Men’s tennis has precious few active singles grand slam finalists playing. Thus when a player who has this accolade on his CV even mentions a comeback it is cause for the tennis world to get excited. The player in question is Swedish star Robin Soderling.
Soderling in an interview with the BBC “Hopefully if it continues to progress the way it has been, then maybe, it’s tough to say, but maybe six months or a year from now I can hopefully start to train 100 per cent.” In a second, more recent interview, Soderling continued to hint at developments “Me and my team have already started working for 2016. We have many projects that I still can not speak. But good things to come!“. Soderling has not definitely confirmed a comeback, and his participation at potential early events may be too premature. If he does appear, entry lists will probably not confirm it until the last minute, likely with a protected ranking wildcard. Aged just thirty-one if Soderling is truly fit, he may yet be able to again be relevant in modern tennis, even if it is perhaps too much to expect him to reproduce his fine career pre-illness.
For that is what derailed a player at the top of his game. Sidelined for nearly five years by glandular fever, an illness that also counts Roger Federer and Andy Roddick as other tennis players who contracted the disease during their careers, it hit Soderling hard. Glandular fever, though often mild and short term, can occasionally lead to long term impacts, notably chronic fatigue that can last for years.
Robin Soderling has played in the title match at Roland Garros on two occasions, in 2009, and 2010. Both were truly exceptional years from the Swede, but 2009 was his breakout. Seeded, but not expected to make waves at the tournament, Soderling stunned the previously unbeaten Rafael Nadal for the first time in the Spaniard’s career on clay. Soderling won in four sets, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. Soderling was not content with the scalp on Nadal however, as his tournament included shocking a total of four higher seeded players (including Nadal). The others also included clay specialists in David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko, and a particularly gruelling five-set encounter with Fernando Gonzalez. Soderling was stopped in the final by Roger Federer in straight sets, with the Swiss finally completing his career grand slam with the absence of Nadal from the final. His coach for his run in 2009 and 2010 was compatriot Magnus Norman, who has subsequently coached Stan Wawrinka to his first two grand slam titles.
His run to the 2010 Roland Garros final also saw some impressive wins. He defeated seeded clay specialist Albert Montanes and future US Open champion Marin Cilic, before gaining revenge on Roger Federer for his final defeat, winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4. Soderling edged a five-set semi-final for the second consecutive year, this time defeating Tomas Berdych from two sets-to-one down. In the final, he was the victim of a rampant Rafael Nadal, who won in straight sets.
Soderling was not just a force on clay however, as he has posted strong results on hard courts, notably winning the 2010 Paris Masters for the loss of one set, and beating the likes of Gilles Simon, Grand Slam champions Stan Wawrinka and Andy Roddick, and Gael Monfils in the final, all in straight sets. A superb Michael Llodra was the only player to take a set off him in that event. He has also competed and progressed out of the group stages of the ATP World Tour Finals in 2009, beating Nadal and Djokovic, before falling to Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi finals
If Soderling’s tease does come true then 2016 is shaping to become the year of major comebacks, with Del Potro also angling for a return. If these two rejoin the tennis ranks, the game will be much better for their participation.
