FRENCH OPEN FINAL: Robin Soderling vs. Rafael Nadal
It looks almost perfect, doesn't it? The answer to whether Rafael Nadal's loss to Robin Soderling last year at the French Open came as a stroke of luck or was a by product of Soderling’s superior quality of play will be known to the world on this Sunday.
The final has given a good opportunity to Soderling to prove his critics wrong. The Swede will definitely go upwards in the ranking ladder if he succeeds in beating Nadal in the final match of the French Open Tournament 2010.
However, one thing is for sure that in order to beat Rafael Nadal for the second time round, the Swede will have to play out of his skin. Nadal has entered in the final of the French Open Tournament without losing a single set with a perfect combo of a 21-game-winning streak. Invigorated and pumped up as he may have during the semi-final, Robin will meet the king of clay in a do-or-die situation to clinch the title. This means that the match is going to be a nail-biter to say the least.
Both players have the right amount of experience and talent. Nadal and Soderling have gone through some tough matches in the earlier rounds and have won through some tough weather conditions as well. Rain-delayed matches, stiff breeze matches and intense-heat matches have welcomed both the players during the course of the tournament.
Soderling at the moment must be feeling on top of the world after beating world number one Tennis player Roger Federer in the quarter-finals to make his way into the grand finale. The strong pace of Soderling all through the six rounds of the tournament has blown away some of the biggest names of tennis. In simple terms - the player remained matchless in this entire season.
Soderling while talking about the final match said that it does not matter which opponent he meets in the final, what matters is his own form and quality of play in the match. Nadal on the other hand has clearly pointed out that the Swede’s current form of play is dangerous.
The final would be either a soggy one-sided affair if Nadal goes all out. Otherwise, Soderling will be surviving on sheer confidence in order to make a meal of the final.
In their last two encounters, Robin Soderling has defeated Nadal. On the contrary, the Spaniard leads in the overall head-to-head series with three games to two. In an anti-climax, this will be the first time in many seasons that the greatest excitement in the game of tennis between Federer and Rafael Nadal will not be on display in a Grand Slam final. What makes the match even more scintillating is their mutual respect towards each other as players and individuals, irrespective of the results on the court.
However, the greatest rivalry will not be showcased in Sunday’s final. Soderling has never been a popularity conscious player which is why he is expected to put up a grand fight against Nadal. The Spaniard on the other hand is more modest and popular of the two. While commenting on Soderling as a player, Nadal jokingly said that Soderling was the guy with whom he would not like to have pasta with.
While Soderling on the other hand told the reporters after the semi-final match that he always wanted to meet Rafael Nadal in a crunch match. Nadal, after defeating Melzer in straight sets fulfilled Soderling’s desire. Soderling has made his way into the finals without a set loss but still, Nadal seems to be the favourite one to win the match.
However, by coming into the final match, Soderling has shown his strength of his racket to the entire world. The question that arises is how will Nadal lose the final, keeping in mind his current health and perfect form.
One thing that favours Robin Soderling is that the Swede can more powerfully hit through the dirt as compared to Rafael Nadal for sure. Moreover, in case of rain on Sunday, the high spin of Rafael Nadal will not be able to do a great deal of damage.
But undoubtedly, Rafael Nadal is the king of clay and has been an ardent student of clay that anyone else. The Spaniard definitely has some more tricks up his sleeves in order to tackle the court conditions. Soderling will definitely have to come up with a more powerful approach and game plan if compared to the last season as Rafael looks more fit and healthy this time round. Soderling has won a Tour finale in London against Rafael Nadal in four straight sets. However, Nadal was not playing at his best at that time which is definitely not the case at the moment. However, one thing is for sure that both the players badly want to win the final match on Sunday.
Soderling wants to defeat Nadal to prove that he has grown as a player then last year when he lost the match against Federer while Nadal wants to taste the glory of a Grand Slam title once again.
The contest will see how these players tackle against their nerves during the big match. In case of rain, Soderling must avail the golden opportunity and end up as the winner. However, as seen in the semi-final, it will not be easy as Nadal has a great quality of dealing pressure situations well. On the other hand, if the weather remains dry, Soderling will really have to play extra-ordinarily to snatch the victory from Nadal.
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