By Charles Bricker
Even at match point, when he was on the precipice of defeating Roger Federer for the first time in 13 matches, I never had any doubt that Robin Soderling was going to, as they say in just about every sport, take his shot.
No nerves. No tentativeness. And this was a second serve, which he sent roaring to the extreme corner of the deuce corner, leaving the bewildered Federer no good reply.
It was over and Soderling, who had taken out defending champion Rafael Nadal at this same French Open a year ago, now had removed defending champion Federer by 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
This win over Federer, shooting the Swede into the semis against Tomas Berdych, was in many respects more significant that the win over four-time champion Nadal in 2009 because we’re still not sure whether Rafa’s damaged knees were already headed for the infirmary at that point. He doesn’t talk much about his injuries and he doesn’t use them as an excuse, so we really don’t know how badly he was hurting at the French a year ago. What we do know is that the Soderling match was the last time he would play until Aug. 10.
In contrast, there was no question about Federer’s fitness level. Everything but his pride looked fine, and that was undoubtedly badly hurt by this loss.
As he walked off the court, a French TV reporter was waiting in the tunnel that leads to the locker room, in his usual job of getting some pithy comment from the loser and winner. Federer just shook his head and walked by. He wasn’t in a mood to talk.
This win for Soderling exceeded the Nadal win for reasons other than fitness. The big Swede is a straight power hitter with a big serve, big ground strokes, big everything. That usually doesn’t hack it on clay courts unless the courts are baked hard by lots of sun so you can more or less play them like hardcourts.
That definitely was not the case on this less-than-June like Paris day. It sprinkled. Then it rained a little. The tarps went on, then off, then on and off again. And when the players got back on the terre battue, it was just moist enough that the balls were picking up weight — exactly what Soderling with his power game did not need, you would think.
But the guy is so powerful, he was able to hit through the court easily. Federer dominated the opening set, but after that it was Soderling who had Federer scurrying from corner to corner. Soderling looked supremely confident — nothing like the finalist who went down easily to Federer a year ago in the Roland Garros final.
And that confidence was there throughout the final three sets. He repeatedly came from love-30 down on serve to hold. At the opening of the fourth set, Federer knew he had to raise the level of his game, and he did to break right away to 2-0. Pas de probleme for Soderling, who broke right back and who never wavered down the stretch, where so many players do against Federer.
Again, this win just seemed so unlikely. Not because Soderling doesn’t have the weapons to beat Federer, but because the conditions Tuesday didn’t seem to match his skill set. Flat shots on damp clay. It wasn’t really cold this afternoon, but it was cool. No wind. Just the sort of weather that retards the ball. But against all those odds, Soderling triumphed.
It was good to see him smiling after the match. For years he’d been a bit of a grump out there, the talented young Swede with a temper and no head for the game. Then, along came former French Open finalist Magnus Norman to coach Soderling. He calmed him down, put some tennis savvy into his head and watched in admiration this afternoon as Soderling beat Federer down with his power.
There was other bad news for Federer on this day. Because he went out in the quarters, he could lose the No. 1 ranking if Nadal wins the tournament. And this defeat must leave him wondering if he’ll ever regain the No. 1 spot. Remember: Nadal didn’t play Wimbledon or the lead-up at Queens last year. He has no points to defend at either event. It’s all gravy.
As for Federer, nothing has gone according to his personal script since the Australian Open. He’s now lost to Soderling in the quarters in Paris, lost to Nadal in straights in the final at Madrid, lost to Albert Montanes in the semis at Estoril, lost to Ernests Gulbis in his opening match at Rome, lost to Berdych in the round-of-16 at Key Biscayne and lost to Marcos Baghdatis in the round of 32 at Indian Wells.
He can talk all he wants to about ironing out some wrinkles in his game, but the inescapable truth is that no one stays on top forever, and it looks very much as if the time has come for a slow retreat from the top.
Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com