The Sweden Robin Soderling won the title for the ATP tournament in Rotterdam this past Sunday, after Russian opponent Mikhail Youzhny had to quit the final due to a leg injury. Soderling was winning 6-4, 2-0 in 58 minutes before the Russian decided to withdraw from the match.
With the victory, Soderling became the first Swedish player to win the indoor event since Anders Jarryd in 1993. The title is Soderling’s fifth; the player won at Lyon in 2004 and 2008, in Milan in 2005, and in Bastad, Sweden last year.
Before getting to the final, Soderling defeated Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko while Youzhny took on world No. 2 Novak Djokovic, the favorite for the tournament. Both players, then, proved to be surprises in the final for some followers.
In the beginning of the match, Youzhny broke Soderling’s serve, but the Swede immediately returned the compliment with good strokes. After several guild plays and a slow buildup of confidence, Soderling was able to break Youzhny twice and win the set with a score of 6-4.
Starting the second set, with motivation on his side, Soderling won the first two games after breaking the Russian’s service yet again. Youzhny was trying to play at his best, but his leg, he later stated, had been bothering him since the first set. At just under an hour, at the end of the second game, the Russian decided to withdraw from the game due to an injury to his thigh.
The withdrawal left Robin Sodering as the new winner of the ATP tournament in Rotterdam. The victory was sweet for Soderling, who had come close to the title in 2008 but lost against the Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.
At the end of the match, Soderling said he came to the tournament with little confidence after an early exit from the Australian Open and a bad start in the first of the 2010 tournaments. He gave all the credit for the recent win to his coach Magnus Norman, who helped him regain confidence.
“I came here without any confidence and didn’t play well in my first two matches. But my coach, Magnus Norman, has been great this week and telling me that even when I wasn’t playing great I still am tough to beat. The best medicine to regain confidence is winning matches and especially against good opponents. I feel sorry for Mikhail as it is never easy to retire injured and especially not in a final,” said Soderling.
Youzhny, on the other hand, said he began feeling pain in the semifinals against Djokovic, but that it became too much in the second set of the final. He expressed his disappoint at not doing better after all of his hard work during the tournament, but acknowledged that injuries happened when least expected.
“I felt the pain yesterday already but then I still could play. But today it got worse. It feels like a muscle injury around the hip but it could also be a nerve.”
“I’m sorry I could not finish. I couldn’t move so well. I tried my best, I had been hoping to do better today,” stated the Russian.
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Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily Tennis Games reviews, sports news and sports betting industry updates for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.
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