Help
6/25/08 6:27 AM | Ricky Dimon
Roger Federer looks to extend his perfect record over Robin Söderling to 7-0 on Wednesday during second-round action at Wimbledon. Two of Federer's wins over Söderling have already come this season, first on the hard courts of Miami and then on the clay of Monte-Carlo. Their lone grass-court encounter, however, resulted in Söderling's only victorious set (he is 1-12 in total sets against the Swiss).
Taking on Federer at Wimbledon, where he is the five-time defending champion, is not exactly the ideal situation in which to add to set totals against the World No. 1. Nonetheless, Federer is not the same Federer he has been heading into his bid for an Open Era record sixth straight Wimbledon title. So far this season he has lost to Andy Murray, Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, and Radek Stepanek in addition to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (three times). Federer has also won just two titles in 2008, although one of those came on the grass courts of Halle last week. He crushed Dominik Hrbaty in the first round on Monday to continue his stellar form on grass.
Söderling, meanwhile, started out his year on fire after missing the last three months of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 due to injury. His first three results of this season featured a quarterfinal appearance in Marseille and runner-up finishes in both Rotterdam and Memphis. Söderling also led Sweden to the World Team Cup championship last month by going undefeated for the entire tournament. The No. 41 player in the world, who lost to Nadal 7-5 in the fifth set in the Wimbledon third round last year, defeated Kevin Kim in four sets on Monday. Söderling, however, dropped the second frame of play 6-0.
Such mental collapses are not an option if Söderling has any upset ideas heading into this clash. Federer already wins enough free points on grass thanks to his serve, so Söderling cannot donate any cheap points or games to the top seed; he must make Federer work for everything he gets. Look for Söderling to be competitive in at least one of the first two sets, but the underdog will fade quickly once Federer ensures that the outcome is no longer in doubt.
Tell a friend »
Did you know that... Vincent Spadea is the author of ”Break Point: The Secret Diary Of A Pro Tennis Player”, a book about life on the ATP tour.
kaitepai, Dec 2, 2008 4:51 AM
tennisfan2, Dec 2, 2008 3:42 AM
tennisgirl, Dec 1, 2008 11:48 PM
lendl, Dec 1, 2008 6:17 PM
jorgeedu72, Dec 1, 2008 3:34 PM
samprallica, Nov 30, 2008 1:33 PM
samprallica, Nov 30, 2008 1:21 PM
samprallica, Nov 30, 2008 1:15 PM
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.3.0
Roger Federer 
Wimbledon
It's going to be interesting to see how FedEx will handle a little tougher opposition. There is certainly a chance for FedEx to redeem himself during the Championships, I mean in order to win he would probably have to beat both Djoker and Rafa. Also interesting to see how Rafa will handle the early rounds, although I really don't see any serious contenders likely to stop him. This especially since the grass seems slower than ever this year.
ricfol , 6/25/08 10:22 AM