2010 Valencia Open 500: Robin Soderling versus David Ferrer – Saturday's Semi Final Preview
The second semi final of 2010 Valencia Open 500 Men’s singles competition would feature the second seed Robin Soderling versus the fourth seed David Ferrer on Saturday. Soderling leads the pair’s head to head encounters at 8-3. The Swede has triumphed in
three of their last four clashes in 2010.
Both contenders have performed well on the tour since the year’s final Grand Slam, the United States Open in New York with David going 12-3 and Robin 11-4.
The 28 year old Ferrer is playing in his eleventh semi final or better in 2010. The professional tennis ace from Spain has so far advanced into a total of four ATP World Tour finals in 2010 and was also a finalist at the China Open last month in Beijing.
Ferrer posted his best result of the season by capturing his eighth ATP World Tour trophy in Acapulco back in February. He enters with a win loss mark of 57-20 on the year and his 57 match victories are the second highest on the ATP tour in 2010. The right
hander, who turned professional back in 2000, enjoys a career mark of 15-4 in Valencia and previously won the crown here back in 2008 after dispatching off Nicolas Almagro.
The former world number four started off his tournament’s campaign in Valencia with a three setter win over Guillermo Garcia Lopez. The final match score was 6-7, (3) 6-3, 6-3. He made his way into the quarters with a two setter victory over Teymuraz Gabashvili,
a qualifier from Russia in two sets. In the final eight round, the Spaniard beat Potito Starace in two sets with a final score line of 7-5, 6-4.
The Valencia resident, who is currently ranked number eight in the South African Airways ATP list, achieved his career high ranking of world number four back in 2008. He is attempting to grab one of the three remaining berths for the elite eight man field
in London, which is set to start later this month. Ferrer must advance into the title battle in order to add 180 points on to his ranking.
World number five Robin Soderling, on the other hand, is the top Swedish player on the ATP World Tour. He is playing in the semi final or better on the seventh occasion in 2010. The right hander is attempting to make his way into his fifth title battle this
year and 16th overall on the tour.
Soderling, who is making his Valencia debut, has yet to drop a set. He opened his account on Tuesday with a two setter win over Albert Montanes of Spain. The final match score was 6-1, 6-4. The Swede then crushed Daniel Gimeno Traver and Gael Monfils to
make his way into the final four in Valencia.
The Monaco resident, who made his debut on the ATP World Tour back in 2001, enters with a match record of 51-19 on the season. This is the sixth championship in a row where he has advanced into the quarters or better. Soderling was a quarter finalist at
the United States Open, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Beijing and Stockholm.
The professional tennis ace from Sweden, who is playing in his first semi final since July, has already made it into the elite eight man field in London. Soderling won his fifth career ATP World Tour singles crown back in February in Rotterdam, surpassing
Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. He jumped into the top ten on the first occasion back in 2009 and has not fallen out since then.
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