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TENNIS

Söderling down and out Down Under

Sweden’s Robin Söderling crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round on Tuesday, becoming the highest ranked man to fall.

Söderling down and out Down Under

He lost his opening round match to Spain’s Marcel Granollers in five sets, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

After a hard.fought win in the first set, Söderling then breezed through the second set 6-2, setting up what looked to be an easy victory against the 113th ranked Spaniard.

But Granollers then rallied, taking the next two sets to force a fifth and decisive set.

After falling behind 0-2 in the final set, Söderling took back a game.

But after taking an extended break before the players switched sides to start game four, Granollers took an extended break to put ice on an aggravated thigh muscle.

The previously unheralded Spaniard returned to the court with a renewed spark, successfully breaking Söderling’s serve twice, leaving the Swede struggling to get back in the match.

Söderling made 67 unforced errors and was scathing in his assessment of his performance.

“No, I started terrible and finished terrible,” he said bluntly when it was suggested things were going well early in the match.

“I played a horrible match today and I am terribly disappointed.

“I didn’t feel good at all and I didn’t play well.”

Although the fragile Swede, who has won four ATP titles, pulled out of the AAMI Classic last week because of elbow tendonitis, he said he was 100 percent fit and that the loss had nothing to do with any injury.

Söderling said his frustration had nothing to do with his good form in 2009.

“I would have been annoyed even if I didn’t play well last year,” he said.

It was the third Grand Slam in a row where Söderling had faced Granollers, who is something of a doubles specialist, but the Spaniard’s first ever win over the Swede.

Söderling played the 23-year-old three times last year, including the US Open and Wimbledon, winning all three matches convincingly and dropping just one set to Granollers in those matches.

Tuesday’s loss continues a tough start to the year for last year’s French Open finalist, having lost in the first round in Chennai and now here.

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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?

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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