Latest Update on Paris Masters 2010
Sunday 14th November saw the close of the last event of the regular tennis season. The last Masters 1000 event of the season, the BNP Paribas Masters drew to a close after a week full of enthralling, exciting tennis action.
Swede Robin Bo Carl Soderling lifted the Masters trophy on Sunday after he defeated local icon, Gael Monfils in the final. Soderling had made it to two finals in Paris before, having played in the finals of Roland Garros for two consecutive years back in 2008 and 2009. As they say third time is the charm, his third final appearance in Paris won him the title. For Soderling this was a career high, having never made it past the quarterfinals at Bercy. It was also the Swede’s maiden title win at a Masters event, having never made a final appearance in any before. Winning the title enabled Soderling to replace Brit Andy Murray in the year-to-date ATP rankings, moving up from fifth to fourth, reaching his career’s highest ATP ranking. Truly, for all purposes, this was a milestone win for the Swede.
Local superstar, Monfils was left disappointed once again as he failed to lift the title. Monfils had made it to the finals in 2009 as well, losing his chance at the title to Serb Novak Djokovic. The in-form French played some classic matches this week. Playing three setters against Fernando Verdasco and Murray, Monfils was still able to make it to the semis even though both Verdasco and Murray rank higher than he does in the ATP rankings. His biggest achievement in the event came when he outlasted world number two and top seed, Swiss Roger Federer.
An “interesting” run in the event was that of Federer. Federer broke ground at Bercy as he made it to the semis this year. This was his career best at Bercy having never made it past the quarterfinals previously. Seeded first in the event, Federer entered the tournament with great resolve and determination. Hoping to go all the way to the final this time, it came as much disappointment when he lost to Monfils in their semi final match. For the first time in the event, all three sets went into tiebreakers. Although Federer gave it his all, Monfils enjoyed the home court advantage, which it seems, played a major role in the local’s win since at one point in the decider Monfils was lagging 1-4.
Another first in the event came when rising local Michael Llodra made it to the semis. This was the French’s longest run ever at Bercy. For the first time since 1986, two locals made it to the semis at Bercy. Coincidentally this was also the first time since 1992 when two Frenchmen made it to the semis at any Masters 1000 event. Llodra moved into the semis after doing away with Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals. In his event run, Llodra also forced the exit of defending champion Serb Novak Djokovic. Llodra defeated the Serb with a straight, yet not so simple, set win of 7-6(6), 6-2.
With the end of the event at Bercy, the tennis season for Monfils and Llodra ended. However, Soderling and Federer fans are in for some more action from their idols since the Swede and Swiss join six more elite players at the London finals.
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