USO 2010 QF - Robin Soderling [5] vs Roger Federer [2]

Who wins?


  • Total voters
    121
  • Poll closed .

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
Whelp, and there ya have it.


Roger looked sharp sharp sharp.

Conditions didnt allow for crazy angle shotmaking, but his court coverage was wonderful and he didnt allow Sod to blow him off the court.

Well played.


Stayed aggressive with the bh

Served gonzo.

Grade : B+
 

xrxpapi12

Rookie
winning too easily may not be good for fed to prepare the semi-final

No, efficient quick wins is most needed in any GS if you want a title
besides Fed is ready for anyone coming at him right now, if Soderling took him to a 4th set he would have kicked things up a gear.
 

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
winning too easily may not be good for fed to prepare the semi-final

Too easy? Did you see the match? Did you see the conditions??

That was a pressure cooker from start to finish.


Came down to a few points that Roger won.
 

gold soundz

Professional
2 lousy aces to Federer's 18. And Soderling is meant to be a big server! Very annoying. I hope Djokovic beats Federer.
 

Netspirit

Hall of Fame
Solid match. Same conditions as Djokovic-Monfils, but much better quality.

Sod's serve was killed by the wind, as everybody here predicted.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Part of the reason Sod could not ace that much was because Rodge could get his racket on most of his serves.

He has improved:

  • Return game
  • BP conversion rate 4/5

So stop whining
 

President

Legend
Federer was (somehow) able to serve in the wind, and Soderling wasn't. That's the key to the match, nothing more and nothing less. Djokovic is in for a beating next round:twisted:
 
D

decades

Guest
sod is a quarterfinal slam player as this year's open proved once again. fed could not have asked for an easier passage to the semis with quick points and not a lot of running. djok will prove a much tougher task I am afraid.
 

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Game Set Match Federer! Federer could have lost with all thos break chances but Soderling wasn't good enough!
yessir, it was mighty close, me thinks it could have gone either way.
thankfully did not get drawn into a 4th set or more. Feddy needs to be fresh to play Đoković.
 

gold soundz

Professional
I think the Djokovic/Fed match will be really good with Djokovic in with a good chance of winning. He hasn't lost a set yet so yeah.
 
Almost perfect result for Federer. He couldn't have asked for much better. Federer looks great going into the SF versus Djokovic. We'll see if Novak can solve the Federer puzzle at the US Open, but I expect Federer to get past him as well. It could be a classic confrontation. Who knows maybe it will end up being the "big match" of the tourney when it's all said and done. It's shaping up to be a great weekend for us tennis fans as we head towards the end of the final major for the year.
 

holaturtle

New User
It sounded like Fed's postmatch interview had something muted/blocked and the crowd obviously responded. What the heck did he say?
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Elaborate please

You didnt see that?

Both Macs pointed that out.

There was a challenge at the begining of the match. Pascal ordered replay.

Sod argued angrily with him, when could not change Pascal's mind while, at the net, he turned to Rodge and said : "You want it"?

Rodge did not respond, just looked down and went on.
 

AhmedD

Semi-Pro
Wow, pretty solid match from Fed, Soderling couldn't seize those breaks in the beggining. I'm impressed with Feds return game, I still don't know what his strategy against Soderling was though, I think it was basically remain calm, play the match, use the wind, and watch Soderling eventually break (not choke) under the conditions. This just goes to show you that placement overcomes power on the serve, Fed was able to reach most of those big serves, even though Fed doesn't have the biggest serves, his placement is superb which got him all those aces, if he serves this well he should be able to give Djoko a tough time on the return. Soderling has some really good opportunities to extend this match but I believe Fed just really upped the gear and didn't allow it. The backhand was relatively solid today, some shots were shanked and went long due to the wind but overall I think there was a solid performance on the groundstrokes from Fed, he dealth with wind really well, it didn't affect his positioning and preparation, he looked unworldly relaxed. Congrats to Fed,a and good luck. Hard luck Sod, maybe next year.
 

gold soundz

Professional
"He" being djokovic? Djoko went 5 sets in the first round. Fed's the one who hasn't dropped a set.

lol my mistake. Anyway, still, I think Djokovic has a good chance. I mean he hasn't lost a set in his last few matches. Plus he'd be very eager to make sure Federer doesn't take him out 4 times in a row at the US Open. Really, he'd be very enthusiastic about stopping that.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Wow, pretty solid match from Fed, Soderling couldn't seize those breaks in the beggining. I'm impressed with Feds return game, I still don't know what his strategy against Soderling was though, I think it was basically remain calm, play the match, use the wind, and watch Soderling eventually break (not choke) under the conditions. This just goes to show you that placement overcomes power on the serve, Fed was able to reach most of those big serves, even though Fed doesn't have the biggest serves, his placement is superb which got him all those aces, if he serves this well he should be able to give Djoko a tough time on the return. Soderling has some really good opportunities to extend this match but I believe Fed just really upped the gear and didn't allow it. The backhand was relatively solid today, some shots were shanked and went long due to the wind but overall I think there was a solid performance on the groundstrokes from Fed, he dealth with wind really well, it didn't affect his positioning and preparation, he looked unworldly relaxed. Congrats to Fed,a and good luck. Hard luck Sod, maybe next year.

Good post Akhy,

I agree with your points. One of very few with good observations about how the match was played.
 

Starfury

Hall of Fame
lol my mistake. Anyway, still, I think Djokovic has a good chance. I mean he hasn't lost a set in his last few matches. Plus he'd be very eager to make sure Federer doesn't take him out 4 times in a row at the US Open. Really, he'd be very enthusiastic about stopping that.
So he didn't much care about being beaten 3 times in a row last year? ;)
 

New Daddy

Rookie
You didnt see that?

Both Macs pointed that out.

There was a challenge at the begining of the match. Pascal ordered replay.

Sod argued angrily with him, when could not change Pascal's mind while, at the net, he turned to Rodge and said : "You want it"?

Rodge did not respond, just looked down and went on.

That's not what happened.

Sod had a break point against Federer, and Fed's very next shot after the serve seemed a bit long, but Sod put his racket on it, the line judge called long, and Sod's ball sailed long on the other end of the net.

Federer challenged, and his shot was shown to be in, like by a fraction of an inch.

At this point, Federer said something to the chair, Maria Pascal, and chair gave the point to Federer, instead of replaying the point. Based on what was heard on TV from Pascal, it was his judgment that the line judge's call didn't affect Soderling's play and therefore he gave the point to Federer, instead of replaying the point.

On TV replay, I thought Pascal was not totally wrong, because it looked like Soderling almost stopped playing and raised his left hand, as if to challenge, and it was at about this point that the line judge shouted long.

But, in all fairness to Soderling, in 99% of situations like this, because Soderling had a play on the ball, I've seen the chair order replay.
 
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moshi2

Rookie
Thank God Roger won in straight set. He really got helped by the wind more than Sod.

Anybody knows will he play the 1st or 2nd semi? If it's following the order of play so far, the bottom half should play first. Is this the case? I prefer him to play 1st semi so he can get more rest before the final (if he makes it).

Also, where's Luthi? Last couple matches where they showed Annacone in his box, I didn't see Luthi.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
That's not what happened.

Sod had a break point against Federer, and Fed's very next shot after the serve seemed a bit long, but Sod put his racket on it, the line judge called long, and Sod's ball sailed long on the other end of the net.

Federer challenged, and his shot was in, like by a fraction of an inch.

At this point, Federer said something to the chair, Maria Pascal, and chair gave the point to Federer, instead of replaying the point. Based on what was heard on TV from Pascal, it was his judgment that the line judge's call didn't affect Soderling's play and therefore he gave the point to Federer, instead of replaying the point.

On TV replay, I thought Pascal was not totally wrong, because it looked like Soderling almost stopped playing and raised his left hand, as if to challenge, and it was at about this point that the line judge shouted long.

But, in all fairness to Soderling, in 99% of situations like this, because Soderling had a play on the ball, I've seen the chair order replay.

Ok, the ball was in and I beleive Sod had no play on that...

But lets say he had, it does not justify his reaction to Rodge.

that was unprofessional
 

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
Sod had a play on the ball.

whether or not the out call affected his swing.....in the Umps opinion, the out call was after he swung.


However I agree, it was a dick move on his part to say what he said to Roger, but understandable given that conditions were the suck and he desperately wanted to break early.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
good work by rog ! 5/6 on breakpoints !!!!!

could see only the first set - the half-volley to save breakpoint no 3 and the drop shot to break were incredible !
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
like Ahmed pointed out, he did not allow Sod play his game, which taking control of rallies and hitting big. He played agressive and put his rackt on most of Sod serve....
 

Dimension

Professional
Tough match for Robin. Fed did play some remarkable tennis. Looking forward to the showdown between Djoko and Fed.
 

Starfury

Hall of Fame
Thank God Roger won in straight set. He really got helped by the wind more than Sod.
Noone was helped by the wind, but Fed dealt with it a better.

Also, where's Luthi? Last couple matches where they showed Annacone in his box, I didn't see Luthi.
Lüthi's at home preparing the Davis Cup (and not creating a mess with 2 coaches at the same time). He should be back for the Masters tournaments after the the USO.
 

piece

Professional
lol my mistake. Anyway, still, I think Djokovic has a good chance. I mean he hasn't lost a set in his last few matches. Plus he'd be very eager to make sure Federer doesn't take him out 4 times in a row at the US Open. Really, he'd be very enthusiastic about stopping that.

You'd hope so wouldn't you. Djoko has a habit of getting down on himself with things like this though. It should fire him up, but who knows..
 
1

1970CRBase

Guest
Basically, imho, the game Soderling plays against Fed is hit/miss, hit/miss, hit/miss low percentage, go for the lines, go for broke gambling. One out of 13 tries, that style against a much better player might come off if everything is hit rather than miss, like at 2010 FO. Soderling certainly has big enough game to make the gamble in the first place, unlike say Dabul. But it didn't work against Nadal in the FO final. Otherwise his true normal level is still way way lower than Fed. If Soderling plays Fed another 15 times, my guess is he might get another 2 wins if he is lucky, but overall, Fed must end up far ahead.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
Federer serves Soderling out of Open in straight sets

By Joshua Rey

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

When Robin Soderling upset Roger Federer at Roland Garros in June, he stopped the Swiss' streak of 23 straight Grand Slam semifinals.

On Wednesday, Federer started back at one by avenging that loss, serving spectacularly to defeat the Swede, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

In swirling winds, Federer served as if he were playing indoors, hitting 18 aces and 25 more unreturned serves. He won 86 percent of the points when he landed his first service and was equally efficient on his return, converting five of six break points.

Soderling, however, earned the first four break points of the match, including three in Federer's opening service game. The Swiss saved the first with a crosscourt forehand that nipped the back of the baseline, the second with a 124 mph service winner down the tee, and the third thanks to a 120 mph ace out wide.

Down 2-3, Federer fought off a fourth break point by moving Soderling off the court with a wide serve and then placing a forehand in the opposite corner that the fifth-seeded Swede could not retrieve.

After Soderling missed his chances, Federer needed only one break point opportunity to take a 4-3 lead. Sensing that Soderling was on his back foot, Federer stepped inside the baseline to carve a drop shot winner.

The five-time US Open champion would hold his next three service games with 12 consecutive unreturnable first serves. He took a one-set lead in the process.

In the third game of the second set, Federer timed his backhand perfectly to win three straight points, then broke serve when Soderling double-faulted.

But the two-time Roland Garros finalist broke back with a down-the-line backhand passing shot winner, and took a 40-Love lead at 2-2. With three chances to jump ahead 3-2, Soderling committed four unforced errors. Now facing a break point, he watched helplessly as Federer passed him with an inside-out forehand.

Federer consolidated his second break of the set, eventually taking a two-set lead by hitting a 127 mph ace down the service tee.

He came close to losing his first set of the tournament when Soderling took a 5-3 third-set lead. But the 6-foot-4 Swede failed to serve out the set when Federer blocked back a 129 mph serve, drawing a forehand error from the Swede.

Two games later, Federer broke Soderling in similar fashion - successfully returning a 128 mph serve, and then benefitting from a backhand error off the Swede's Head racquet.

The No. 2 seed, playing in his 26th successive Grand Slam quarterfinal, finished Soderling off with back-to-back aces.

Federer will play No. 3 Novak Djokovic for the fourth straight season inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, having defeated the Serb in the 2007 US Open final and the 2008 and 2009 semifinals.
Match Facts

- Federer hit 21 more unreturned serves than Soderling (43 to 22).

- Federer won just one more baseline point than Soderling (49 to 48).

- Federer improves to 16-0 in night matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

- Federer has won 13 of 14 matches and 32 of 37 sets against Soderling.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/match_reports/2010-09-08/201009091284005289990.html

interesting, I didn't know federer was unbeaten in night matches at ashe !
 

TheTruth

G.O.A.T.
Why should it be Sod's point? He stopped playing BEFORE the call, and Federer's shot was good. Had there been no call, it would have ended the same - Sod stops play, challenges, loses, and loses the point.

I quit watching after that because I don't like either guy enough to care, but I thought a call was made which hindered Sod, and after Fed looked at Pascal, Pascal changed the call. That wasn't the only call I disagreed with there were others. I'm glad Pam called it, because that's the right thing to do. Magnus Norman agreed as well. I'm sure Sod knows the rules, and he wouldn't have been so incensed if there was nothing to it.

