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11/14/10 9:38 PM | Ricky Dimon
Robin Soderling triumphs in Paris with a straight-set win over Gael Monfils on Sunday. Soderling wins his first career Masters shield.
Robin Soderling captured the first 1000-point title of his career on Sunday afternoon, defeating Gael Monfils 6-1, 7-6 in the final of the BNP Paribas Masters. Soderling needed just one hour and 17 minutes to win his win his sixth ATP title while improving to 3-0 lifetime against Monfils.
Monfils took care of his opening service game for 1-1 in the first set, but Soderling took control by winning five straight games. The fifth-ranked Swede dropped only six points in four service games, so two breaks were more than enough for him to dominate the first frame of play. Soderling clinched it with a hold at 5-1, converting his first set point thanks to a perfect forehand winner.
The first two meetings between the finalists--including last week in Valencia--were blowouts in favor of Soderling, so things did not look good for Monfils after suffering a similar fate in set one. Nonetheless, the 14th-ranked Frenchman raised his level and extended his opponent to a tiebreaker without facing a single break point.
But that was as close as Monfils would get, because Soderling won the first three points of the 'breaker and the last four--losing only one point in between. Paris' No. 4 seed struck a forehand volley into a wide open court before crumbling to the court in triumph.
"It feels great," said Soderling, who finished with nine aces and won 30 of 34 first-serve points. "I'm really happy that I played well today, and now I'm here winning the title. When I won that last point, I just felt so happy and I felt so relieved. I really wanted to win this match so much."
"I'm in a learning process," Monfils explained after recording eight aces and two double-faults. "Every time I get to a final like this something goes wrong, and this time it was the preparation. I had to rush too much. Yesterday I used up a lot of energy, and today I wasn't able to find the extra stamina that I would have needed to be more competitive."
Soderling will become No. 4 in the world on Monday and head to London the following week for the World Tour Finals. Monfils, who upset Roger Federer in Saturday's semifinals, ends an impressive season with a 45-19 record.
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With this win,soderling has shaken up the possibilities of the WTF groupings. As he will be seeded nomber 4 in london,you could see both Djoko and Murray in the same group as Rafa or Fed. Now that would definitely be the group of death...
tj600 , 11/15/10 9:11 AM
don't see how murray would be a particularly worse opponent than söderling in a group. the only winner with this is söderling who can now draw berdych instead of djokovic or murray in his group.
croc , 11/15/10 10:34 AM
Am so happy for him
he deserves this win and i hope he starts wining more and doing better in the GS he was great in the in the WTF specialy in the first three matches and if there a perfect place to get his first great one paris is the place with all the buzz he made in the RG for two years in a raw!
it would be interesting what will happen if Djoko and Murray ends up in the same half it seems like as Murray plays as dangerous as his oponent you see his matches against Fish or Monflis where he looks flat then you see how he plays against Federer or Djoko and you get the A game.anyway i pick him for this one that is for sure
tennislover , 11/15/10 3:34 PM
tennislover: r u picking Andy or Robin? Not quite sure.
deuce , 11/15/10 6:51 PM
i meant Murray
taking this one is all about beaing the best on HC and taking the right desicions Murray missed his chances in 2008 where i think it was his to lose after consuming all his energy in Federer match to end up runing out of energy against Davydenko in the next day when he was already qualified and last year he was lost in the confusing calcualtions this year i think he is old enough to do the right thing in the right time and since all of them are in the top 8 and it is the best of 3 not 5 :he wont look flat this time
i would like if it was Soderling as i think his game is more appealing more offensive but Murray's game is what wins master on HC:so my pick is Murray
tennislover , 11/15/10 8:15 PM
That's the first time I've ever heard his game described as 'appealing'. Attacking yes, appealing no.
ed251137 , 11/16/10 1:32 AM
ed:
maybe because attacking tennis is appealing tennis to me maybe Soderling's tennis is not my faviourate but for sure better waiting the "out call" kind of tennis" i admire his guts he beaten the defending champions of RG and number 1 for two years and in the USO in 2009 against Federer he lost the first set 6-1 but he came back fighting the next three sets you got to give to him.
his tennis is better than Byrdch if you ask me thoug he is little dependent on the serve when it is gone he get confused and he losses the rest of his weapons which means alot but away from that he is good tennis player not the A+ kind of player
but still pretty up in the list
tennislover , 11/16/10 4:52 PM
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allez ! alleezz !! alleeezzz !!!
croc , 11/15/10 8:55 AM