Help
4/22/10 10:34 PM | Kelli DeMario
Robin Soderling eased into the final eight at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell Thursday evening, following his comfortable victory over Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.
World No. 8 Robin Soderling needed less than an hour to dispatch 16th seed Feliciano Lopez in the round of 16 on Thursday. The second seed faced no break points during the match, as he recorded a 6-3, 6-2 success in 58 minutes. With the victory, the French Open finalist leveled the head-to-head series with the Spaniard at 4-4. Soderling is through to his fifth ATP World Tour quarterfinal of the season, having extended his record to 18-5.
Soderling took a service break lead at 2-1 in the opening set, capitalizing on a wild forehand from Lopez. The Spaniard failed to control his groundstrokes, unable to play himself into contention. The Swede passed through the set untroubled, earning set point at 5-3. A wide serve forced a Lopez miss at the 27-minute mark.
Soderling kept the momentum in the second set, pocketing an early break at 1-1. Lopez continued to struggle with his backhand, failing to pressure the Swede at any point. An insurance break came at 4-2 for Soderling, who forged ahead with a well-timed backhand winner. The World No. 8 held triple match-point in short order, closing the contest after the Spaniard struck a final backhand error.
Soderling completed the match with 11 aces and 100% of his break point chances converted.
He is scheduled to take on Eduardo Schwank in the quarterfinal. The Argentine took out lucky-loser Ivan Navarro early Thursday, 6-3, 7-6(7).
Tell a friend »
In saying that Lopez gave a bad impression, BollKontroll (are you the head of quality control at Bollinger Champagne, by the way? Well worth cultivating, if so, and please accept my compliments on your Récemment Dégorgée 1988 and 1996 while we're at it), do you believe it is possible that the Swede, nemesis of My Guy at RG '09, prevented his opponent from giving a good account of himself?
I missed the match so I haven't the slightest clue. But with both Lopez and JC Ferrero, my personal pick, going out today, I marvel somewhat at the Spaniards' performances today. Still, well done to both RS and Thiemo de Bakker, the latter a more than useful junior who seems ready to break through on the big boys' circuit. Remember the name - nobody makes a mug of JCF on clay, not even Rafa, and certainly not in Spain.
gorafago , 4/23/10 12:56 AM
Well, I guess Soderling had been hamering on Lopez quite bad but anyway It don't look good when the player don't even try to win the points played.
No gorafago, I'm not working for Bollinger :)
Looking forward to the next match between Rafa and Robin ... it would be very interesting if they could meet when they both are in good form. It seems like Soderling is a different player now ... compared to before RG 2009.
BollKontroll , 4/23/10 5:58 PM
gorafago: loved your post, also love champagne btw...
deuce , 4/23/10 6:34 PM
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
I just watched some games on a live streaming sited but Lopez gaved a very bad impression. In Soderlings service games he looked extremly uninspired and bored on the court. I feel sorry for his fans/countrymen in the stadium.
BollKontroll , 4/22/10 11:37 PM