Robin Soderling – Hero!
Born on 14 August, 1984 in Tibro, Robin Soderling has well-established his name and position as a renowned tennis player from Sweden and is currently ranked number 5 in the ATP Ratings. Robin Soderling tasted remarkable victory by reaching successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010, and by defeating the defending champion Rafael Nadal in 2009 and Roger Federer in 2010 tournaments. In both situations he broke the players’ records.
In 2010 Paris Masters, he won one Masters 1000 event and from then onwards, his upward march began without any backwards glance. This Swedish tennis player is a user of Adidas clothing line and holds a Head Liquidmetal Radical MP racquet. He set his first foot towards the journey of international tennis tournament on November 1998 in Luxemburg at the age of 14, when he played the official junior tournament losing the opening match to Fred Jr. Hemmes from Holland.
The year 2002 saw Robin Soderling trying to break into the men’s circuit by playing five more ATP tournaments followed by the second round of the US Open. He achieved a graceful 16-8 record in the challenger circuit and reached the final by playing through the US Open Junior tournament. The much waited moment had then arrived after he crossed over the transition and reached the third round of Wimbledon followed by gaining an ATP final Stockholm. At the end of the year he reached the ranking of 86.
In 2004 Robin earned his first ATP Title in Lyon by winning a final match against Xavier Malisse. After playing another final in Marseille, he was among the top 40 player. Just like any other great players Robin too had his first share of injury that made him go through a knee operation in 2005. However, the pain could not keep him away from the gains and he ended up scoring another title in Milan. Unfortunately Robin Soderling had to undergo another round of surgery in October of the same year after appearing in the third round of US Open.
Despite of the knee and shoulder injuries that kept him from performing his best, he managed to bounce back from 100th place to top 50 in the Indesit ATP Ratings, within three months. He gloriously helped the Swedish Team to keep its World Group Davis Cup spot with two wins, in Brazil.
His constant attacks and victories led him to acquire the 25th position at the end of the year. Robin Soderling’s style of playing has been comprehended as ‘Brutal’ as he is known for his competitive drive and powerful game combined with accurate and hard ground strokes. With his heavy and precise serve, he is capable of generating a delivery speed of over 225km/h (140 mph).
He is powered with a solid and dependable double-handed backhand with which he can easily overpower his opponents. His stability, consistency power-packed style is appreciated by all and much can be contributed to his previous coach Magnus Norman. Robin Soderling has set an excellent example of hard work, resolution and constant development in order to reach his desired dream.