Julian Finney/Getty Images
Barclays ATP World Tour final—London
Robin Soderling caused the first major upset of the Barclays ATP World Tour final on Tuesday, ousting world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 6-4 in round robin play.
Soderling, who defeated Nadal at the French Open earlier this season, appeared motivated from the onset of the match to duplicate his fortunes in Paris.
Racing to a commanding 3-0 first set lead, the Swede demonstrated his precise, hard-hitting indoor experience.
Not to be outdone, Nadal broke back to level the set at 3-3, only to lose his serve at 4-5.
The Spaniard's willingness to win was present, but his length of shot combined with low first percentage (59 percent for the match), inevitably began to wear on his demeanor.
The fifth game of the second set, which lasted 12 minutes, featured countless break and game points for both competitors.
Soderling's backhand crosscourt, which was hit flat and early, was countered by Nadal's forehand down-the-line.
After holding to lead by the narrow margin of 3-2, Soderling continued his baseline onslaught on Nadal, following up his out wide serving with well placed inside-out forehands.
Nadal's renowned level of focus, was rivaled by Soderling throughout the one hour and 38 minute contest.
Winning nine more total points than the Spaniard in his straight set victory, Soderling simply played the big points better in each set.
"Especially today, I think I managed to play really well in the important points, which is something I think you have to do," said Soderling.
Nadal, who remains within mathematical distance of catching Roger Federer for the year end No. 1 spot, will now find his chances of finishing No. 1 nearly unattainable.
The Spaniard will now have to win his final two round robin matches and the title, while hoping that Federer doesn't win any of his remaining round robin matches and does not reach the finals.
Nadal, who saved his first match with a hard-fought 16-shot rally, lost the ensuing point when Soderling struck a blistering crosscourt backhand.
Soderling wouldn't falter on his second match point, screaming in victory when Nadal sent a final backhand wide.
Finishing the match with 27 winners and 23 unforced errors, Soderling was simply cleaner off than ground than the Spaniard.
Nadal's 18 winners and 24 unforced errors, resulted in limited opportunities to sustain momentum.
Aside from Nadal falling to 0-1 in Group B action, the Spaniard failed to gain a measure of revenge after losing to Soderling at the French Open (his lone career loss at Roland Garros).
Nadal was also denied his 400th career victory with his loss, holding a slight 3-2 career head-to-head lead over Soderling.
"He is a big player in this surface, so is difficult if you are not completely calm and playing very well in that moment [you will lose],” said Nadal.
"It's really difficult to win and today I didn't play in this way in that moments,” explained Nadal.
The Spaniard will now look forward to battling either Novak Djokovic or Nikolay Davydenko in his next match.
Djokovic and Davydenko will see action shortly at the O2 Arena, hosting the night session in front of another sold out crowd.
Tied with two wins a piece, Davydenko won the pair's last encounter in thrilling fashion during the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters 1000.
Djokovic, who is coming into London in scintillating form, captured back-to-back titles in Basel and Paris—his fourth and fifth titles of the season.
Expect nothing short of anything less then a barn burner between these two, with the slight edge going to Davydenko.
Tuesday's order of play in London will include:
Fernando Verdasco vs. Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray.
Please stay tuned for continuing daily coverage from the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com
We're going to send you the most entertaining
Tennis
articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
4 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete