Analysis for Nadal-Soderling (ATP Finals London)

Head-to-head record 3:1

Here we go again. ATP Final in London already started and we chose Nadal-Soderling match. We have probably never bet on Nadal outside the clay and we have never bet against Soderling outside the clay and so it is probably not surprising we will stay with Swede today. He is one of our most favourite players and is still far behind his abilities. With his talent, he should definitely be stable somewhere around top 5, though the lack of mental strength and consistency in his game has been his weakness. But in recent years, his mental toughness has improved considerably and this has raised the consistency of his game. Söderling is known for his power game, hitting both hard groundstrokes and hard serves, making it very difficult for his opponents to break his serve. Most notably on his forehand side, he possesses a massive wingspan in his right arm, allowing him to hit gigantic forehands. Most of his success has come on faster surfaces (hard courts and indoor carpet), despite his 2009 run to the French Open final. We can hardly say anything new about Nadal – he plays with a strong two-handed backhand, well-angled topspin heavy strokes, fast mobility on the court, excellent defense, and a preference to play from the deep court. But he is overrated in the long term and same applies today. In 2007, Soderling and Rafael Nadal had an epic 5 set, 3rd round Wimbledon match that lasted several days due to rain delays. Although Nadal finally won in the 5th set, Soderling received considerable media attention for "mocking" Nadal's habbit of picking at his shorts prior to playing a point. In Soderling's defense, Nadal took unusually long amounts of time in between serves and Soderling said in a post-match interview that that was the reason for his irritation. Regardless, this match set up a personal rivalry that still exists between the two. At the 2009 French Open, Robin Soderling completed his most memorable Grand Slam performance by becoming the first player to defeat Nadal at the French Open ever by winning in just 4 sets. Their heated rivalry continues when they are drawn to face each other in the opening round and Soderling is the favourite for us.