For two years in a row, Robin Soderling earned attention in Paris, putting his photo on the covers without winning the Roland Garros title! In 2009, Soderling surprised no.
1, Rafael Nadal, in the fourth round and delivered the Spaniard’s first loss in his beloved Major! Since 2004, Nadal had lost just three clay-court matches in the best-of-five format, and the first of them is one of the biggest upsets in tennis history!
Ranked 25th, the Swede had only 15 Major wins before Paris and no better results than in the third round. He had never beaten Nadal in three encounters and won just one game in Rome a few weeks earlier on the same surface.
The Spaniard entered the Roland Garros clash as a clear favorite, winning the previous 31 matches in Paris and chasing the fifth consecutive crown. Rafa had lost just 24 games in the first three rounds before facing Robin, who was on a different level that day.
Soderling defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 in three hours and 30 minutes on the Philippe-Chatrier court for the best victory of his career and one of the biggest upsets in Majors history. Rafa was certainly not in his prime (he would miss the grass season due to knee tendonitis), although we can’t get anything out of Robin’s win as he did just about everything right to earn it fairly.
Hitting the ball on the rise from both wings, Soderling tamed his groundstrokes to avoid cheap mistakes that would have cost him at least one more set if he hadn’t been careful.
Robin Soderling defeated Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at Roland Garros.
Nadal created just four break opportunities in the entire match, converting two and suffering five breaks of six chances offered to the Swede to lose the lead in crucial moments to hit the starting gate.
He was hit badly in mid-range exchanges between five and eight strokes, as Soderling engineered the rallies more efficiently to gain the upper hand. The Swede lived up to his rival in the longer exchanges that saw ten strokes or more, with Nadal lacking in power in his shots and the mental stamina that would guide him to victory.
A year later, Soderling scored his only win over Roger Federer, defeating the reigning Roland Garros champion 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes, staying on course for another final of Roland Garros.
Describing it as his best victory at Roland Garros, Robin took advantage of the slower conditions, grabbing three more points than Roger and scoring four breaks to the finish line and another notable result in Paris.
“The win over Roger Federer in 2010 was probably my best performance in Paris; I played well against Rafa a year earlier, but even better against Roger 12. The conditions helped me a lot, slowing down the pitch and slowing down the pace of Roger’s quick punches. .
The slower conditions worked to my advantage, giving me plenty of time to prepare my strong groundstrokes and attack him. It was a perfect day to beat Roger, and I used it with both hands, “said Robin Soderling.
–
