Robin Soderling to pose major threat at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London
With just seven days to go for the much awaited Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, the Swedish tennis ace, Robin Soderling showed the world that he will be a major threat of the event after grabbing his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at
the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters Men’s singles tournament in Sunday.
The 26-year-old Soderling goes into the year finale as a player in-form, having already made his way into the quarter final round or better in his previous seven tour level competitions and enjoys a strong career indoor record of 103-38 on the tour. The
Monte Carlo resident in his debut in London back in 2009, dispatched off world number Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic of Serbia on his way into the semi finals.
He lifted his first Masters 1000 title on Sunday after getting the better of world number fourteen Gael Monfils of France in two sets at the BNP Paribas Masters. The final match score was 6-1, 7-6 (1). Seeded number four to win the title, the right hander
smashed a forehand volley on match point, and then fell to the court on his back to celebrate the most prestigious of his six career crowns.
He became the first Swede to win a Masters 1000 event since Thomas Enqvist back in 2000. The Swede blasted a total of nine aces and did not face a single break point to cruise past his twelfth seed opponent on Sunday.
“This is great. I think I played very good last week in Valencia, and this week, too, on a surface that is pretty similar to what it is going to be in London. And of course I played a lot of good players this week. It gives me a lot of confidence. I think
playing in any Masters 1000, when you play the top players of the world, every match can be a Grand Slam final,” said the delighted Soderling after his victory in Bercy.
The right hander has so far made his way into a total of two title battles at the French Open in Roland Garros in the last two years, and has captured five of his six career ATP World Tour crowns indoors. Soderling believes that the versatility he has shown
has helped him a great deal to jump to his new career high ranking of world number four as he has overtaken Murray in the new South African Airways list, released on Monday.
“It is a great feeling, because now I really feel like I can do well on every surface. That is what you have to be able to do if you want to be on top of this game. All the top players, all the Top ten guys can play well on every surface. I think if you
look at Rafael Nadal, he is an unbelievably good player, but maybe a couple years ago he was much better on clay; now he plays so well on every surface. That is why he is number one. I am really happy that I can handle every surface,” reflected Soderling
When asked about the upcoming London event, the Swede added that he will prepare for Barclays after two days rest and is really looking forward to continue his form.
With such a confidence boosting performance in Bercy, the new world number four, Robin Soderling will definitely look to go deep in the season finale in London and end the year on a high note.
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