Alexandr Dolgopolov, new kid on the block defeats Robin Soderling in 5 set thriller
As is customary, we have a dark horse in the running for the Australian Open this year. Alexandr Dolgopolov’s the man, and his claim to fame is a hard fought victory over the 5th seeded Robin Soderling.
Oh the transient vista of modern tennis, one can remember a time not long ago when Soderling himself was in this position, recording an early victory over Rafael Nadal in the French Open of 09.
But that record-making victory probably would have been far from Soderling’s mind on match day 8 when he had to bear an assault mounted by Dolgopolov.
Born in Ukraine in 1988, the 22 year-old is his country’s top-ranked player. As the son of Oleksandr Dolgopolov, a former tennis player and coach of greats such as Andrei Medvedev, Alexandr started playing from the age of 3.
Debuting on the tour in the September of 2006, he failed to make much of an impact until the mid of 2010. With a new coach, Jack Reader at the helm, Dolgopolov succeeded in breaking into the top 50 of the ATP tour rankings, after consistent qualification
for most major tournaments.
Runs in three of the four Grand Slams led him to the 3rd round of the French Open, the 2nd round of Wimbledon, where he lost to Jo Wilfred-Tsonga, and a 1st round exit in the US Open.
One would think the drop in Grand Slam performances would’ve continued into the New Year, but as we bore witness on the morning of the 24th, this was certainly not the case.
Dolgopolov’s made a statement, with a win over Soderling and a quarterfinal berth in a Grand Slam, his star is definitely on the rise now.
Coming to the match itself, it was a gruelling 5 setter, as might be expected. With Soderling dominating initially, taking the first set 6-1, it seemed as if all was right in the world of tennis.
Things changed quickly though, when Dolgopolov fought back in the second, clinching it 6-3, also claiming a break over Soderling, only the third time anyone has done that this year.
The next set, tennis fans were dumbfounded as Soderling was brought to his knees in a 6-1 reciprocal by Dolgopolov, and it seemed as if the Swede’s spirit was broken.
Staging a fight back, Soderling claimed the fourth set 6-4, even as he was faced by a barrage of winners from his opponent, a resounding match total of 50.
The last set was a fitting finale to the great tennis that came before it. Following a break by Soderling, Dolgopolov hit back with an astounding 3 breaks, leading to a result of 6-2 in the Ukrainian’s favour.
One of the highlights so far of this year’s Australian Open, the match ended with a final result of 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6 and 6-2.
Smart cross-court play by Dolgopolov, laced with forceful winners, was met by a shaky Soderling, who committed a total of 51 unforced errors, a number that proved to be too large, as despite saving three match points, he became the highest seeded male to
be knocked out of this year’s first Grand Slam.
Things ahead for Dolgopolov look tough, as his most likely opponent is the 5th seeded Andy Murray, who is on a run of his own.
But as he showed today, Dolgopolov is capable of holding his own at the highest level, and it is with hope that we witness what may be the rise of a new star in tennis.
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