Help
7/18/09 8:07 PM | Ricky Dimon
Robin Soderling defeats countryman Andreas Vinciguerra in the semifinals of the Swedish Open on Saturday. Next up for Soderling is the final against Juan Monaco.
An all-Swede clash in the semifinals of the Catella Swedish Open saw the underdog put up a valiant fight and the country's No. 1 player reach the title match. In-form Robin Soderling beat a resurgent Andreas Vinciguerra 6-1, 7-6(6) after one hour and 23 minutes to set up a final showdown against unseeded Juan Monaco.
Although it ended up being extremely competitive, for a while it looked like the 460th-ranked Vinciguerra was out of his league against his 12th-ranked opponent. Soderling served at just 44 percent in the first set but still never faced a break point, winning 11 of 12 first-serve points. Two breaks allowed Soderling to close out the opening frame of play on serve at 5-1.
Bastad's No. 2 seemed poised to finishing off the proceedings at lightning-quick fashion when he went up a break in the second. Having gotten into the main draw with a wild card and treating the Swedish fans to three huge victories, Vinciguerra was not about to let his run come to an end without a fight. He broke back and eventually forced a tiebreaker, in which he earned a set point at 6-5. Soderling saved it with a winning inside-out forehand and finally finished off his impressive compatriot eight points to six in the decider.
Soderling finished with seven aces and won 33 of 36 (92 percent) first-serve points.He leads the head-to-head series with Monaco 3-1, including 2-1 on clay courts. Monaco, however, has lost a total of four games in his last two matches--huge upset wins over No. 1 seed Fernando Verdasco and third-seeded Tommy Robredo.
Tell a friend »
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
