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TENNIS

Home favourites advance at Stockholm Open

Top-seeded Swede Robin Söderling moved into the next round of the Stockholm Open on Wednesday along with veteran Jonas Björkman who emerged victorious from his 1,000th doubles battle.

Published: 9 October 2008 08:02 CEST

Söderling, seeded fourth, advanced in front of a full house at the Kungliga Hallen arena with a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of German Benjamin Becker. After a combative opening set, the Swede rolled in the second to go through.

Björkman, 36, is preparing to retire this year and likely played his last singles match when he lost in the first round to Juan Monaco.

But his doubles is set to continue through the Madrid and Paris Masters event and hopefully the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai with partner Kevin Ullyett.

The Swede, with a 698-302 record, stands fifth on the all-time list for most doubles matches played, with retired Czech Cyril Suk heading the table on 1,147.

Two-time champion Thomas Johansson became a Swedish victim, falling to Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Oscar Hernandez upset Argentine sixth seed Jose Acasuso 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.

Third seed Jarkko Nieminen began his ninth straight appearance as he battled into the second round over young Brazilian Tomaz Bellucci 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-5.

The flying Finn ranked 33rd in the world has twice gone to the Swedish final at a tournament the man from across the Baltic considers his home event.

But the 27-year-old is keen finally to snaffle the title after flirting with the trophy in 2001 and 2006 when he lost to Sjeng Schalken and James Blake respectively.

Nieminen fired 11 aces to the 10 of the 80th-ranked Bellucci in the two-hour, 20-minute struggle which put the third seed into a contest against the winner from Frenchman Arnaud Clement and Swedish qualifier Björn Rehnquist.

Nieminen said he got perhaps more than he bargained for against Bellucci, who now stands 4-15 this season.

“It was very tough, I didn’t believe he could serve so well,” said the Finn. “I was too passive in the beginning but I managed to get more aggressive in the second set.

“I just kept thinking positive and fought to the end.” Nieminen improved to 12-8 in Stockholm, where he frequently trains. The Finn is hoping to start improving a dismal record in finals (1-7 record) as he plays in familiar surroundings.

Swiss veteran George Bastl, also emerging from the qualifying ranks, won his first match since mid-July as he outlasted Dane Frederik Nielsen 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4).

Bastl, whose claim to tennis fame came as the man who ended the career of Pete Sampras at Wimbledon (2002 second round) has suffered five straight ATP-level defeats since his first-round win in Los Angeles.

French 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement defeated qualifier Björn Rehnquist 6-2, 6-1 while German Rainer Schüttler earned the first of the quarter-final spots 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 over Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador.

Top seed David Nalbandian, playing after the withdrawal of Roger Federer, had the day off before tackling home hero Joachim Johansson in the second round.

The Swede, 26, reversed his 2007 retirement a year after quitting the game with a shoulder injury, making a winning return on Tuesday over Nicolas Mahut.

ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Published: 11 June 2020 16:22 CEST
Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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