (2004, 2009) | |
| French Open | F (2009) | |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2009) | |
| US Open | QF (2009) | |
| Major tournaments | ||
| Tour Finals | SF (2009) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record | 33–40 | |
| Career titles | 1 | |
| Highest ranking | No. 109 (9 May 2009) | |
| Last updated on: 8 December 2009. | ||
Robin Bo Carl Söderling (born 14 August, 1984 in Tibro) is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is ranked #8 in the ATP rankings as of December 2009. Söderling is the first and only tennis player to defeat Rafael Nadal in the French Open.[1] Though he would go on to lose in the final to Roger Federer, he completed the strongest performance in a Grand Slam event of his career. Currently he is the only Swede in the top 100 in the ATP rankings.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Söderling began playing tennis at the age of five. Robin Söderling made his first steps in international tennis in November 1998 in Luxembourg, when at the age of 14 he played his first official junior tournament, losing the opening match to Fred Hemmes, Jr. In his first full year in the junior tour (2000), he achieved four tournament victories and in 2001 attained three more titles in the juniors including the Orange Bowl. In the same year Söderling achieved fourth place in the year-end ranking and played in his very first ATP tournament in Stockholm, winning his first match against Ramón Delgado.[3]
[edit] Career
[edit] 2002
Söderling tried to break into the men's circuit, playing five more ATP tournaments and the second round of the US Open. In the Challenger circuit he achieved a 16–8 record, and he played in the US Open Junior tournament where he reached the final.
[edit] 2003
The transition to the main tour was completed as he reached the third round at Wimbledon (coming from the qualifying rounds) and reached an ATP final in Stockholm (losing a decisive tie-break there), earning the year-end ranking of 86.
[edit] 2004
Robin's first ATP title came in Lyon where he beat Belgian Xavier Malisse in the final. He also made the final at Marseille. By the end of the year, Söderling climbed into the world's top 50 in the rankings.
[edit] 2005
Robin had his first serious injury, eventually resulting in a knee operation in March. But even though not fit to play many tournaments, he managed to score another title - in Milan (d. Radek Štěpánek in final). After a mediocre and injury troubled season from there on, Robin reached just one good result (third round in the US Open), before going through another surgery.
[edit] 2006
He bounced back from 100th place in the Indesit ATP rankings to top 50 within three months, even though knee and shoulder injuries still prevented him from playing at his best. Helped the Swedish team with two wins to keep its World Group Davis Cup spot in a play-off in Brazil. During the season he was healthy most of the time and managed a good climb, although he failed to impress at the Slams. But in the end of the year, he earned many points and finished at a career-high place of 25.
[edit] 2007
Söderling made it to the round of 32 at Wimbledon, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in a five-set match. He caused much controversy on the court when he exchanged mocking behaviour with Nadal, tugging on his shorts in the manner Nadal is known for.
Söderling did not make it to an ATP final for the first time in 5 years in 2007, however he turned out consistent results all through out the year. Yet he missed the last 3 months of the main tour due to a left wrist injury.
[edit] 2008
Söderling missed the Australian Open due to injury. The first tournament he entered in 2008 was the Open 13 Marseille, where he reached the quarterfinals. He then reached the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (Rotterdam), finishing runner-up to Michael Llodra in the final, 6-7,6-3,7-6. The next week he reached another final at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, U.S. He beat top seed Andy Roddick in the tournament along the way to the final. However he lost another final in two weeks as he finished runner-up to unseeded Steve Darcis, 6-3,7-6.
At the 2008 World Team Cup in Düsseldorf on clay, he was undefeated in 4 singles and 4 doubles matches. He became only the third player in history of that event to accomplish that feat since John McEnroe in 1984 and Fernando González in 2003. Thus winning all of his matches there, he led the Swedish Team to the victory.
In late May he reached the 3rd round in the French Open where he lost against home player Julien Bennetau. At Wimbledon, he lost to Roger Federer in the round of 64 in three straight sets. After disappointing results in both the Beijing Olympics and the US Open, Söderling decided to break up with his trainer Peter Carlsson. He took on former Swedish world number 2 Magnus Norman as support until he appointed a new trainer. With the help of Norman, Robin reached his third final of the year in his native Sweden at Stockholm, but lost to David Nalbandian in a tough match (2-6,7-5,3-6). Three weeks later Söderling finally clinched a final win for his first title in 3 years, and the second on the particular venue, at the Lyon tournament, defeating Julien Benneteau in three sets (6-3,6-7,6-1). On his way to the final he recorded wins over top seed Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, as well as the French number one Gilles Simon in the semi, both ranked in the top 10 ATP South African Airways ranking. With that, Söderling himself climbed as high as no. 18 in the rankings, a new career best. He finished the year with a career high ranking of no. 17. On 4 November he announced that Magnus Norman will be his trainer starting right after his vacation.
