Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

TENNIS

Söderling cruises into second round at Stockholm Open

Robin Söderling continued his quest to gain a spot in next month's ATP finals, defeating Giovanni Lapentti 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday in the first round of the Stockholm Open.

Published: 22 October 2009 07:10 CEST

Söderling cruises into second round at Stockholm Open

The top seed, who is playing for the first time in his career as a member of the ATP Top ten, can lift his chances of reaching one of the last two spots in the eight-man World Tour Finals with a title at the weekend.

He stands provisional ninth, trailing Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the race to the eight-man wrap-up starting November 22.

On Monday, Söderling became the first Swede since Jonas Svensson in 1991 to figure in the ranking elite; the 17th from his country in a run began by Björn Borg in 1973.

Söderling is also bidding to become the first from his nation since Mats Wilander in 1983 to complete the Swedish double – winning titles at both Bastad and Stockholm the same season.

“It would be a great thing,” that’s for sure,” said number 10 Söderling, the Roland Garros finalist. “I love playing at home.

“I don’t really feel any extra pressure, I just know the fans are willing me on,” said the Monte Carlo-based player, who only visits his native land for tennis duties.

Söderling improved to 43-18 on the season as he moved into a second-round match with Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat German Simon Greul 6-3, 7-5.

Second seed Tommy Haas and number eight Feliciano Lopez put aside last week’s injury dramas in Asia as the pair of seeds returned to apparent robust health with wins.

Both joined Söderling in straight-set success at the Kungligahallen with neither man requiring more than an hour on court.

Haas, who withdrew after one losing set against Rainer Schuettler last week in the Shanghai second round, showed perfect fitness as he crushed 17 aces in 55 minutes in his 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Frenchman Florent Serra.

Lopez moved through nicely four days after pulling up lame in the Shanghai semis to hand Rafael Nadal a 6-1, 3-0 result, and was light on his feet in a defeat of Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 6-4.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

Url copied to clipboard!