Soderling Beats Nadal: Advantages of Being Disliked

Reflecting on Rafa's recent historic loss at the 2009 French Open to Robin Soderling, I was struck by a couple of things.  

One was Rafa's visible discomfort out there on the court. Another was his post-match comments about feeling "without calm."

Rafa says that he felt fine going into the match, his practices were good, but when he stepped on the court he was out of sorts from the get go.

Of course his opponent's play had a lot to do with how uncomfortable Rafa felt coming out of the starting gate. Robin Soderling started executing his aggressive game plan right away with a brilliant opening game to love.  

But, let's try this on for size. What I'm about to say may be a stretch, so let's just remember that this is the opinion section.

Lots has been written, and still more spoken about Rafa and Robin's "feud," "the trouble that they had," or Rafa's evident dislike for this one player on tour, that boiled over in their Wimbledon match in 2007.  

At first it might be discounted as hearsay or hyperbole on the part of the media to play up an interpersonal issue between two players.  

Who would think that two professionals would allow personal dislike to interfere with their tennis? After all, these two players have only met three times.

So they wouldn't seem to have enough time to build up a meaningful dislike for one another. Besides, Soderling seems like a nice guy on TV. He doesn't seem too surly.

Articles written on the matter include several references to an allegation that "nobody" likes Robin Soderling on tour. I'm still tempted to discount all this dislike fever.  Why should it matter?

Ah, but one final note. In an interview yesterday after the match, I heard Soderling himself speak about the "dislike issue," and he said he didn't care.

If no one spoke to him in the locker room that was alright with him. Moreover, he didn't care for some of the common courtesies players extend to one another in this gentleman's sport. He didn't see why he had to oblige with courtesy checks on their condition, if they fell down, etc.

Whoa!

For me, this " unlikeable issue" now takes on a whole new light.

Does anybody remember Dennis Rodman?

Mr. Rodman was in the NBA in the 1990s. He played first for the Detroit Pistons, and lastly for the Lakers (in one of the lowest points of that team's sports history, IMHO).

Mr. Rodman was a fantastic basketball player. He was on several playoff and championship teams, and knew how to win. He played great, and was a threat whenever he was on the court.

However, as his career progressed, Mr. Rodman became more and more eccentric. Known as a "rebel" and a "bad boy," Mr. Rodman was occasionally photographed by the paparazzi in women's clothes.

He was colorful to say the least, often sporting brightly colored hair on court. And he was not afraid to touch other players on the court in inappropriate ways, if it would win him a point.  

Whether he was actually gay, or just daring, wasn't really the point.

Actually, I don't know if he is or not. He performed his eccentric actions on and off the court.

In short, Dennis Rodman took players out of their comfort zone just by stepping on the court. People didn't want to guard him or get near him if they could avoid it.

The fact that he seemed unconventional and rebellious was an effective tool for him in his game.

So when you go on court and see a guy that you just don't like in a visceral way, it can have an effect.  

For me, Robin Soderling's unapologetic defense of being unlikeable, when he says: "I couldn't care less," means that not only is it a real thing, he is using that issue to work for him.

It means that he can get in the face of other players under their skin. He can stand outside the circle and thumb his nose at those in the circle. He sends a signal that he doesn't respect you.

It works the same way that other players might use clothing choices or physical presence on the court to send signals to their opponent—Rafa for example?

By the way, I am not suggesting that Robin Soderling is gay, or that he is just like Dennis Rodman.  

I'm also not sure that Soderling does it on purpose—as if he sits in the locker room figuring out a game plan to get under someone's skin.

I'm just saying that a player who can make you lose your calm and take you out of your game with his attitude has figured out—consciously or unconsciously—an effective weapon to add to his arsenal.