Wimbledon preview – Robin Soderling v Rafael Nadal
It took until the final of the French Open for Rafael Nadal to meet the man that had been his Kryptonite at Roland Garros the year previously, a match where the Spaniard comprehensively avenged his 2009 loss.
At Wimbledon, however, Nadal will face off against Robin Soderling in what shapes up as an intriguing quarter-final between a player seeking to reclaim the Wimbledon title (Nadal) and one seeking to prove the clay courts in Paris aren’t the only ones where he’s capable of featuring in the deciding match of a Grand Slam (Soderling).
The Swede looked sharp in his opening three matches at the All England Club this year, where he marched to the round of 16 and into a match against ninth seed David Ferrer without dropping a set before that particular Spaniard forced him to fight out a five-set battle out on court 12.
Soderling’s victory there means that for the first time outside of Roland Garros (where for the past two years he’s been the beaten finalist) he’s through to the quarter-finals of a major, where Nadal awaits.
“It's gonna be an extremely tough match [against Nadal]. He's world No. 1. We played a lot of times and had a lot of tough matches,” Soderling said.
“I think you have to do everything well to beat him. He's such a great player and he moves so well and has a great offensive game and also a great defensive game. I have to play my own game and take initiative pretty early in the points and serve well.
“But, you know, I think it's definitely easier to play him on any other surface than clay.”
That move away from the dirt courts, where Nadal was unbeaten all spring, may level the playing field a little, but it’s also hard to forget that at his best, the Majorcan is almost unbeatable on any surface and that includes the grass courts at Wimbledon, where Nadal was champion in 2008 and runner-up to Roger Federer no less for the two years previously.
For his part, the second seed is also, and characteristically, giving his quarter-final opponent the respect he deserves.
“I think [Soderling] probably is one of the more difficult opponents that you can play on all surfaces today, but especially here. I think he's playing with big confidence, big serve, perfect flat shots and long from the baseline,” Nadal said after booking his place in the final eight with a straight sets victory over the unseeded Paul-Henri Mathieu.
“He's [Soderling’s] playing great. Gonna be very difficult match for me I think. Hopefully for him, too,” Nadal said.
Prediction: Nadal to win in five sets.
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