Robin Soderling blows Taylor Dent away at Roland Garros
Robin Soderling has marched into the third round of the French Open with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Taylor Dent.
The pair had entered the match with vastly different experiences at the tournament, and the gap in their achievements at Roland Garros was evident in the result.
Only Roger Federer stood between Soderling and a maiden Grand Slam title at the 2009 French Open, and the world No. 7 can lay claim to being the first, and so far only, player to have defeated Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
Dent, the son of former Australia Davis Cup player and 1974 Australian Open runner-up, Phil Dent, has seen his career cruelly hampered by chronic back problems. He returned to Roland Garros this year for the first time since 2004, with presumably the initial aim of winning the first match of his career at the tournament. In that Dent was successful, the 29-year-old breaking his French Open duck with a straight sets win over veteran Nicolas Lapentti in the first round.
The 2009 runner-up was never challenged by Dent, with the American failing to get on the scoreboard in the first set as he proved his own worst enemy, serving four double faults, making nine unforced errors and winning just two points on serve in blustery conditions on Suzanne Lenglen Court. Just 17 minutes after it had started, Soderling had won the set.
Dent, currently ranked as the world No. 102, finally won his first game by holding serve in his second service game of the second set, but it was just a blip on the radar for the Swede who had taken complete control of the match as Dent continued to struggle on serve and Soderling picked off winners at will to take the second set 6-1.
The third set offered more of the same from both players, with the only real drama being provided by a couple of break point chances against Soderling as he attempted to serve out the match at 5-1, but on a day where little went right for Dent he found himself unable to capitalise on some rare ascendency.
Perhaps the only blessing for the American was that the whole ordeal was over in just one hour and 11 minutes, in what is likely to be one of the quickest men’s singles matches we’ll see at Roland Garros this year.
As for Soderling, he did enough to win on the day, which was all that was required of him in the circumstances, and now moves one step closer to a potential second successive final at the French Open.
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