Swedish tennis player Robin Soderling and coach Magnus Norman part ways
Robin Soderling has parted ways with coach Magnus Norman following two of the best years of his career.
Norman, a former world number two, joined forces with Soderling in September 2008. Under Norman’s wing, Soderling climbed through the rankings from world number 35 to his career best of world number four in just two years. He became
the first, and so far the only, man to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open; he beat Nadal in the fourth round of the Roland-Garros last year and went on to reach the final. Roger Federer stopped short his ambitions of winning the title, however. Soderling
avenged that defeat by beating Federer in the quarterfinals of the French Open this year, ending the Swiss maestro’s run of 22 consecutive appearances in Grand Slam semis. Unfortunately for Soderling, Nadal awaited him in the final and got back at him for
the previous year’s defeat.
Despite not winning the title in 2009 or 2010, being a French Open finalist two years in a row, competing against two of the best players in the world, as well as rising up the world rankings by 31 places were all remarkable feats
– and much of the credit belonged to Norman.
The question on everybody’s mind has been this: how did such a prosperous and seemingly perfect partnership hit the rocks? Many have speculated that it was because Soderling recently surrendered his world number four ranking to
Andy Murray. Others have theorized that perhaps Soderling wants new ideas and a fresh start, as he apparently seems to fall short in high-pressure situations – such as the finals of the 2009 and 2010 French Open tournaments. It has also been suggested that
Norman feels he has done all he could for Soderling and would now like to move on to another challenge.
However, Soderling has been clear about his reasons for the split. He has said that he believes the decision will benefit both him and his former coach. Soderling stated on his website that Norman wanted to “put more focus on his
personal life and new projects” and that he needs a coach “who can put in the time necessary and focus 100% on my tennis.” Both Soderling and Norman have described the decision as a mutual and amicable one.
Tags: