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  • Sony Ericsson Third Round: Federer vs. Soderling

    3/31/08 7:36 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Roger Federer, mired in a recent slump, has a chance to make a big statement on Monday afternoon when he faces in-form Robin Soderling in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

    It will be the fifth head-to-head meeting between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling when they square off on Monday afternoon in the third round of the season’s second Masters Series event. Like he does with many other players, Federer owns the Swede to the tune of a perfect 4-0 match record. Only one time did a battle go three sets (on grass in Halle, Germany three years ago), but the world No. 1 has won all three of their hard-court duels in straights. Most recently, at the 2006 Masters Series Madrid, Federer ousted Soderling 7-6(5), 7-6(8) in a thrilling match that featured no breaks of serve.

    If an opponent has visions of ever getting the best of Federer, now is the time to do it. The Swiss has not won any of his three tournaments so far this season, and that stretch included losses to Novak Djokovic in Australia, Andy Murray in the first round of Dubai, and Mardy Fish in emphatic fashion at the Masters Series Indian Wells. Federer did, however, look a lot better in a second-round 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Gael Monfils on Saturday night.

    Soderling tore up the indoor stretch earlier in 2008, but the jury is still out on how he will carry that momentum as he ventures outdoors. Things did not start well two weeks ago at the Pacific Life Open, where the Swede got destroyed 6-3, 6-2 by Richard Gasquet in the second round. But Soderling has bounced back in Miami with a blowout win over Stefan Koubek and a three-set victory over No. 28 seed Stanislas Wawrinka.

    There probably aren’t going to be a lot of long points in this one, as Soderling—especially—likes to hit it big and get things over with quickly. He has to keep Federer off balance with booming serves and flat forehands if he wants to pull off the upset. Federer, meanwhile, needs to stay away from the Soderling forehand and work his opponent’s backhand over and over again. As long as Federer plays smart tennis and plays like he did on Friday, he should get through this without a terrible amount of trouble.

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