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TENNIS

Söderling keeps home title hopes alive at Stockholm Open

Top seed Robin Söderling becomes the last Swede standing after defeating Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the Stockholm Open quarter-finals on Friday. Joachim Johansson was unable to fend off the challenge from Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci in his quarter-final draw.

Published: 24 October 2009 12:24 CEST

French Open runner-up Söderling is fighting for one of two remaining spots in next month’s eight-man ATP World Finals in London, standing provisional ninth behind Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco.

The Swede, who was runner-up to Argentina’s David Nalbandian in 2008, shook off an early break before taking victory in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

He can gain some ground this week, though not pass Verdasco, who will not play until Valencia in ten days’ time.

Söderling now faces 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in the semis after he eliminated Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-4.

Tenth-ranked Söderling was playing in the tenth quarter-final of his breakthrough season, improving to 45-18.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci fired 18 aces to defeat Joachim Johansson 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in their quarter-final to leave Soderling the last home hope.

Bellucci, 21, whose last quarter-final appearance in August led to a career breakthrough trophy on clay at Gstaad, will play on Saturday for a spot in the final against Oliver Rochus after the Belgian defeated Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

The ace output of Bellucci, ranked 45th, was almost matched by Johansson, who fired 13.

The Brazilian winner saved the lone break point he faced while Johansson lost his own serve once.

“I stayed concentrated throughout the whole match. I served very well which took pressure off me, so I was very happy with that,” said the South American.

Johansson’s lack of consistent match play due to years of shoulder injuries showed as he went down to defeat in his fourth Stockholm quarter-final.

The 27-year-old Swede’s best performance here was a run to the 2006 semi-finals, when he lost to Nieminen, also currently coming back from injury after spring wrist surgery.

Johansson stands 12-8 indoors at home and was playing his first quarter-final since January, 2007, in Adelaide, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

“He’s trying to come back and he’s playing very well,” said Bellucci. “If he keeps playing like that, I’m sure he’ll be back very soon.”

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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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