2010 BNP Paribas Masters Final Preview – Robin Soderling vs. Gael Monfils
The wait is over. The final of the last Masters event of the season is here. In a seeded battle, fourth seed Robin Soderling from Sweden takes on the local marvel, twelfth seed Gael Monfils.
Both professionals have gone the distance in this event and passed over major players to reach the final. Monfils moves into the final having done away with some big names of the tennis world. Having received a bye in the first
round, Monfils faced qualifying German Benjamin Becker in the second round. Enjoying a straight set win of 7-6(4), 6-4 Monfils moved on to meet sixth seed Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. In a match that held the London fate for Roddick, Berdych, and Ferrer, Monfils
defeated Fernando to meet Brit Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. In an enthralling three-setter that followed, Monfils forced Murray’s exit with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win. His toughest matchup came on Saturday when he met Swiss number one Roger Federer in the semis.
His third consecutive three-setter of the event, Monfils finally secured a win taking all three sets into tiebreakers.
Soderling did away with French Gilles Simon and Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in the second and third round respectively. He met and defeated eighth seeded American Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. Having played two-setters throughout
the event, Soderling moved into the semis without a single set loss. Soderling suffered his first set loss of the event when he faced unseeded rising local Michael Llodra in the semis. His first three-setter of the event, the Swede eventually ended Llodra’s
run enjoying a 6-7(0), 7-5, 7-6(6) win over the French.
Although Soderling has reached finals at the Grand Slams having made it twice to the Roland Garros even, he has never been so lucky when it comes to the Masters. It is not only his first final here at Bercy, in fact it is his first
final ever at a Masters 1000 event. On the other hand, Monfils not only enjoys the home court advantage, but this is also his second final run here at Bercy. Though having never won a Masters 1000 title, both players can be expected to bring their “A” games
tonight as they battle it out for a maiden title win.
Soderling looks to gain some more from a title win tonight. Having gone as high as to fifth position in the ATP rankings, Soderling will finally break the top four with a title win moving past Murray; another factor that will have
the Swede driven in tomorrow’s match. Soderling is one of the five players this season to have won more than fifty matches. With a year-to-date win loss mark of 51-20 and a title win at 2010 Rotterdam, a title win at Bercy will be a welcome addition to an
otherwise ok season. Even with just one title win this year, Soderling managed to make the elite eight-man field for the London finals with a fifth YTD ATP ranking.
This will be the pair’s third meeting on the court. Having met once before in 2005 at Milan and then earlier this year in Valencia, their head-to-head score rests at 2-0 in the Swede’s favour. What remains to be witnessed is will
Soderling continue his winning streak over the French. Alternatively, will Monfils finally capitalize on the home court advantage to win one over the Swede?
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