Soderling upsets Djokovic
Swede underdog seal his place in the knock-out semifinals
London: It’s never good to under-estimate the underdog. Sweden’s Robin Soderling notched his second straight win in Group B with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 victory against Novak Djokovic to all but seal his place in the knock-out semifinals of the Barclays ATP Men’s Tour Finals being held at the O2 here yesterday.
For sure, the 25-year-old Soderling was never meant to be here for this tournament. It was Djokovic who had beaten him in the Paris quarterfinals last week to ensure the Swede did not qualify for this season finale.
However, fate had something else in store for the underdog. He was called in at the last minute following the withdrawal of American Andy Roddick due to the knee injury he had during the Shanghai Masters.
Soderling had none of that inferiority complex showing here on Monday following his clinical win against world number two Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He had made his announcement that he had nothing to lose in this competition.
And on Wednesday before a near capacity crowd at the O2 Arena in North Greenwich, Soderling made a bolder statement – perhaps even put himself up as one of the title favourites now – when he turned the tables on a much higher ranked opponent in the form of World No.3 Djokovic for his second win in straight sets.
Both players went neck and neck till the tenth game when the Swede had a chance for break with Djokovic trailing 0-40. But the Serb saved three set points and got through to draw level 5-5 to force the tie-break that Soderling went on to win 7-5.
The set was played over an excruciating 65 minutes and saw the Swede notch 18 winners compared to the seven sent down by the lanky Serb, who also lagged behind with just seven aces compared to the 18 sent down by Soderling.
In the second set, things were clearer from the start with Soderling getting an early break in the third to then hold and go 3-1 up. From then on it was always going to be tough for Djokovic as he caved in yet another time to be broken a second and third time to surrender the set and match meekly in just 29 minutes.
The result ensures a semifinal spot for the World No.9, while Djokovic will be left to battle it out with Nadal for the second place in Group B on Friday.
