ATP World Tour Finals 2010: Roger Federer versus Robin Soderling – Match Preview
World number two Roger Federer and Robin Soderling of Sweden will meet in the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday for a semi final berth in London.
The four time champion Federer is in astonishing form right from the start of the prestigious event and will take on the world number four Soderling in his last Round Robin clash to make his way into the final four round with a bang.
In what is an absolute do-or-die situation for Soderling, the right hander will also try his level best to stay in the year end battle at the elite eight man field.
The 25-year-old Soderling opened his account in the season finale on a disappointing note as he was toppled by the local favourite Andy Murray in two sets on Sunday. The final match score was 6-2, 6-4. Soderling, who enters with a lifetime
mark of 2-3 in London, is the first player from Sweden to successfully make his way into the World Tour Finals in a row.
The Swede, after his opening round defeat, came out with a power packed performance versus David Ferrer of Spain in his second clash, where he brought his A-game to the fore to seal a win.
World number four is enjoying a decent form, the finest testimonial of which was his title battle win at the BNP Paribas Masters two weeks ago in Bercy. By virtue of his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy on the tour, the right hander jumped
to his current career high ranking of number four in the South African Airways ATP list.
His other significant performances in 2010 include title victory in Rotterdam, runner up appearances in Barcelona, French Open, Bastad, semi final efforts in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Miami, Valencia and quarterfinal showings
in Marseille, Wimbledon, United States Open, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Shanghai and Stockholm.
This would be his sixteenth meeting with the Swiss tennis maestro who leads their overall head to head series at 14-1. The only time Soderling managed to triumph against Federer was at this year’s French Open quarter final. Federer triumphed
in their last encounter at the Shanghai Rolex Masters with a loss of only two games which lasted for just sixty two minutes.
The 29-year-old Federer is in ruthless form without any doubt. He posted clinical victories over David Ferrer and Andy Murray to top the Group B standings.
With a final four position almost ensured, the Swiss tennis maestro is looking to snatch another confidence boosting victory ahead of the semi final stage. The professional tennis ace from Switzerland however did not enjoy a similar form
throughout the year.
After his Australian Open win in Melbourne during the start of 2010, the Swiss superstar suffered disappointing defeats to contenders like Albert Montanes, Marcos Baghdatis and Ernest Gulbis before regaining his top form in Cincinnati where
the sixteen time Grand Slam winner captured his seventh Masters series title.
With a couple of more trophies in Stockholm and Basel, the right hander further improved his crown tally with a hope for a descent year finish.
Whether he wins his fifth year end crown or not is a question still unanswered, however this definitely will come as a consolation to an otherwise struggling season in the Swiss' career.
Things may go a bit competitive this time around however the former world number one Roger Federer, who made his debut on the ATP World Tour back in 2002, would definitely be the one who will leave the court with a victorious smile without any question.
Tags: