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6/3/10 9:24 PM | Kelli DeMario
French Open finalist Robin Soderling will be looking to make his second consecutive final in Paris, as he takes on 15th seed Tomas Berdych. The players are set to contest their ninth career meeting Friday afternoon.
World No. 7 Robin Soderling holds a 5-3 edge in the head-to-head series over semifinal-round opponent Tomas Berdych. After losing three matches in a row to the Swede, the Czech won a semifinal encounter at the 2010 Masters 1000 Miami, 6-2, 6-2. The players are 1-1 lifetime on clay, with both matches going the distance to three sets.
Soderling enters into the semifinal with a 26-9 record this season. The 25-year-old will make his fifth appearance in an ATP World Tour semi, having reached the same stage in Rotterdam (winner), Indian Wells, Miami and Barcelona (finalist). Should he pass through Friday’s battle, Soderling advances to his 14th career final. The Swede is 5-8 in championship matches, which includes his 2009 runner-up finish to World No. 1 Roger Federer at Roland Garros.
Soderling has competed well in Paris, earning straight-set wins over early-round challengers Laurent Recouderc and Taylor Dent. The World No. 7 came through his third-round match with 29th seed Albert Montanes in four, then followed with a solid 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory against 10th seed Marin Cilic in the round of 16. Soderling made headlines after rallying to upend defending champion Federer in the quarterfinal, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
World No. 17 Tomas Berdych is through to his third semifinal in 2010, adding to prior runs to the final four in Brisbane and Miami (finalist). The 24-year-old Czech, set to make his Grand Slam semifinal debut, has built a 30-10 season mark.
Berdych aims to continue his impressive run in Paris, having taken out qualifier Jorge Aguilar, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 17th seed John Isner, 4th seed Andy Murray and 11th Mikhail Youzhny all in straight sets. Berdych has surrendered a mere three service games through five rounds of competition.
Prediction: With his powerful ground game, Soderling looks to be the one to win on Friday. If Berdych is at his best, however, the match should be close. The Swede in four sets.
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you'd love that wouldnt u?? but sorry that aint hapenning...beating berdych and then the king is too much for soderling.
vamosrafa , 6/4/10 1:26 PM
Well now that Fed is out, yes I'd love that! Söderling has his biggest chance now! It's about time that a swede wins something big..tennis is finally becoming hot again here.
bjawad , 6/4/10 1:32 PM
oh my God Söderling can return the ball....
eduardvalalex , 6/4/10 1:36 PM
Söderling breaks!!!
bjawad , 6/4/10 1:36 PM
5-2 Sod
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 1:40 PM
New Berdych wouldn't have double faulted on game point. :(
smr , 6/4/10 1:42 PM
1st set 6-3 Söderling! Well done!
bjawad , 6/4/10 1:47 PM
Man this Soderling is playing well.
He already has a foot in the finals
atul1985 , 6/4/10 1:48 PM
Could this match be any more boring right now. Berdych needs to wake the hell up!
isabeau77 , 6/4/10 1:49 PM
It looks like Sod will save his 1200 points by reaching final.
champ00289 , 6/4/10 1:51 PM
Impressive comeback for Söderling from 15-30 down in his last service game
bjawad , 6/4/10 1:59 PM
good hold for Berdych 2-1
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 2:04 PM
Early days yet. I suspect those who wanted Sod to win not because they like him, but because they wanted Fed to retain his no.1 ranking!
luckystar , 6/4/10 2:05 PM
soderling broken
anand , 6/4/10 2:08 PM
vamos berdych......prove the experts wrong.
vrael , 6/4/10 2:10 PM
Thomas serving better now.
smr , 6/4/10 2:11 PM
phewww !!! a watta lousy game of Soderling. He got broken.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 2:12 PM
if berdych keeps this level up...he should win this.....he is out whacking the sod...lol
vrael , 6/4/10 2:14 PM
Soderling spraying errors everywhere.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 2:21 PM
Luckystar, agree with you!
Longchar , 6/4/10 2:25 PM
1:1
Soderling cannot impose his power game against Berdych.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 2:28 PM
Well done- Berdych...keep going, all square now.
Longchar , 6/4/10 2:29 PM
Yes one set all now! Good serving by Berdych! I don't see any nerve with Berdych, but I can see that Sod is nervous as the favorite (as the commentators said). We have a match now. See Sod can't blow Berdych away.
luckystar , 6/4/10 2:30 PM
Berdych played a brilliant 2nd set. Soderling rushing into his shots and making errors. Doesnt want to get into long rallies.
Thats not the way to win on clay when it is sunny my friend!!
Vamos Berdych!
atul1985 , 6/4/10 2:30 PM
The weather conditions are no longer helping Sod...he has already commited 27 UEs, Berdy only 13...if the weather was like this when he played Fed, Fed would have beaten him easily...
natashao , 6/4/10 2:30 PM
completely agreed natashao!
I hope it is as sunny on Sunday too
atul1985 , 6/4/10 2:33 PM
Soderling continues to play a high risk game. Not the way to match Borg's prediction one day.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 2:34 PM
not good from söderling, he's not focused
bjawad , 6/4/10 2:37 PM
luckystar,
I want soderling to win for a possbile showdown with Rafa.
At the moment, Berdych is serving quiet effecient and Soderling is commiting a lot of unforced errors, and as I am typing Sod is 0-40, 3 breakpoints oppourtunity for Berdych.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 2:37 PM
bjwad he is not used to all this sunshine. :)
smr , 6/4/10 2:40 PM
correction smr,
he is not used to winning on clay when the sun is out..
because evil cannot thrive in light.. :P
clayking , 6/4/10 2:42 PM
double fault to surrender a service break?
Raindrops , 6/4/10 2:43 PM
This is a HORRIBLE match. Wow.
cherylmurray , 6/4/10 2:44 PM
Raindrops, it doesn't matter what we want, we can't control the outcome of the match! Just sit back and watch the match, whatever will be will be!
luckystar , 6/4/10 2:45 PM
@ Clayking..............."because evil cannot thrive in light".............lol!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 2:46 PM
Berdy lead 3:1 !!!
Longchar , 6/4/10 2:47 PM
Borg was not using his brains when he predicted Soderling for No.1 ranking.
He just doesnt have the talent to deal with conditions which are not in his favour.
Plus his game is so ugly to watch. Not even close to the kind of talent possessed by even Murray let alone Fed and Nadal
Go Berdych go
atul1985 , 6/4/10 2:48 PM
Longchar,
nice pseudonym... which prog language did you have in mind?
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 2:49 PM
Wow!!!!!...............RG 2010 are just FULL of surprises!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope Berdych can fend off Sod to won this set!
VAMOS!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 2:49 PM
Chlorostoma.. thank you! it is actually my family Surname . I am watching from Nagaland, India. Nadal fan speaking to you ha ha ha
Longchar , 6/4/10 2:52 PM
yeessss break back come oonnnn Söd
bjawad , 6/4/10 2:57 PM
Longchar,
I assumed ... :-)
Welcome to TT as a poster (at least I don't recall have seen your name here before). Life in rafaland is much better this spring than it was last January when we feared for Rafa's knees.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 2:59 PM
back of serve
Raindrops , 6/4/10 3:01 PM
Berdy brought Sod back into the second set...the problem with Berdy is that he just doesn't believe he can win this match..
natashao , 6/4/10 3:04 PM
Soderling was playing AWFUL and Berdych just let him back into the match. He might regret that.
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 3:05 PM
Berdych picking him self up now. I think.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:08 PM
painless hold by Soderling 5-4. Let's see if berdych can handle the pressure.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 3:11 PM
Pretty close match.
smr , 6/4/10 3:13 PM
Come on Berdy!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 3:14 PM
Berdych to serve for the 3rd set!
atul1985 , 6/4/10 3:17 PM
Wow!!!! Berdy just started to believe in his victory...
natashao , 6/4/10 3:17 PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!
He got broken again. Bedych to serve 6-5
Raindrops , 6/4/10 3:18 PM
Berdych getting tight, as expected
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 3:20 PM
New Berdych just won that set point.
smr , 6/4/10 3:22 PM
Ace on the first set point, well done Berdych.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:22 PM
vamos berdy.......
vrael , 6/4/10 3:22 PM
Yes two sets to one now in Berdych's favor. Berdych really shows no sign of nerves. I'm very impressed by him. Come on one more set to go, good boy!! Don't let Sod come back!!
luckystar , 6/4/10 3:23 PM
I'm sure the next match will be much more entertaining.
smr , 6/4/10 3:24 PM
duh, double fault again?
Raindrops , 6/4/10 3:24 PM
Game on............go Berdy!!!!!!!!!!!!
That will teach Sod......with all this beating defending champs consecutively getting to his head!!!
Yeah!!!!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 3:26 PM
Perhaps Bjorn should tip Berdych as another potential number one, one day :-)
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:27 PM
I can't believe Nadal-Berdych is going to be the final....
This era of tennis is really mediocre.
Emiliano55 , 6/4/10 3:29 PM
Emiliano:
RG is always tough on everyone. Besides Rafa's prefect consistency there when not injured you have to hand it to Federer who until last year was never defeated there by anyone else but Nadal which is also an amazing consistency. Djokovic is not having his best season but used to be stopped almost by no-one else there but Nadal. If Berdy wins one more set today he deserves to be in the final: he has lost only one set so far in the tournament and is living up to his NEW name.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:34 PM
Sod always looks so clumsy when he hits the ball.
nadline , 6/4/10 3:35 PM
Soderling has none of the spark that he had in the federer match. Roger is probably wondering where this was on Tuesday.
cherylmurray , 6/4/10 3:35 PM
not fun... most points are short and lost by errors. 48 to 28 errors to Sod and Berdy respectively so far
grafight , 6/4/10 3:35 PM
Emiliano55.....it has been said many times that RG is the hardest slam to win!
Nadal deserves much kuddos for the record he has accomplished there! Not becos Fed is not in the final makes it medicocre. Fed is not in the final bcos his GAME was mediocre!!......Excuse me!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 3:39 PM
berdych with that verrrrrryyy lucky lucky net ball
Raindrops , 6/4/10 3:41 PM
I thought that Federer played very well on Tuesday. It just was not good enough to stop Sod on the day.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:41 PM
Federer not in the final will make Nadal's accomplishment better. Nadal has already made it clear what happens when he plays Federer in the final. Beating different competition is more difficult.
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 3:42 PM
chloro-
borg won't say that..
look out for lendl to say that(if lendl stillhas any lingering affection for his previous home).. or maybe martina..
Emiliano..
what is this talk about era??
how can you say an era graced by the greatest fighter and a perfectionist is mediocre??
clayking , 6/4/10 3:43 PM
145 km second serve for soderling !!!!! Against federer, his 2nd serve lowest speed was 190 km.
bolbol , 6/4/10 3:44 PM
"The hardest slam to win?" Wouldn't they all be equally hard to win, since there can only be one winner?
Unless you refer to the physical exertion necessary to get through all the matches and into the final.
grafight , 6/4/10 3:46 PM
clayking,
of course
I was not being serious at all, just a little joke about how far reaching Bjorn's statement is, even if totally understandable
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:47 PM
soderling will win the match
saxenanalin , 6/4/10 3:49 PM
i can smell a 5th
clayking , 6/4/10 3:50 PM
watching these two play makes me less and less worried about Rafa winning his title back.
grafight , 6/4/10 3:51 PM
grafight,
there is the physical exertion, but also that (usually) slugging and or excellent serves alone won't do it... in fact any weak aspect of your game can cost you a lot. If you don't have the whole package you will usually not get to the second week. Very few players have won two RG's, let alone three.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:52 PM
Emiliano55 - this is 3 out of 5, not 2 out of 3. Berdych has never been close to winning the match.
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 3:52 PM
Yes grafight...........you're spot on!.........thats what has been argued and I tend to agree.
Monalysa , 6/4/10 3:52 PM
"
Emiliano:
RG is always tough on everyone. Besides Rafa's prefect consistency there when not injured you have to hand it to Federer who until last year was never defeated there by anyone else but Nadal which is also an amazing consistency. Djokovic is not having his best season but used to be stopped almost by no-one else there but Nadal. If Berdy wins one more set today he deserves to be in the final: he has lost only one set so far in the tournament and is living up to his NEW name.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 3:34 PM
"
Thats exactly why Im saying that this era of tennis is mediocre.
Emiliano55 , 6/4/10 3:53 PM
chlorostoma...................thank you!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 3:54 PM
chlorostoma
Thanks a lot very kind of you. Yes am new to TT. I was surfing the net looking for a site that talks about Rafa and lo and behold I stumble into TT! wonderful to see all the post. I thought I was the only crazy Nadal fan but i guess I was wrong....to my delight !
Longchar , 6/4/10 3:57 PM
Emiliano55........which era are you talking about? And why is it mediocre......is it bcos Fed is NOT in the final? Please elaborate bcos I really DONT get it!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 3:57 PM
big hold for Berdych, cause he can now start the 5th set with serve
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 3:57 PM
Others posting here would be a better judge re comparing eras. This one does not strike me as mediocre, even though there have been spans of years where there were a greater number of high-calibre players ... which can't be said yet of any current players besides the fedals.
One thing that certainly is different from before 10 years ago is the equipment (rackets especially) and the conditioning of the players: it's become that more of a brute strength game... one sign of that is probably that there never were this many very tall players getting so far up the rankings.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 4:00 PM
I wish Berdych didnt get broken but a five setter would hopefully get Sod a wee bit tired for his possible showdown with Rafa. I think Sod will win this...........he seems to REALLY want it!
A Rafa/Sod showdown is written in the stars............i think!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 4:01 PM
Longchar,
you are far from alone: there are millions of crazy rafans around the world... and many more fedfans...
and for the most part our holly wars are pretty peaceful.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 4:02 PM
a fifth
bolbol , 6/4/10 4:02 PM
oh longchar..
nice to see another countryman!!
oh and you are a rafan too.. :-)
well, i'm a 90% rafan...
clayking , 6/4/10 4:04 PM
even though Sod commited 16 more UEs he has been a better player on the court in the fourth set, more agressive, serving better...Berdych is in trouble...
natashao , 6/4/10 4:04 PM
Come onn now Söderling take this!! Yessss break!
bjawad , 6/4/10 4:06 PM
Soderling pulling away
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 4:07 PM
Sod started so strong breaking berdych serve.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 4:08 PM
ricky,
you are right, Berdych will regret not having put Soderling away stronger at the time (even though he ended winning that set)
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 4:09 PM
Berdy, plz dont give up..............fight...........fight........fight!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 4:09 PM
the match is sod's to take now...berdych just dissapoints in 5 setters
vrael , 6/4/10 4:10 PM
Berdych breaks back.
smr , 6/4/10 4:10 PM
wow choke
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 4:10 PM
classic!!!
just the match i envisaged yesterday!!
not classic in terms of quality but in terms of numer of momentum changes..
clayking , 6/4/10 4:12 PM
I don't know whether Berdy will win but this is the sort of match he needs to go through a couple of times to really consolidate the new Berdych.
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 4:12 PM
This is a great match..................competitive!.............great!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 4:12 PM
Berdych is running out of steam, Sod starts hammering again.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 4:17 PM
clayking...
I am 99% Nadal Fan. 1% to the ones who are good but not good enough to beat Nadal!!
Longchar , 6/4/10 4:22 PM
oh..
by 90% nadal fan i meant i am not a complete nadal fan..
nadal is my 2nd fav actually..
but i guess you are a HUGE nadal fan.. :P
clayking , 6/4/10 4:25 PM
The match should go beyond 6-6 .
champ00289 , 6/4/10 4:31 PM
Berdycg first serve collapsing
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 4:31 PM
come on Söderling, keep your serves and you can take this title!
bjawad , 6/4/10 4:32 PM
Monalysa - there is a different between competitive and great
champ00289 - it wont go beyond 6-6, neither is serving well enough
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 4:33 PM
RickyDimon , 6/4/10 4:31 PM Not collapsing. It has collapsed. More's the pity.
ed251137 , 6/4/10 4:36 PM
oh dear whats' happening to Berdy!
Longchar , 6/4/10 4:37 PM
Ricky,
Did u saw Nadia petrrova and Rezai's match.
In that both player were finding hard to hold and they exchanged the serve thrice I guess.
Lets see what they two do now.
champ00289 , 6/4/10 4:37 PM
huge opportunity missed by berdych at --30. 4 U.E's on the trot...terrible
Soderling gonna win it for sure now
atul1985 , 6/4/10 4:37 PM
He has stopped being able to think straight.
ed251137 , 6/4/10 4:38 PM
sod 5 3 the match may over now. :)
champ00289 , 6/4/10 4:39 PM
Ricky I agree, but I was more thinking along the lines that its 'great' that the match is competitive!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 4:41 PM
yyyyeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh SÖderling for the TITLE!!!
bjawad , 6/4/10 4:41 PM
Well nothing left in Berdych ... can't see either of these two beating Nadal.
smr , 6/4/10 4:41 PM
Berdych ran out of steam. Looks like it might be another Soderling-Nadal final.
cherylmurray , 6/4/10 4:42 PM
berdyboy..
you have forced me to listen to the rant of the likes of bjawad for 2 more days..
ok, for the sake of nadal i'll endure for next 48 hours..
after 48 hours they will probably have their mouth shut..
VAMOS RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
clayking , 6/4/10 4:42 PM
Smr......I like what i read...................I need to see this match for sure!
bjawad.....in ure dreams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 4:43 PM
haha CK
söderling had a tough time against berdych because of his style, the same as his own style. I think he prefers to meet a "claycourter"..
bjawad , 6/4/10 4:44 PM
Hey congrats to your countryman bjawad.
smr , 6/4/10 4:44 PM
Sod must be happy that at least he made it to Final for second year in a row..
champ00289 , 6/4/10 4:45 PM
oh bjawad, is sodacan your countryman???
then i take back my statement..
i thought you are just a fedtard who wished rafa's downfall rather than sod's win..
but if you are a swede, i cannot say anything..
patriotism can never be questioned.. :P
clayking , 6/4/10 4:47 PM
soderling will beat nadal once again as he is in good form
cmmon soda!!!!!!!!!
saxenanalin , 6/4/10 4:47 PM
james bond - licensed to kill..
saxenanalin- licensed to fantasise..
clayking , 6/4/10 4:51 PM
What a showdown!!!! This is how it goes............
Last year Sod beat Rafa but Fed beat Sod in the final.
This year Sod beats Fed and...............
So we all know what this means.............right?
Monalysa , 6/4/10 4:51 PM
saxenanalin,
specify which of them you are saying is in good form
last year Sod played a hamstringed Nadal
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 4:52 PM
Well Sod win in the end. Well done to him. His ground strokes are really rock solid today, and his 'paint the line' shots time after time are quite incredible. Berdych did run out of steam in the end, he should go and improve his stamina. Sod's ground strokes are more superior than that of Berdych's, he certainly has improved tremendously.
Well he didn't blow Berdych off the court. Its a competitive match until the last few games of the fifth set where Berdych's serves simply fall apart. Commies to Berdych, not bad, reaching the semi final of a slam for the first time.
If Rafa reaches the final, he'll have his hands full. However, I think Rafa will win the tournament. Judging by how Sod plays today, Rafa has a very good chance of beating him. Even Fed can beat Sod today. Sod was fortunate that his match against Fed was in conditions to his favor at the later part of the match.
luckystar , 6/4/10 4:52 PM
Major congratulations to Berdych! To continued improvement in his fearless incarnation.
If we are allowed to assume that Nadal wins today ... there will be lots of posts on TT for days to come...
chlorostoma , 6/4/10 4:56 PM
I thought I was the only crazy Nadal fan but i guess I was wrong....to my delight !
Longchar , 6/4/10 3:57 PM
They're legion here, pal. The crazier the better. You'll fit in nicely.
SenorPlaid , 6/4/10 4:56 PM
Yes Soderling wins, let's move on to Rafa's match let's see if he can make it to the finals.
Vamos Rafa !!!!
Raindrops , 6/4/10 4:57 PM
CK, yes I live in Sweden.
As a tennis fan, I prefer Federer's classic style (as I earlier enjoyed Sampras, Edberg and Becker) and attacking tennis in general. And as a tennis fan, I think tennis quality and style come before country.
And now that Fed is out, I want Söderling to be in final to meet Nadal (in my eyes the best final outside Fed-Nadal) and win. It makes it all more interesting. We all know that Nadal is the best on clay, but an upset is always welcome, especially by a swede since I live here =)
bjawad , 6/4/10 4:57 PM
All this just shows that Rafa/Sod showdown is simply meant to be!.........the work of the GODS! But like Raindrops I agree.......lets hope Rafa makes it to the finals......in three straight sets!
VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/4/10 5:03 PM
I noticed Berdych's ROS is not so good. Many times, the break of serve by Berdych were due to Sod's errors rather than Berdych returning well. Overall I think Sod played better than Berdych, but not by much.
luckystar , 6/4/10 5:13 PM
berdych has just been czech-mated by the Sod. Well done SOderling! Now,even if you dont win the final,dont choke like you did last year!!
tj600 , 6/4/10 5:14 PM
oh it is fine bjawad..
and as a swede i won't mind you cheering for sod!!..
i'll cheer for rafa here!! :P
clayking , 6/4/10 5:14 PM
Don't you worry Monalysa, no one can touch a healthy Nadal.
Raindrops , 6/4/10 5:21 PM
this weather is ideal for rafael......too bad its gonna the opposite on sunday
vrael , 6/4/10 5:22 PM
FIRST BLOOD....
just look at the forehand working....such a great shot
vrael , 6/4/10 5:26 PM
Robin Söderling
Tomas Berdych
French Open
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Söderling for the title!
bjawad , 6/4/10 1:12 PM