[edit] 2009
Söderling started the 2009 ATP World Tour at the 2009 Brisbane International. He lost in the quarter-finals against Radek Štěpánek, who eventually won the tournament. Söderling then participated in the 2009 Heineken Open where he lost in the semi-finals against Juan Martin del Potro, again losing to the eventual champion. He was seeded 16th at the 2009 Australian Open and lost to an unseeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round.
He then entered the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event, losing to Nicolas Lapentti 4–6, 6–7(7) in the second round. Despite playing well and winning the challenger Sunrise, Söderling suffered from injuries mixed with poor results for over two months. He finally won consecutive matches for the first time on the ATP tour since the 2009 Australian Open (not an ATP member) at the Rome Masters, falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 1–6, 0–6 in the third round. Following another third round exit at the Madrid Masters against Roger Federer, Söderling next competed at the ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf, as part of the Swedish contingent. Although Sweden did not win, Söderling defeated Gilles Simon and Rainer Schüttler, the latter 6–0, 6–0.
At the 2009 French Open, Söderling, seeded 23, reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time after defeating Kevin Kim, Denis Istomin, and David Ferrer. This set up a match with four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.[4]. He scored the biggest upset of the year beating Nadal and ending his record of 31 match winning streak at Roland Garros.[5]. Women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova described the match as one of the greatest upsets in tennis history. His 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–4, 7–6(2) victory over the reigning World No. 1 made Söderling the first and, as of 2009, only person to beat Nadal at the French Open. Two days later, facing number 10 seed and two-time semi-finalist Nikolay Davydenko, Söderling won 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 to reach his maiden major semi-final.[6] Söderling made his first Grand Slam final, beating Fernando Gonzalez 6–3, 7–5, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4[7][8] after having been down 0–30 and 1–4 in the final set, then reeling off the final five games of the set and match. Söderling lost the final to Federer 1–6, 6–7(1), 4–6; however, his ranking was elevated to 12th in the world, a career high.
Söderling was seeded 13th at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, his next event. He reached the fourth round for the first time in his career, defeating Gilles Müller, Marcel Granollers, and Nicolas Almagro on the way there. Söderling set up another match with Federer, a five-time champion at Wimbledon; though Federer defeated him again, 6–4, 7–6(5), 7–6(5), Söderling was only broken once in the match.[9]
After Wimbledon, Söderling returned to his native country to play at the 2009 Collector Swedish Open. As the number two seed, he received a first round bye. He defeated Kristof Vliegen 6–2, 6–3 in the second round, and won his quarter-final match against Nicolas Almagro 7–5, 6–3. Söderling reached the final by defeating fellow countryman, Andreas Vinciguerra, 6–1, 7–6(6). There, he beat Juan Mónaco 6–3, 7–6(4) for the title, becoming the first Swede since his coach Magnus Norman (in 2000) to win the singles title at the Swedish Open. This was Söderling's first outdoor title, as well as his first title on a surface other than indoor hardcourt. As a result of his win, Söderling moved up to 11th in the world.
Söderling then participated in the 2009 International German Open but lost in the third round to Nicolas Almagro. This was Söderling's first loss to a player other than Federer since the Rome Masters in late April, where he lost to Rafael Nadal.
Moving over to the U.S hardcourt season, Söderling started at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic but had to pull out in the quarterfinals due to an elbow injury which forced Söderling to withdraw from the 2009 Rogers Cup as well. Returning to the scene at 2009 Cincinnati Masters, he lost in the first round to Lleyton Hewitt.
Söderling was seeded No.12 at the 2009 US Open and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time at Flushing Meadows after defeating notable opponents such as Albert Montanes, Marcel Granollers, in form American No.22 seed Sam Querrey and No.8 seed Nikolay Davydenko. En route to the quarterfinals, Söderling had a bit of luck on the fact that two of his opponents retired, including the Russian, who retired when Söderling led 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Söderling went on to face five time defending champion and No.1 seed Roger Federer for the fourth time this year (three of them in a Grand Slam event). Söderling was defeated by Federer after a horrible start, but showed remarkable strength after losing the two first sets (Federer dominated) and took the third set after being down 0-4 in the tiebreak. He then held one set point in the fourth set tiebreak though eventually losing 0-6, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-7(6). This was the second time in the pair's 12 meetings that Söderling took a set against Federer.
In Davis Cup Playoffs, he helped a 3-2 win over Romania and a chance for Sweden to compete in the 2010 Davis Cup by clinching a 7-5,6-1,6-0 victory over world #28 Victor Hanescu
After US Open, he reached the semi-finals in both 2009 Malaysian Open and 2009 China Open before the Shanghai Masters where he officially cracked into the top 10 for the first time, notably beating fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–3, 6–3. However, he was upset in the quarterfinals by Feliciano Lopez 6–7(4), 3–6. Söderling was the no.1 seed at the Stockholm Open but due to an elbow injury had to retire in the semi-finals. Though not a serious injury, Söderling retired from the 2009 Valencia Open 500 tournament as well. At the moment no.9 on the ATP Race, Söderling will need a big performance in 2009 BNP Paribas Masters to reach the ATP World Tour Finals.[10]. He started strong against Ivo Karlovic, winning in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6(6), and beat sixth seed Davydenko in the third round, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4. Söderling lost his chance of qualifying to the ATP World Tour Finals when no.3 seed Novak Djokovic became too strong in the quarterfinals and won in three sets, 6–4, 1–6, 6–3.
However, Söderling qualified as first reserve for the finals when American Andy Roddick withdrew due to an injury sustained in Shanghai. Söderling was drawn into a group comprising of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko. He made an impressive start, tearing apart Rafael Nadal in his first robin match 6–4 6–4. He continued his destructive form in his second round robin match, easily crushing Novak Djokovic 7–6(5) 6–1. He is now definitely assured that he will at least reach the semi finals of this year-end championships. However, he lost to Nikolay Davydenko 6–7(4) 6–4 3–6 in his third and final round robin match. Despite this, he became the winner of his group (group B), and made it to the semi-finals, where he lost against Juan Martin del Potro 6-7 6-3 7-6(7-3). Söderling finished the year as world no. 8. A career best.
[edit] Rivalry with Rafael Nadal
Robin Söderling and Rafael Nadal played out their first encounter at the 2006 French Open which made no bigger headlines as Nadal won comfortably in three sets. However in 2007, Söderling and Nadal had an epic 5 set, 3rd round Wimbledon match that lasted several days due to rain delays. Although Nadal finally won in the 5th set, Söderling received considerable media attention for "mocking" Nadal's habit of picking at his shorts prior to playing a point. In Söderling's defense, Nadal took unusually long amounts of time in between serves and Söderling said in a post-match interview that that was the reason for his irritation. Regardless, this match set up a personal rivalry that still exists between the two.
For the first time in two years, they faced off in the third round at the Rome Masters. Again, a controversial moment took place, where Nadal placed his shot outside the baseline and was called out by the linesman. Söderling pointed to the wrong mark, and it was unclear whether or not it was done on purpose. The umpire went down and pointed to an earlier mark. On the hawkeye reprise it became clear that Söderling was right in the first place. Despite this, Nadal went on to easily win 6-1, 6-0 despite a good performance from Söderling in the first set.
Only one month later, they set up another clash, this time at the 2009 Roland Garros (French Open) slam. Söderling was able to get sweet revenge, completing his most memorable Grand Slam performance by becoming the first player to defeat Nadal at the French Open ever by winning in just 4 sets, with a score of 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2). Söderling went all the way to the final, only to lose to Federer in straight sets.
Their heated rivalry continued when Söderling beat Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in group B of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November 2009, in their first round robin match. Their head-to-head record is now 3-2 in Nadal's favor, but with Söderling winning the last two encounters.
[edit] Playing style
Söderling is known for his power game, hitting both hard ground strokes and hard serves, making it very difficult for his opponents to break his serve. He is one of few players on the tour who has almost as strong backhand as his forehand.[citation needed] Most of his success has come on faster surfaces (hard courts and indoor carpet), despite his 2009 run to the French Open final. Many people[11] have praised Söderling for his game saying he is a stable top tenner, though his mental strength and lack of consistency in his game has been his weakness. But in recent years, his mental toughness has improved considerably and this has raised the consistency of his game. For his height (6'4"), he is reasonably quick on the court. Söderling usually plays from the baseline, approaching the net only on select opportunities.
