Roger Federer's Re-Match With Robin Soderling
30 June 2009
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Who is going to stop Roger Federer? That was the question that was on everyone’s lips as he saw for Robin Soderling in straight sets 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5).
The pair met just weeks ago in the French Open final where Federer was victorious, lifting the title in Paris for the very first time, and it more of the same today.
While it was a more closely contested match Federer was simply a class above and despite being pushed to two tie-breaks he managed to pull out the shots when it mattered.
The first eight games of the opening set went with serve and at 4-4 both players were looking comfortable and it seemed that Federer was going to get a tougher match than in his previous rounds.
But it wasn’t to be as Soderling’s forehand deserted him, saving two break points only to net a forehand to give Federer the break.
And that was enough to seal the first set for the Swiss number one. Into the second and Soderling regained composure as the match became a battle of the serve.
With both players serving well the second set went into a tie break. Despite allowing to Federer to open a 5-3 advantage Soderling pegged the former champion to 5-5. But it was to be the forehand once again that produced the error giving Federer the second set.
The third was a bit of deja-vu for both players as neither made any inroads into the others serve once again going to a tie break. Federer stepped up the pace and with an outrageous forehand winner he sealed the match in just under two hours.
He will now face Ivo Karlovic in the next round who produced an impressive serving display to see off Fernando Verdasco.
The Spaniard, who is also known for a his powerful serve, was unable to force any break points as Karlovic fired down thirty five aces to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 7-6 (11-9).
Lleyton Hewitt’s run at Wimbledon looked all but over in his match this afternoon against Radek Stepanek after losing the first two sets and having to call the trainer.
But the healing hands of the trainer seemed to do the trick as he came out at the start of the third set a different player and the come back was on.
He began to produce tennis that saw him lift the title seven years ago as he powered through the third set to take it 6-1 and Stepanek, who called for the trainer himself, had no answer.
With his army of fans behind him the barrage continued into the fourth as Hewitt’s serve and shot making improved as he levelled the match. By the fifth the player was once again showing his heart on his sleeve as he was fired up for every point.
The resistance of Stepanek just faded away and Hewitt secured a quarter final place winning 4-6 2-6 6-1 6-2 6-2.
He will now face Andy Roddick who managed to secure his first straight set win over Tomas Berdych. It was strong performance from the number six seed whose serve looked unbreakable finally producing his best tennis of the tournament so far.
As did Novak Djokovic who seems to be improving with every round and he saw off Dudi Sela in an emphatic straight sets win.
In previous rounds the world number four had looked uncomfortable on the grass and struggled with keeping his game under control. But none of that was evident today.
Sela did manage to force some break points early on the first set but that chance was soon snuffed out by Djokovic as she soon settled into a rhythm that saw him progress with ease.
He will now face Tommy Haas, a repeat of the recent Halle final, who saw off Andreev in straight sets. Haas is now the oldest man left in the draw but saw off the big hitting Russian in straight sets 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-4.
It was also a good day for former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero who made light work of the eight seed Giles Simon winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-2.
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