Top seed Robin Soderling struggles against Jeremy Chardy to advance at the Estoril Open
Top seeded Swede Robin Soderling survived a mid-match lapse and earned a double breadstick against French Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday. Although he faced difficulty in the second set, he overpowered the Frenchman in a 6-1, (4)6-7,
6-1 hard fought match to advance into the quarter-finals of the 2011 Estadio Nacionale, a clay court tournament held in Jamor, Portugal.
Ranked 5th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Soderling showed his magic in the start of the season as he clinched the titles at three out of four events he entered. He made an 18-1 win – loss record
but injuries dipped his form in March and he suffered three straight defeats. He missed the tournament held at Monte Carlo to recover but showed dismal performance on his opening match at Barcelona where he lost to Croat Ivan Dodig.
He entered at Estoril Court Central with a different strategy to re-ignite his spark and succeed by winning the opening round match in one hour and fifty-nine minutes.
In the opening set, Soderling unleashed a flurry of ground-strokes to seal the set by winning six games to Chardy’s one. He had an acceptable first serve share of 62 percent as compared to slightly lower of Frenchman’s 59 percent
and he registered an impressive 75 percent win on it. The Swede converted two out of four breakpoint opportunities to his advantage and conceded zero breakpoint in the opener.
The Frenchman, ranked 53rd, got back on track in the second set as he raised his level of game with that of the seed. He produced almost a similar first serve share and earned an amazing 72 percent win on it. Chardy
hammered two aces and exchanged breaks three times with the Swede to drag the set into the tie-breaker. The Frenchman prevailed in it to clinch the set with a 7-6(4) win.
The frustrated Swede re-focused in the decider and produced a much better first serve share. He also registered a spectacular 85 percent win on it and converted two out of three breakpoint opportunities to his advantage to earn
the second breadstick. Soderling also smacked three aces and conceded zero breakpoint.
"I'm pleased with how I played in the third set, I was really aggressive, much better than in the first and second sets. In the second, I'm sorry I didn't take the lead form a break in the first game," said the finalist at the
last two Roland Garros. “But the win is good for confidence. I'm working to focus on how I play."
26-year-old will next face Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro. The eighth seeded Argentinean trashed Colombian Alejandro Falla with a breadstick in the second round to advance into the last eight.
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