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
| Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2009 | French Open | Clay |  Roger Federer |
1–6, 6–7(1), 4–6 |
[edit] Career finals
[edit] Singles: 11 (4-7)
- Wins (4)
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 4 October 2004 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) |  Xavier Malisse |
6–2, 3–6, 6–4 |
| 2. | 31 January 2005 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) |  Radek Štěpánek |
6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5) |
| 3. | 26 October 2008 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) |  Julien Benneteau |
6–3, 6–7(5), 6–1 |
| 4. | 19 July 2009 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay |  Juan Mónaco |
6–3, 7–6(4) |
- Runner-ups (7)
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 20 October 2003 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) |  Mardy Fish |
5–7, 6–3, 6–7(4) |
| 2. | 23 February 2004 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) |  Dominik Hrbatý |
6–4, 4–6, 4–6 |
| 3. | 20 February 2006 | Memphis, USA | Hard (i) |  Tommy Haas |
3–6, 2–6 |
| 4. | 18 February 2008 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Michaël Llodra |
7–6(3), 3–6, 6–7(4) |
| 5. | 25 February 2008 | Memphis, USA | Hard (i) | Steve Darcis |
3–6, 6–7(5) |
| 6. | 6 October 2008 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | David Nalbandian |
2–6, 7–5, 3–6 |
| 7. | 7 June 2009 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | Roger Federer |
1–6, 6–7(1), 4–6 |
[edit] Doubles: 2 (1-1)
- Win (1)
| Legend (Doubles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0) |
| ATP World Tour 500 (0) |
| ATP World Tour 250 (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 7 July 2008 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Jonas Björkman |
Johan Brunström Jean-Julien Rojer |
6–2, 6–2 |
- Runner-up (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 19 July 2009 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Robert Lindstedt |
Jaroslav Levinsky Filip Polasek |
6–1, 3–6, [7-10] |
[edit] Team competition wins
- 2008 - World Team Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany (Clay)
[edit] Singles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through to 2009 ATP World Tour Finals , which ended on November 29, 2009.
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Career win-loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | LQ | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2–4 |
| French Open | A | A | LQ | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | F | 9–6 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 8–7 |
| US Open | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | A | 1R | QF | 9–7 |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 3-3 | 14-4 | 28–24 |
| Year-End Championship | ||||||||||
| ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 2–2 |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 5–5 |
| Miami Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3–3 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | QF | 2R | 1R | 6–6 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3–5 |
| Madrid Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | 3R | A | 2R | 2R | 5–4 |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | 4–5 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | A | 3R | 1R | 2–4 |
| Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | QF | 3–1 | |||||||
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | QF | A | 2R | A | 2R | QF | 6–4 |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | NMS | 6–5 |
| Total Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Year End Ranking | 444 | 163 | 60 | 34 | 77 | 25 | 41 | 17 | 8 | 215–139 |
- A = did not participate in the tournament.
- LQ = lost in the qualifying draw
[edit] Personal life
Söderling speaks English, Swedish and German. His father Bo is a lawyer and mother Britt-Inge a housewife. Söderling's sister, Sandra, is a teacher. While not playing, Söderling enjoys playing table tennis and watching films. His favourite film is Gladiator.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ "Greatest Upsets in Sports History" sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved on June 5, 2009
- ^ http://www.dn.se/sport/soderling-blir-nadals-nasta-utmanare-1.880083
- ^ http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/tennis/article5040234.ab
- ^ http://www.dn.se/sport/soderling-blir-nadals-nasta-utmanare-1.880083
- ^ http://ballhype.com/story/rafael_nadal_lost_at_french_open/
- ^ "Inspired Gonzalez sees off Murray". BBC Sport. 2009-06-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8076679.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ http://www.dn.se/sport/franska-masterskapen-1.885650
- ^ http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12110_5365497,00.html
- ^ "Soderling v Federer as it happened". BBC Sport. 2009-06-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8124327.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/en/news/onthebubble.asp
- ^ http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20080608/Bj%C3%B6rn_Borg_says_Swedish_tennis_will_return
- ^ "Robin Soderling Bio". ATP. http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/5/en/players/playerprofiles/highlights.asp?playernumber=SA49. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robin Söderling |
- Robin Söderling at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Robin Söderling at the International Tennis Federation
- Robin Söderling at Davis Cup
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