Taking the titanic swings of a man trying to wind up a windmill, Robin Soderling brings his own brand of blustery power to the court today in Madrid. In a battle of big hitters capable of crushing shots with such conviction you might expect the ball to bear bruise marks, Soderling survived a slugfest to sweep Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (8), 7-5.
The match was a rematch of February’s Rotterdam final, which Soderling won in three sets. It marked the first time in four meetings Tsonga had taken a set from Soderling, but that futility did not dampen the Frenchman’s zest for today’s fight. The Muhammad Ali lookalike cracked 13 aces, rope-a-doped out of trouble with some timely drop shots and fought off six set points in a frenetic first-set finish. Ultimately, Soderling’s skill in smacking a barrage of inside-out forehands to pin the Frenchman in his backhand corner proved to be an effective pattern of play.
After saving two set points at 4-5, Tsonga fought off four more in the first-set breaker before suffering a knockdown. Soderling swatted an inside-out forehand that wrong-footed the former Australian Open finalist, who rolled over his left ankle and crashed to the court. He rose slowly while grimacing, shaking off the spill, but Soderling hit yet another off forehand winner for a seventh set point. Tsonga seized the offensive in the ensuing point, but Soderling defended with tenacity, drawing a forehand into net to take the 81-minute opening set.
Slamming successive aces to open the second set with a love hold, Tsonga won seven straight points to earn triple break point. But Soderling withstood the challenge and held for 1-all. The seventh game showcased Tsonga’s flair for finesse. He deposited a dribbling drop shot over the net, moved forward in anticipation of Soderling’s reply and flicked a springing backhand overhead winner.
Serving at 5-5, Tsonga had the advantage and an expanse of open court, but overplayed a backhand volley beyond the baseline. Tsonga then shanked a forehand to hand Soderling break point. Backpedaling in response to a Soderling backhand return, Tsonga put a backhand into the middle of the net as Soderling secured the lone break of the match for 6-5. Soderling soon sealed the explosive encounter in two hours, 13 minutes.
Next up for the two-time French Open finalist is a quarterfinal clash with Roger Federer. Soderling sent shockwaves through the tennis world last June when he lit up the damp drizzle of Paris in overwhelming Federer in a quarterfinal conquest that snapped the Swiss stylist’s record streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. Can the Swedish tower of power with the Twilight Zone twinkle in his eyes repeat the feat in Madrid? Federer has not surrendered a set to Soderling in their last three meetings and owns a commanding 15-1 lifetime advantage.
—Richard Pagliaro