Federer vs Soderling in 2009 French Open final rematch
Robin Soderling faced the toughest assignment there is at Roland Garros in the fourth round last year and came through it with flying colours when he became the first player to defeat Rafael Nadal at the clay-court Grand Slam.
Against Federer in the final, the Swede learned first-hand the truth of the old idiom “no good deed goes unpunished” when, having beaten the Swiss’ old nemesis three rounds earlier, Federer rewarded him with a straight-sets defeat in the decider.
This, then, is Soderling’s chance for revenge.
The fifth seed enters this quarter-final having dropped just one set for the tournament – against 29th-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes in the third round. Following that victory, Soderling dispatched 10th seed Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to line up a date with Federer.
“Of course it's tough to play against Roger, but it's all tough matches. I hope for a good match. It's always fun to play against him,” said a somewhat diplomatic Soderling after easing past Cilic in windy conditions in Paris on Sunday.
The harsh truth is that on the ATP Tour and the Grand Slams, the big-hitting right hander hasn’t got one victory to his name in 12 previous matches against the 16-time Grand Slam Champion, his most recent loss to Federer coming in the quarter-finals of the US Open last year.
“I've never lost against him [Soderling], so obviously that's a good record to have,” Federer said heading into this match. “But because of the improvements he's made, he's an opponent not to underestimate. Obviously he beat incredible players on the way to make the finals here last year, so clay seems to also become really his surface of preference, as well.”
The tiny ray of hope is that Flushing Meadows was the first time Soderling had taken a set off Federer, and that in an exhibition match as the 2010 season kicked off, the Swede did record a win over the world’s best player, who was, to be fair, very much in warm-up mode for the Australian Open at the time.
“Exhibition play,” Federer told reporters who reminded him of that loss on Sunday. “I mean, I don't want to downplay or up-play exhibition matches, but they're there to try out a few things... that match has nothing to do with here. Conditions are way too different.”
Federer, as we all know, brings his A-game to the majors, and that’s been no different at Roland Garros this year, where he’s yet to concede a set in his opening four matches.
It would be a remarkable achievement if Soderling could lay claim to having defeated both Nadal and Federer (who from 2005 onwards has only been defeated by Nadal at this tournament) at the French Open in consecutive years, but if it’s got the aura of a fairytale about it, that’s because it probably is.
Prediction: Federer in four sets.
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