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TENNIS

Söderling sweeps past Djokovic into ATP semis

Swedish tennis sensation Robin Söderling felled his second heavyweight of the week in London with a straight set victory over ATP World Tour Finals title holder Novak Djokovic.

Published: 25 November 2009 17:43 CET
Söderling sweeps past Djokovic into ATP semis

Söderling beat Djokovic 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.

Söderling is only competing in this prestigious season finale because of an injury to Andy Roddick, but his victory over Rafael Nadal in his opening match made it clear he is determined to take advantage of his good fortune.

The 25-year-old, ranked ninth in the world, underlined the point by making Djokovic the latest victim of his impressive form this season.

Söderling, who ended Nadal’s four-year reign as French Open champion with a shock win en route to the final earlier this year, had lost his five past meetings with Djokovic, with his most recent defeat to the Serb coming just two weeks ago in the Paris Masters.

That run came to an end in emphatic fashion in this Group B clash.

After a marathon three-set victory over Nikolay Davydenko that didn’t finish until close to midnight on Monday, Djokovic must have been relieved to see his match scheduled in the more sociable early slot.

Whatever time of day the world number three plays, Djokovic has been in supreme form of late, winning 19 of his last 20 matches.

But Djokovic never found any rhythm against the ruthlessly efficient Swede.

A hard-fought set looked to have swung Söderling’s way when Djokovic gifted him three set-points at 4-5.

Djokovic, defending superbly at the back of the court, clawed back all three and the set went to a tie-break.

Again it was Söderling who took control at the crucial moment as he hit a perfect volley to earn two more set points. His nerve held this time and he converted the second set point to move into the lead.

The Swede is widely regarded as one of the world’s best indoor players and he kept the pressure on Djokovic in the second set.

Djokovic hardly helped himself though, attempting a drop-shot on break point that he flunked completely and gave Söderling a 2-1 lead.

That was enough to send the Serb into something of a meltdown. He had already been gesturing angrily towards his coaching team in between points and his composure disappeared completely as Söderling broke again to finish the contest.

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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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