With the new season approaching, the Swedish tennis ace Robin Soderling decided it is high time for a change in his tactics. To be exact, the world number five has replaced his old coach Magnus Norman by Claudio Pistolesi of Italy.
The 26-year-old Soderling who made his debut on the ATP tour back in 2001, is best known for his French Open runner up showings in 2009 and this year. Currently ranked number five in the ATP world rankings, the Swede concluded the season by playing at the
season finale Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London where he could not go beyond the round robin stage.
After starting the year on a disappointing note with two early round exits at Chennai and Australian Open, Soderling improved his game and came back strongly on the tour by reaching the title battle and eventually picking up the crown at 2010 ABN AMRO World
Tennis Tournament. He won the finals after Mikhail Youzhny retired from the match while trailing behind at 4-6, 0-4.
His other year highlights include title victory at BNP Paribas Masters Men’s singles tournament, runner up effort in Barcelona, semi-final showings at Miami, Indian Wells, quarterfinal appearances at French Open and Wimbledon.
The Monte Carlo resident trained with Norman for a period of two years during which he captured crowns at Paris Masters, Bastad as well as Rotterdam. Soderling rose from top thirty in the ATP world rankings to top five under Norman’s coaching.
However, the question here is that why did the Swede and Norman split up after enjoying two wonderful years together on the tour?
Soderling, who achieved his career-high ranking of world number four back in October, stated on his website, “I have had the two best years of my career so far with Magnus as a coach, and I am very thankful for the commitment that he has shown during this
period of time… I need a coach who can put in the time necessary, and focus 100 percent on my tennis.”
His coach wants to spend more time with his family now whereas the Monte Carlo resident, Soderling at this stage of his career needs proper time and attention.
Despite parting ways with Norman, the Swede’s future still looks bright with his new coach though Robin originally looked into working with Peter Lundgren, Fredrik Rosengren, and Thomas Hogstedt. However, Claudio’s name was strongly recommended by his former
coach, Norman.
Claudio was formally married to former world number one and winner of nine Grand Slam titles, Monica Seles. The Italian also coached other WTA contenders such as Ai Sugiyama and Anna Smashnova. Ai was also the former top ranked player in the doubles ranking
and eight in singles.
In the men’s side, he coached ATP contenders such as Simone Bolelli and Davide Sanguinetti.
All of Soderling fans are really looking forward to see their star further improving his game and playing more impressively under the coaching supervision of his new coach in 2011.
So will Soderling able to develop the same chemistry like he had with Norman to reach the pinnacle of game or will the new change recommended by Norman prove to be a failure for the world number five?
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