Davydenko vs Soderling London – England 2009 ATP World Tour Finals Part I

Robin Soderling Online video Score: 5 / 5

STOSUR LOSES OUT

Robin Soderling’s compatriot, Sofia Arvidsson, has defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia in her opening match in the Brisbane International tennis tournament. Arvidsson won the match in the straight sets by 7-6(7-4), 7-5.

This was an upset as Stosur was higher in rankings than Arvidsson and the Australian superstar was expected to walk away with a win. But, that wasn’t the case to be. Arvidsson played with a lot of determination and stunned Stosur.

This was the fifth match between these two players and this was only the second time that Arvidsson defeated Stosur.

In the first six games of the opening set, both the players held their service and the scores were levelled at 3-3 at that stage. Arvidsson gave Stosur the first blow in the seventh game and then, served out the following game to take a lead of 5-3.

But, after that, Stosur bounced back. She held her service in the ninth game and then, managed to sneak a breakthrough in the next game to level the scores.

Stosur got trailed again when she played a flurry of loose ground strokes and allowed Arvidsson to break her service in the 11^th game. But, the Australian no. 1 female player managed to take the set into the tie breaker with a breakthrough in the 12^th game.

In the tie breaker, Stosur’s inconsistency proved to be costly for her and she lost the first set.

In the second set, the first 11 games went with the serve and Arvidsson was ahead by 6-5 at the end of the 11^th game. The set seemed to be going towards a tie breaker, but, Stosur wasn’t able to serve out the 12^th game. Her service was broken and the match got finished.

In her next match, Arvidsson will take on Sloane Stephens of USA.

Robin Soderling and Marin Cilic Practice Serves — Indian Wells Pt. 02

Robin Soderling Video clip Rating: 4 / five

HEWITT WANTS MURRAY MATCH

Lleyton Hewitt has said that he wants to play against Andy Murray at some stage in the Brisbane International tennis tournament which is going to start from 30^th of December this year.  Hewitt has played only one match against Murray so far in his career. That match was played 6 years ago at San Jose. Hewitt had lost the match. After that, these two players haven’t taken on each other, but, it might happen in the Brisbane International tennis tournament.

When Hewitt was asked if he wants to face Andy Murray in the Brisbane International, he said, “Murray is a great player and no player wants to face him in the first round. But, I would like to take him on at some stage in the tournament.”

“Murray has had a fantastic last season. He has improved considerably as a player. When he had first burst on to the scene, he was not as versatile as he is now. He has worked very hard in the last couple of years and he is one of the best in the world at this point of time.”

When asked about his performance in the last season, Hewitt said, “Last season, I had a lot of fitness issues and that reflected on my performance. But, my fitness improved a lot towards the end of the season and I am 100% fit at the moment. In the last season, at times, I had to go into the matches after taking injections. But, it’s not the case now. I am feeling a lot better physically as well as mentally.”

“Now that my fitness has improved, I hope that I would put up a much better performance in the upcoming season and would win a few titles.”

HD Soderling / Melzer Practice 1/3.mov

Robin Soderling Online video Rating: four / 5

ARVIDSSON THROUGH

Robin Soderling’s compatriot, Sofia Arvidsson, has defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz 2012. Arvidsson won the match by 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Safarova was given the fourth seed in the competition and she was expected to win the first round match easily. The Czech player looked in supreme form in the first set, but, as the match went on, her performance gradually deteriorated and she lost the plot. Arvidsson took 2 hours and 3 minutes to secure the victory.

Safarova’s service was broken in the very first game of the first set and she was trailed by 0-2 at the end of the second game. But, Arvidsson didn’t manage to maintain the lead for too long.  Safarova managed to level the scores by sneaking a breakthrough in the fourth game. The next three games went with the serve and the scorecard was saying 4-3 in the favour of Safarova at the end of the 7^th game. Safarova got another breakthrough in the eighth game and the score became 5-3. The Czech player only had to hold her service in the ninth game to seal the set and that’s what she did. She easily served out the ninth game and won the first set by 6-3.

In the second set, Arvidsson played with lot of aggression. She won five out of the first six games to take a profound lead of 5-1. Safarova broke Arvidsson’s service in the seventh game, but, that was it for her in the set. She lost her serve in the following game and the set was won by Arvidsson.

In the final set, both the players showed a lot of intensity, but, Arvidsson held her nerves in the last two games and won the final set by 7-5. Safarova’s service was broken thrice in the third set.

In the second round, Arvidsson will take on Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic.