Roger Federer Faces Tricky Draw at US Open
If Swiss player Roger Federer wants to reach his seventh consecutive U.S. open title match, he might need to get past the man who ended his Grand Slam semifinal streak.
Federer, who is five-time U.S. Open champion, was given a possible quarterfinal in Thursday’s draw against Robin Soderling who is two-time French Open runner up. Soderling upset Roger Federer this year at the quarterfinals in Paris, stopping him from making the record run of reaching semifinals at 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. "I'm motivated to do well because I love New York, I love playing in Arthur Ashe [Stadium],” Federer said. "If I couldn't get motivated by this stadium and this city, then I'd have some issues."
The right-handed is a strong contender at Flushing Meadows this year. He had an encouraging summer on the hard courts of United Stated and seems to be in perfect form. Federer usually play his best tennis at the big tournaments, as he reached finals in both Toronto and Cincinnati while he calls the upcoming U.S. Open “an interesting one.” He said that every player is practicing really hard for his upcoming match; all the players are good and could give a good competition.
Roger is really famous for his playing style and the versatility in his game attracts viewers from all over the world. His versatility was defined by Jimmy Connors as: “In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer." Federer is basically a baseliner who is well known for his fluid style and shot making. He is an all-round player who smashes perfectly and takes those shots which are rarely seen in today’s tennis world like backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash.
David Foster Wallace describes his brute force as “a great liquid whip.” Federer’s exceptional speed and fluidity is tremendous and outstanding. John McEnroe calls his forehand “the greatest shot in our sport.” The Swiss employs the slice and plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety.
No doubt Federer is doing a great job but we can’t ignore the Swedish player Robin Soderling, who currently ranks No.5 in the ATP rankings. He earlier defeated Nadal in the French Open and Federer in this current season. Soderling is a brutal kind of player, who has a powerful game and competitive dive. He is noted for hitting accurate and hard ground strokes. His forehand is really solid and dependable while his double handed backhand is considered most lethal in today’s world.
His is better on the solid surfaces and indoor carpets but surprisingly his best grand slam results have occurred in the French Open, this is thought to be due to the slowness of the clay which allowed him to set his most powerful shots. Despite all this, Soderling lacks consistency in his game and also there always have been questions regarding his mental toughness but in recent years his mental toughness has improved and he gained consistency in his game as well. All the credit for his improvements goes to his current coach, who is former world no.2 and French Open finalist Magnus Norman.
All in all, Robin Soderling has a noteworthy rivalry with Roger Federer, originally sparked by particular incidents occurring during matches between these two players. Soderling could prove to be a tough competitor for Federer. Their rivalry has always come with good efforts and results from both the parties and has increased the interest of tennis fans and followers.
Tags: