Brisbane International 2011 finalist Robin Soderling is a man on a mountainous climb.
The 26 year old, 87 kg, Swede has set the bar high and is proving his worth as the number one seed as he makes his way to the semifinals to battle Germany’s, Florian Mayer, today in the third match at Pat Rafter Arena.
The somewhat confident pmalayer thrust his name outside of just the tennis community when he when made his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. It’s history now that the towering 6’4” player beat four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2) in the fourth round, before losing to Roger Federer in the final 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4.
Soderling managed to break the top 10 in the same year after reaching the quarterfinal in Shanghai and later moved to number eight when he made the semifinals in London.
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Despite falling in the first round of the Australian Open in 2010, he later took out his fifth ATP tour title in Rotterdam (defeating Youzhny).
“I didn’t have any luck so far in Australia, I don’t know why: it’s on a surface that suits me and I’ve played very well in all the other Grand Slams so hopefully this year it will be a big change,” he said.
If the he takes out Stepanek later today, then Soderling may come up against three-time rival Andy Roddick in the finals, so long as A-Rod is successful in his semifinal date with Kevin Anderson.
“I’ve played against Roddick many times and we’ve always had tough matches so I have to stay focused on this one,” Soderling said.
Soderling defeated Roddick last year 7-5 6-4 at the ATP World Tour Masters in Paris, after Roddick had previously beat him twice in Cincinnati and Indian Wells.
“Well, he’s a great player you know, especially on a hard court and like I said we’ve played a lot of times and we’ve had many, many difficult matches, so it’s going to be a really tough match. But I think if I can play well and serve the way I have been doing and stay rested then I think I have a good chance.”
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Once the driven and determined Swede has left his mark on the Brisbane International, he hopes to climb to greater heights, with a plan to take out world number one and two – Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“When Roger or Rafa are playing in any tournament they will always be the favourites. But again there is a few players that can actually beat them, and when I say many, I mean maybe 10 – I see myself as one of them, so hopefully I can have a good year in the Grand Slam this year,” he said.
Soderling has been working with new coach, Claudio Pistolesi for the past four weeks.
“So far it’s been great – we only work together for four weeks now and we’re working on some different things in my game. I’m trying to become a little more aggressive, to come into the net a little bit more and we’re also working on my slice and my defensive game, and again, it’s only been four weeks but I think I’ve improved a little bit and I feel good,” he said.
Prior to taking on a new coach he could be found sunning himself on the beautiful, sandy shores of The Maldives.
“It’s great, it’s a great place and I had so much fun. I went diving, I went snorkelling, I was just hanging out on the beach, it was a great place.
“It was very calm and relaxing which was exactly what I needed after a very long season. So I had 10 days, almost two weeks there and I felt very fresh for starting the off season training,” he said.
If the sun, new coach and determination pays off then Robin Soderling just might take out the Brisbane International, this is one player we should all keep an eye on over the next two days.
Tickets are still available for Brisbane International 2011 from Ticketek.