'When I played against Roger Federer, I came off the court...', says former Top 5

Robin Soderling is the only player along with Novak Djokovic who can boast of having defeated Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, in the fourth round of the 2009 edition. The Swede then surrendered clearly in the final to Roger Federer, allowing the Swiss phenomenon to win his first title in Paris after many disappointments. The two-time finalist in the French capital considers Roger the toughest opponent he has ever faced. Speaking on the podcast 'The Functional Tennis', Robin confided that he had always found himself not at ease with the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who was beaten on only one occasion (at Roland Garros 2010). Soderling in fact reached the last act at Roland Garros also in 2010, but this time Nadal did not discount and took revenge from the previous year. The former world number 4 was forced to retire prematurely by a severe form of mononucleosis, which basically prevented him from returning to the field despite countless efforts.

Soderling reflects on facing Roger Federer

“Mentally was really tough for me,” Robin Soderling said. “I was playing my first Grand Slam final, everything was happening so quickly for me. He played I don’t know how many Grand Slam finals. He was much more experienced. I played the top players many times, I won a few times but I lost many times especially against Roger Federer. To me, Roger was always the most difficult opponent to play against," he added. "I'm not saying he is better than Rafa or Novak, but his game really didn’t suit my game." The Swede further explained that he always found it difficult to assert himself in his matches against Federer. “So many times I played against Roger, I came off the court and I felt like why did I play so poorly today,” Soderling said. “I know I have to play extremely well to beat him but, it was so difficult for me to play well against him. Against Rafa and against Novak even though I lost, I could still feel it was a good match, I played well, they were just better than me today.” News about coronavirus became alarmingly huge during the early months of 2020. The severity of the virus is still threatening to affect more humans, and Federer is dejected looking at the vulnerability. “How other people are doing is extremely important to me. You always come first for me. If they’re fine, I’m fine too. That’s why I didn’t need this lockdown to see that. But maybe not everyone was aware of what is important in life,” Federer said in a recent interview. 

 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3roYR72