Andy Murray Diffuses Robin Soderling in London's O2 Arena

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A brief burst of lasers lit up the court interrupting Robin Soderling's service game late in the second set today. The Swede needed much more than baseline-fueled power pyrotechnics to confront the shot-making special effects imposed by an in-form Andy Murray.

Sporting an Ivan Lendl-inspired argyle patterned black adidas shirt, Murray diffused Soderling's power and exposed frontcourt flaws in the towering Swede, dismissing Soderling 6-2, 6-4 in opening singles match of the ATP World Tour Finals in London's 02 Arena.

"I think tactically it was a great match," said Murray. "I think I played very smart tennis today. Obviously it was getting tough in the second set [with] a lot of long rallies. I was on the defensive quite a lot, [but I] stuck to my tactics well and managed to come through."

Murray whipped 27 winners in beating Soderling for the first time since February 2006 at the SAP Open in San Jose. Murray raised his record to a 6-3 record against top 10 opponents this year.

The fifth-seeded Scot narrowly missed qualifying for the 2009 season-ending semifinals and played like a man intent on limiting losses. Murray, Soderling and four-time champion Roger Federer, who faces seventh-seeded David Ferrer in a rematch of the 2007 season-ending final tonight, form Group B. 

Given that Murray is 1-3 lifetime vs. Ferrer (all three of those losses came on clay) and had split his four prior career clashes with Soderling, losing the last two times, the man who makes his home in London knew winning today was crucial for his final four hopes.

He did so convincingly, serving with authority (Murray hit 10 aces compared to two for Soderling and erased the only break point he faced), returning with precision (he won 17 of 27 points played on Soderling's second serve) and often transitioning from dynamic defense to piercing offense in the space of one shot.

"It was tough today," said Soderling. "I was hitting the ball pretty well, but in the beginning I wasn’t there. He played better than me today. He served really well. Maybe that's the only thing I was a little bit surprised with. He was putting a lot of first serves in. He was defending really well. Every time I came to the net, he came up with a really good shot."

The two-time French Open finalist is most comfortable standing close to the baseline and unloading his whipping, windmill swings in unleashing flat drives into the corners. On a hard court that is playing much slower than the slicker court in Paris where Soderling has had much success, the man with 20 indoor wins this season repeatedly watched his flat-line shots come back from the speedier Murray.

While Soderling is not burdened with hands of stones, he doesn't exactly evoke comparisons of Stefan Edberg around the net. A somewhat stiff Soderling struggled to pick up Murray's low passes, sometimes nudging volleys into net, and surprisingly failed to grasp the fact Murray hit virtually every single forehand pass crosscourt. 

One of the fastest players in the sport and arguably the best returner on hard courts, Murray used two aces, including a slice ace wide, to hold at 15 for 1-1.

In the next game, Murray flicked a running forehand pass for 0-30. Stabbing an outstretched return, Murray raced up quickly to a mediocre volley from Soderling and smacked a backhand pass down the line for triple break point. 

Two points later, Murray read Soderling's wide second serve and bulleted a backhand return winner down the line, followed by a loud "Come on!" holding for 2-1.

Delivering an ace out wide for 40-15, Murray struck a service winner wide to consolidate for 3-1. The Murray serve was sharp in the first set. He hit five aces and lost only two points on his second serve, while winning eight of nine points on Soderling's second delivery.

Murray snapped off a 132 mph ace out wide, his fourth ace of the set, to hold at love for 4-2.

Back-pedaling into his backhand corner, Murray flicked an off-balance forehand winner down the line for double break point. A befuddled Soderling sent a backhand into the middle of the net and Murray had his second break to stretch the lead to 5-2.

At 30-all, Murray used a series of slice backhands to coax a Soderling forehand error for set point. He could not convert, however, but followed with an ace down the middle for a second set point. 

It was a humbling end for Soderling as Murray lashed a wide serve, then improvised in nearly kneeling to flick a blocked forehand dropper off the baseline that floated over the net and curled inside the sideline to conclude a set of some mesmerizing shot-making.

About the only Murray misstep came through his fondness for playing touchy-feely tennis as he overplayed the drop shot on a couple of occasions early in the set, losing both points. But Murray was virtually untouchable landing his first serve, and even showed a Lendl-like ability to play one-two tennis with a serve-forehand winner combination.

Keep up with the latest news and scores from the ATP World Tour Finals in London atwww.TennisNow.com