Robin Soderling withdraws from the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington
It has recently been reported that the Swedish professional tennis player, Robin Soderling, has withdrawn from the famous Legg Mason Tennis Classic which is held in Washington D.C, America. Event organizers announced on this Friday night that Soderling will not be a part of the tournament due to some personal reasons. The tournament will still be featuring top tennis players like Andy Roddick who is a former world number one and Tomas Berdych who is currently ranked world number eight.
The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is a male tennis tournament which takes place every year in the late summer. It is a part of the ATP Tour and was first held in the year 1969. Till 1986 this tournament was played on clay courts, but now they have shifted to hard courts. This is one of the United States Open Series of tournaments which allow professional tennis players to warm up for the upcoming Grand Slam that is the US Open, which is also played on hard courts. The Legg Mason Tennis tournament is scheduled to commence on the 1st of August.
It is unfortunate to not have Robin Soderling playing at Washington as he is indeed a very talented tennis player. He is currently ranked as world number five and may not be a Grand Slam champion as yet, but he is well known for reaching two successive finals at the French Open in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, he became the first player to have defeated the world number one, Rafael Nadal, on a clay court at the French Open. Nadal, who is known to be the best tennis player on clay courts and is called by many as ‘The King of Clay’, was upset by Soderling in the semi-finals but Soderling was defeated in the finals by the Swiss player, Roger Federer. In the following year, Soderling beat Federer in the quarterfinals, breaking the record which was being upheld by the Swiss of reaching the semi-finals or better in 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. Unfortunately, Soderling was upset by his rival Nadal in the final which made him runner-up at the French Open for the second time in a row. It is quite ironic for the two-time French Open runner-up that he could not defeat both Nadal and Federer together in the same year; when he beat one of them; he ended up losing to the other.
2010 has been quite a hectic year for Soderling. He has been active in participating in tournaments all year round. In the Australian Open this year, he was eliminated in the first round but made up for this loss by reaching the finals in the next Grand Slam of the year that is the French Open. He performed well at Wimbledon by reaching the Quarterfinals, which has been his best performance there to date. After Wimbledon he played for Sweden at the Davis Cup which was followed by his participation at the 2010 Swedish Open.
Since Soderling has given up his place at the D.C. Tourney, it is expected that the next stop of this Swedish player will be at the US Open. Taking part in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic would have helped Soderling practice for the US Open. However, it is reported that the world number 5 is staying up to mark in his game by practicing regularly on his own even if he has decided not to take part in the tournament in Washington.
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