2010 Mubadala World Tennis Championship: Robin Soderling gets off on the right foot for 2011
If Marcos Baghdatis vs. Tomas Berdych was not enough action for a day, tennis fans at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex were in for a treat. Taking to the courts immediately after the Cypriot-Czech duo were Swede marvel
Robin Soderling and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Soderling was one of the movers of 2010. Winning two maiden titles in the year, Soderling briefly held the career best fourth ranking in the world, though he ended the season at fifth. Coupled with three final appearances and a
spot in the elite eight-man field at London, Soderling registered an impressive 57-22 win loss mark for the year.
Soderling’s first title win of 2010 came in February, when he clinched his maiden ATP 500 series title at Rotterdam. Soderling also won his career’s first Masters title in 2010, winning it at Paris when he defeated local Gael Monfils
at the BNP Paribas Masters. Although he exited the season’s first Grand Slam in the first round, he managed to make it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US open. His best performance of the year came at the Roland Garros when he made it to the final
for the second straight year.
Tsonga’s 2010 season plagued by injuries paled in comparison to Soderling’s. With no titles and no final appearances, Tsonga finished the year ranked at “unlucky” thirteenth. Although he made it to the semis at the Australian Open,
he gave no commendable performance at any of the other Grand Slams. With a knee injury troubling him throughout the year, Tsonga failed to defend his title at the Montpellier event, took retirement for the rest of the season and pulled out from the Davis Cup
final as well.
Tsonga’s match with Soderling today followed the existing pattern. Having never won one over the Swede, the Frenchman lost today’s matchup as well though he managed to put up a good fight.
Breaking Tsonga’s service in the opener, Soderling rushed into a 2-0 lead. Although Tsonga fought back aggressively, Soderling continued to maintain his lead until 4-3. With a loss of one game in the next three, Soderling secured
a 6-4 win in the first set. Coming into the second set, Tsonga was determined to ensure a win for himself. In a tooth and nail battle between the two pros, the score was levelled at all times eventually taking the set into a tiebreaker. Even in the tiebreaker,
Tsonga continued his form winning it 7-5 eventually. Having secured a set win for himself, Tsonga took the match into the decider; however, Soderling clearly had enough. Rushing into an aggressive lead, the Swede secured a breadstick win for himself in the
decider.
Despite his loss, Tsonga was filled with confidence and was much relieved to be playing tennis again after a long absence. He said, "I think I have improved a lot and I have more confidence now,"
Soderling moves on to face Roger Federer in the semi final match on New Year’s Eve.
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