A sight for sore eyes it was.
Friday’s introduction of the London eight took place at the players’ old world hotel in the heart of the city, beside the London Eye, alongside a serene river Thames and across the Houses of Parliament. Tourists, probably oblivious of the media frenzy, posed for photos, ate hot dogs and drank hot chocolate on a cool, sunny day.
The finalists were presented in two batches indoors, with Robin Soderling, one of the men of the moment, coming out relatively quick. Soderling, described as a loner by some in the Swedish press, looked pretty comfortable fielding questions, although he’s still not entirely at ease.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, sat cross-legged, giggled and appeared completely untroubled at a bigger table yards away. In other words, the usual.
With journalists coming and going at intervals, the Serb replied four times to queries about the Davis Cup final—one was from this author—and whether his eyes would fully be on the ball in London. In a chance encounter later in the ‘loo,’ Djokovic issued a warm greeting and said it was no problem discussing the finale for the umpteenth occasion.
“Part of my job,” he said cheerily.
A quick check in the mirror and he was on his way.
The home of the year-end championships lies in East London’s Docklands. Formerly barren and run down, the area has undergone significant regeneration in the past 30 years. The O2 Arena, too, snuggles up to the Thames.
The first pro fans see as they exit North Greenwich station, the closest tube stop, is Soderling. He’s on a poster. Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray follow suit.
Why no Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Andy Roddick? Presumably because they were late qualifiers. Imagine the potential fun in 2012 and 2013, when the off week between Bercy and London is no longer.
Soderling entered the tournament as one of the favorites, having won his first Masters title in Bercy. His duel against Murray on Sunday afternoon was perhaps the most pivotal encounter of Group B—the winner had a foot in the semifinals.
Soderling has flattered to deceive when expected to do damage. Post-French Open final, part two, he was crushed by Federer in Shanghai, fortunate the score was semi-respectable against the Swiss in the U.S. Open quarterfinals and fell meekly to Nadal in the Wimbledon quarters following an inspired first set. Since the 2009 French Open, subtracting results from Roland Garros, the 26-year-old is an unimpressive 1-5 versus the pair.
“He’s playing too safe,” Mats Wilander, the seven-time Grand Slam champion and ex-Swedish Davis Cup captain, said in a phone interview. “Saying that he’s playing too safe sounds strange, but he’s playing the same way against the best guys as he is against the guys ranked between 10 and 100. You have to play different against the best in the world, and he’s not able to do that yet.”
Here was a chance for slight redemption. Soderling, now ranked ahead of Murray, downed the Scot in their last two clashes, both on hard courts.
Soderling disappointed in the first set; Murray didn’t. Using a wicked slice and throwing in several drop shots, reminiscent of Federer’s tactics against the new world No. 4, Murray cruised.
In the second, Soderling had opportunities, pressuring Murray in his first three service games without breaking. When Murray held for 3-3, Soderling sank. Soderling’s numerous forays to the net, commendable as they were, produced little. Murray either passed him outright or, as is his custom, kept the ball low, making for a difficult volley. Surprisingly, Murray out aced his opponent 10-2. Maybe Soderling has much on his mind.
When asked by Swedish journalists Friday if he would continue to work in 2011 with Magnus Norman, who has taken his game to another level, Soderling offered no guarantees.
“Magnus took Robin as far as anyone can take Robin and now Robin needs to take himself the rest of the way,” Wilander said. “No one is going to help him with (climbing) the last four spots and winning a major. That has to come from inside of him.”
Wilander, incidentally, was last week linked with coaching Murray by Grand Slam finalist turned pundit Greg Rusedski. He was genuinely surprised.
“I haven’t talked to anyone, and I haven’t heard anything,” said Wilander, an analyst for Eurosport at three of the majors. “For me, it’s a matter of how many weeks you need to spend on the road. I’m not going to be able to spend 35 weeks on the road. That’s not going to happen.”
If Soderling’s rendezvous with Murray was a toss-up, Federer’s meeting with Ferrer in the nightcap was the opposite. Federer strolled, triumphing 6-1, 6-4 to boost his record against the Spaniard to 11-0.
As a leading figure on the player council, Federer backed changes made to the calendar in 2012 and 2013—to a degree. The off-season rose to seven weeks.
“I was not the guy fighting (for) it as much as maybe other players because I feel if the season's long, you take more breaks during the season,” Federer said. “Now that the season is shorter, you take more of a break at the end of the season. That’s kind of how it works for me.”
Like Federer and Murray, Djokovic began well as Group A got underway Monday.
Playing in front of one of his soccer heroes, Diego Maradona, a massive tennis fan, Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3, not facing a break point.
“I’ll think of Davis Cup when I finish with this tournament,” said Djokovic, who hoped to hit with Maradona on Tuesday.
Nerves may have contributed in Berdych’s debut at this event, as the Czech struck two double faults in the first game. But he was already slumping, winning a paltry four matches since the middle of the summer. The serve, firing at Wimbledon and the French, has disappeared.
All eyes will be on Federer’s match with Murray on Tuesday.