I want to read the post match interviews to see what they say about this "incident." But, don't you think Pascal is at the center of a lot of controversial calls?
 

TheTruth

G.O.A.T.
fed is not playing particularly well, just robin plays very badly and stupidly

I saw the first and second set and to me Fed was playing well. It looked like there was no wind on his side of the court.

It was immature for Robin to let that one call throw him off to that extent though, and in the end he paid dearly.
 

OddJack

G.O.A.T.
Federer serves Soderling out of Open in straight sets

By Joshua Rey

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

When Robin Soderling upset Roger Federer at Roland Garros in June, he stopped the Swiss' streak of 23 straight Grand Slam semifinals.

On Wednesday, Federer started back at one by avenging that loss, serving spectacularly to defeat the Swede, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

In swirling winds, Federer served as if he were playing indoors, hitting 18 aces and 25 more unreturned serves. He won 86 percent of the points when he landed his first service and was equally efficient on his return, converting five of six break points.

Soderling, however, earned the first four break points of the match, including three in Federer's opening service game. The Swiss saved the first with a crosscourt forehand that nipped the back of the baseline, the second with a 124 mph service winner down the tee, and the third thanks to a 120 mph ace out wide.

Down 2-3, Federer fought off a fourth break point by moving Soderling off the court with a wide serve and then placing a forehand in the opposite corner that the fifth-seeded Swede could not retrieve.

After Soderling missed his chances, Federer needed only one break point opportunity to take a 4-3 lead. Sensing that Soderling was on his back foot, Federer stepped inside the baseline to carve a drop shot winner.

The five-time US Open champion would hold his next three service games with 12 consecutive unreturnable first serves. He took a one-set lead in the process.

In the third game of the second set, Federer timed his backhand perfectly to win three straight points, then broke serve when Soderling double-faulted.

But the two-time Roland Garros finalist broke back with a down-the-line backhand passing shot winner, and took a 40-Love lead at 2-2. With three chances to jump ahead 3-2, Soderling committed four unforced errors. Now facing a break point, he watched helplessly as Federer passed him with an inside-out forehand.

Federer consolidated his second break of the set, eventually taking a two-set lead by hitting a 127 mph ace down the service tee.

He came close to losing his first set of the tournament when Soderling took a 5-3 third-set lead. But the 6-foot-4 Swede failed to serve out the set when Federer blocked back a 129 mph serve, drawing a forehand error from the Swede.

Two games later, Federer broke Soderling in similar fashion - successfully returning a 128 mph serve, and then benefitting from a backhand error off the Swede's Head racquet.

The No. 2 seed, playing in his 26th successive Grand Slam quarterfinal, finished Soderling off with back-to-back aces.

Federer will play No. 3 Novak Djokovic for the fourth straight season inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, having defeated the Serb in the 2007 US Open final and the 2008 and 2009 semifinals.
Match Facts

- Federer hit 21 more unreturned serves than Soderling (43 to 22).

- Federer won just one more baseline point than Soderling (49 to 48).

- Federer improves to 16-0 in night matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

- Federer has won 13 of 14 matches and 32 of 37 sets against Soderling.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/match_reports/2010-09-08/201009091284005289990.html

interesting, I didn't know federer was unbeaten in night matches at ashe !

Like I said, one of the reason sod could not hit many aces was because Rodge is hard to ace, he has improved his return game just like Nadal has his serves
 

TheTruth

G.O.A.T.
Sod gets overhyped and now everybody's digging up excuses :rolleyes:.

No excuses. Robin allowed one bad call and the wind to be the determining factor. He was fuming and by the time he tried to pull it together it was too late. I thought Fed played great. Norman is going to chew Robin's butt off. I just wish the wind would go away, it's compromising the matches.

The men did handle it better. Watching Woz and Cibulkova was brutal.
 
T

TennisandMusic

Guest
I saw the first and second set and to me Fed was playing well. It looked like there was no wind on his side of the court.

It was immature for Robin to let that one call throw him off to that extent though, and in the end he paid dearly.

Well the little I saw of the match (went out to play instead), it was a pretty crappy match. Based on the stats both guys played terrible off the ground, Federer had over 30 errors and about 18 winners or so, and a whole lot of aces. Soderling had similar winners and errors but like 4 aces? And not a high first serve percentage, so the serving made the difference. Not taking it when he has a chance to serve out the third set is very poor. Federer still not really pushed, and still making crap loads of errors vs winners. Still very vulnerable, but at this point he has a great chance to take the tournament.
 
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