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5/30/11 7:38 PM | Ricky Dimon
Robin Soderling handles Gilles Simon in straight sets on Monday at Roland Garros. Soderling is through to a quarterfinal clash against world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.
Robin Soderling has assured himself a date with Rafael Nadal for a third consecutive French Open.
Hours after Nadal disposed of Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets, Soderling took out Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(5) in the fourth round on Monday evening. Soderling needed two hours and 16 minutes to book a spot in his third straight quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
The two-time tournament runner-up got off to a blistering start, racing to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Simon finally got on the scoreboard with holds in the fifth and seventh games, but he could not get any closer. Soderling fought off two break points at 5-2 and converted his second set point with a big service winner.
Simon started to show signs of competitiveness early in the second, but he lost his way when it mattered most. The Frenchman took care of his first three service games, but he donated serve at 3-3 and 3-5 to throw away the set.
Soderling appeared to be off to the races when produced a huge backhand on break point in the second game of the third set and broke for a 2-0 advantage. As he neared the finish line, however, the fifth-ranked Swede clearly got tight and his game fell apart. That allowed Simon to eventually force a tiebreaker, which Soderling led from start to finish. The world No. 18 almost fought back from a 6-2 deficit, but Soderling finally capitalized on his seventh overall match point at 6-5 with a backhand down-the-line winner.
Simon recorded just 18 winners against 24 unforced errors. Soderling made 42 unforced errors, but he also struck 35 winners.
Soderling is the only man in French Open history to beat Nadal; he did it in four sets in the 2009 fourth round. Nadal, now 42-1 lifetime at the event, got revenge with a straight-set victory in last year's title match.
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it doesnot mean a straight set loss though
isfand , 5/30/11 8:11 PM
It all depends on Nadal's level.
If he plays like he did against Ljubicic, Soderling will pull the upset, I'm pretty sure of it. If he rises his level, then Rafa will cruise into the final since the only real semis are Federer-Djokovic.
Emiliano55 , 5/30/11 8:39 PM
Hey Emiliano55, please get that feeling, you don't know why, that there would be an upset. As we have seen in the earlier round, it effectively ensures a win for Rafa (kind of anti-jinx, I suppose).
holdserve , 5/30/11 8:56 PM
Sod had it easy because Simon was not competitive, infact the commentators wondered if there was something wrong with him.
nadline , 5/30/11 8:59 PM
holdserve, so you now thing i jinx players haha.
Alright, Soderling will beat Nadal.
We'll talk in 2 days ;)
Emiliano55 , 5/30/11 9:07 PM
vamos söderling!!
croc , 5/30/11 9:09 PM
actually soderling lost a set in his very first match
husmah2007 , 5/30/11 9:14 PM
yeah you are right he lost 2nd set 1st match 7 6
isfand , 5/30/11 9:52 PM
emiliano 55, so what kind of feeling do you have this time around :)
natashao , 5/30/11 10:53 PM
I finally finished watching my recording of the tennis channel activity today. I saw the Sod/Simon match and it was not competitive at all. It was hard to judge Sod's level of play against someone who simply could not hang with him. I don't know what was going on with Simon, but it was no contest. I can't judge Sod's form based on that one viewing. I have hardly seen anything at all of Sod, so I will just have to wait and see what happens when he plays Rafa on Wednesday. I am sure that Sod will be up for this one. I expect that Rafa knows he will have to play as well as possible to beat him.
Predictions do not mean a thing here. Anyone can say what they like. There is no such thing as jinxing or anti-jinxing. The match is on the player's rackets and it's up to them.
Nativenewyorker , 5/31/11 12:52 AM
Oh come on NNY, we are just having some fun! Do you think any of us seriously believes that a poster or Ricky could jinx or anti-jinx a player? That reminds me, where is ATR? He was considered a sure-fire anti-jinx for Rafa.
holdserve , 5/31/11 1:54 AM
I think this one will be close between the Sod and Rafa. As history's shown, nothing comes easy when the two of these guys face off. I'm just hoping that 1) it will be a competitive match, and 2) Rafa will raise his level of play significantly. I didn't expect for it to take this long into the season for Rafa to find his game, but then again, things like this happen sometimes and it's NO reason to panic. The season's not over by a long shot. I think soon enough, Rafa's confidence will return, and at the right time, right along with his "A" game. This Nadal fan is not gonna panic. I'm confident he'll find his way again. I wish him best of luck against Soderling.
djb247365 , 5/31/11 3:07 AM
holdserve,
Sorry, I didn't mean to intefere with your fun! :)
As long as no one takes this stuff seriously.
Yes, where is ATR? I could use the laughs right about now!
Nativenewyorker , 5/31/11 4:20 AM
lol, someone actually predicted that Sod will win over rafa
cant stop laughing at it. Rafa will win in straights, maximum 4.
However, all the sets will be competitive.
atul1985 , 5/31/11 8:19 AM
it's going to be super tough..i don't know what is this thing with sod, he always catch fire during RG..for nadal to get through this round he should be extremely careful with his serve..his serve is weak ...even tom and dick also breaking him easily.I feel the serving part only that matters in this match.
chenna21 , 5/31/11 9:17 AM
Guys Soder has not impressed at all. Simmon wasnt in that game yesterday. All the guys sodr have met so far have not trouble him that much. Rafa knows what is at stake when they meet and history has shown that when it really comes down to the crucial moment that could decide so many things, Rafa will raise his game.
We know he hasnt fared well so far in this tourney, but also realize that he has the toughest section of the draws and he has survived so far. I think his confidence is gradually growing and the match againsy Soder will definitely be a confidence booster if he wins in straigh sets.
Soderling has many weaknesses in his game and relies on power and serve with no Skill at all.
To beat Soder , rafa has to mix up his shots and move Soder around , throw in a couple of low slices, dropshots that forehand dtl and read soders serves well. The rest is history
Vamos
puto , 5/31/11 11:28 AM
Hihi, no "Skill"? Not MENSA stuff....
olafro , 5/31/11 5:44 PM
Nadal-Soderling preview - http://www.tennistalk.com/en/previews/20110531/Nadal%2C_Soderling_set_ for_third_French_Open_showdown
RickyDimon , 5/31/11 7:47 PM
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soderling has not dropped any set so far but look for him to drop 3 sets against king of clay
isfand , 5/30/11 8:09 PM