Robin Soderling Is An Up-And-Coming Tennis Pro From Sweden

Early career

Robin Soderling 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 Soderling achieved fourth place in the year-end ranking and played in his very first ATP tournament in Stockholm, winning his first match against Ramon Delgado.

2002

Robin Soderling 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.

2003

The transition to the main tour was completed as he reached the third round in the Wimbledon (coming from the qualifications) and got an ATP final in Stockholm (losing a decisive tie-break there), earning the year-end ranking of 86.

2004

Robin's very first ATP title - in Lyon with a final against Xavier Malisse. He played also another final - in Marseille. By the end of the year, he was a top 40 player.

2005

Robin Soderling 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 (b. Radek Stepanek 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 in October.

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 Grand Slams. But in the end of the year, he made many points and finished at career-high place of 25.

2007

Robin Soderling made it to the round of 32 at Wimbledon, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic. 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.

Söderling missed the Australian Open due to injury.

2008

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 Llodrain 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 Gonzalez 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.

Reaching top ten

2009

With his new coach at his side, Söderling started the 2009 ATP World Tour at the 2009 Brisbane International. He lost in the quarterfinals against Radek Štepánek, who eventually won the tournament. Söderling then participated in the 2009 Heineken Open where he lost in the semifinals 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.Söderling became the first Swede to reach the French Open final since his coach Magnus Norman in 2000.

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 at the Rome Masters, before falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a controversial match 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. He scored the biggest upset of the year beating Nadal and ending his record 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros. 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 2010, only person to beat Nadal in a best-of-five-sets match on clay. Two days later, facing number 10 seed and two-time semifinalist Nikolay Davydenko, Söderling won 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 to reach his maiden major semifinal. Söderling made his first Grand Slam final, beating Fernando González 6–3, 7–5, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4 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 Nicolás 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.

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 quarterfinal 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 Monaco 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 Nicolás 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 Montañés, 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 semifinals 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 a href="http://www.all-about-tennis.com/feliciano-lopez.html">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 semifinals. 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 needed a big performance in 2009 BNP Paribas Masters to reach the ATP World Tour Finals.[14]. 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 was then assured a place in 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 set up a semifinal clash with Juan Martin del Potro who after a slugger fest won, 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-6(3). Söderling finished the year ranked #8, a career best.

2010

Söderling made his 2010 debut at the Capitala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. Söderling started in the quarterfinals defeating Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6(4), 7-6(2). Söderling then came back from a set and break down to defeat Roger Federer 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 6-2. Although generally reported in the media as being the first time Söderling had defeated Federer in 13 attempts, as an exhibition it remains an unofficial match that does not count on record. Söderling faced Rafael Nadal in the final, but was defeated 7-6(3), 7-5. Söderling then headed to Chennai, India to participate in the 2010 Aircel Chennai Open where he was the first seed but lost in the first round to American Robby Ginepri. Robin Söderling was seeded 8th but lost in the first round of the 2010 Australian Open to unseeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-4 6-2.

Söderling received a wildcard to the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and was seeded 3rd. He won his first ATP match of the year defeating Florent Serra 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round. He beat Igor Sijsling 7-6(6), 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. With his confidence regained (along with useful matches under his belt), Söderling ripped apart Julien Benneteau of France in the Quarter Finals 6-0, 6-1, and beat Nikolay Davydenko in the semis 7-6(3), 6-4 after a strong performance from both players. He went one step better (than the 2008 Rotterdam final), as he ended up winning when leading 6-4 2-0 against Mikhail Youzhny who had to retired with a hamstring injury. This is his biggest tournament he has won (in terms of point size) to date (2010).[16] Söderling was the first seed at Open 13 in Marseille but lost in the quartefinals to eventual champion Michaël Llodra. Despite this, he reached a career high world no.7 at the end of the tournament week. He won both singles matches against Argentina in Davis Cup, but lost the doubles with Robert Lindstedt.

Söderling was seeded sixth at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. As a seeded player, he received a first round bye and defeated Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 6-4 in the second round. In the third round he produced an impressive performance, beating twenty-eighth seed Spaniard Feliciano López in straight sets. His winning ways continued, as he used his ground-strokes to eliminate 9th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, winning 6-3, 6-4. In the quarterfinals Soderling reproduced his best form, to take out the World No. 4 Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6(4) in a surprisingly one sided encounter. However, plagued by inconsistency, he lost in the semifinals to seventh seed Andy Roddick after a close three set match, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Seeded 5th in the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, and after receiving a bye in the first round, Söderling beat Peter Luczak, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0. He faced Philipp Petzschner in the third round and won comfortably 6-1, 6-2. He faced 9th seed Fernando González in the fourth round, defeating him in an unpredictable match 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-2. He went on to advance to his second straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal, after beating Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. However, plagued by a stiff right knee, Söderling was once again eliminated in the semifinals, this time by Tomáš Berdych 2-6, 2-6.

After good results in the U.S, Robin returned to Europe for the clay court season but had to pull out of 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters due to an overstrained knee. His clay court season got under way at the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell where he reached the final after impressive victories over the likes of Juan Ignacio Chela, Feliciano López, Eduardo Schwank and Thiemo de Bakker. He fell to 5th seed Fernando Verdasco in three sets.

Söderling had a dip in form after poor results in both 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia and 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open winning just one match against Paolo Lorenzi in Rome. His final tournament before Roland Garros was 2010 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur where he was the first seed. There, after receiving bye in the first round, he fell in the second round as Olivier Rochus upset the Swede 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Söderling is seeded 5th at the 2010 French Open and will try to defend his runner up finish from last year. He made a strong start defeating unseeded French player Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round. Next opponent who had to surrender to Söderling was Taylor Dent whom Söderling thrashed 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. Söderling advanced to the fourth round after defeating Albert Montanes 6-4, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. He defeated Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 en route to the quarterfinals where he caused a big upset defeating defending champion Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. It was the 1st win for Söderling against Federer in 13 attempts. He will face Tomas Berdych in the semis.Rivalry with Rafael Nadal

Söderling has a noteworthy rivalry with Rafael Nadal originally sparked by a particular incident occurring during a match between the two in 2007. The two met in the third round of Wimbledon in a match that lasted five sets and several days due to rain delays. Although Nadal won the match, Söderling received considerable media attention for "mocking" Nadal's habit of picking at his shorts prior to playing a point.

In 2009 the pair met in a match at the Rome Masters. Again, a controversial moment took place, where Nadal placed a shot outside the baseline which was then called out by the linesman. Söderling pointed to a mark on the court, but it was clear that it was the incorrect spot where the ball was called out. The umpire left his chair and pointed on the right location yet not the right spot, meaning he ruled the ball to be replayed. This caused Söderling to lose his temper because the Hawk-Eye replay made it clear that the ball was indeed out. He eventually lost the match 6-1, 6-0

A month later Söderling and Nadal met again at the 2009 French Open. Söderling became the first player ever to defeat Nadal at the French Open by winning in four sets with a score of 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2). The Swede would defeat Nadal again in 2009, at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

The head-to-head currently stands at 3-2 in Nadal's favor.

Playing style and equipment

Söderlings type of game has been described as "brutal". He is known for his competitive drive and powerful game, hitting, accurate hard ground strokes and heavy, precise serves. He can overpower most of his opponents and possesses a very good return game. His backhand is solid and dependable, while the forehand is regarded as one of the most lethal in today's game. 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 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 the weakness. But in recent years, his mental toughness has improved considerably and this has raised the consistency of his game. Söderling wears Lotto clothing and uses a Head YOUTEK Radical Midplus racquet.