Soderling And Nadal To Live In Memory

Whenever the list of the biggest upsets created in the history of the lawn tennis is made, the fourth round match between Robin Soderling and Richard Gasquet in the 2009 French Open would come in top 5. It’s a match which a keen follower of tennis would perhaps never forget in his life. Rafael Nadal had actually got defeated in that match. Yes, you read that right. Nadal got defeated at Roland Garros and the man to do that was a young man from the United States of America who all of a sudden became the most threatening player in the world after that day.

Although Soderling didn’t win that edition of the French Open but, in the next Grand Slam that he took part in, he was one of the hot favourites to lift the trophy. The support that he got in his first match that he played at Flushing Meadows that year was enormous and it was a sign that he had become the new superstar of the tennis world. But, as they say, nothing changes quicker than the fortunes. The same happened with Soderling. His fortunes took a complete U-turn.

During the middle of that US Open, Soderling was hit by a unique kind of illness because of which he had to get himself aside from the tournament. And most of the people would not believe, but, since then, he has not featured even once in the professional arena. Yes, not even once. It’s been 3 years now and he is still not fit enough to compete.

It’s hugely disappointing that a player of such calibre who could have made this modern era of tennis so much more competitive has to remain away from the game because of illness. It’s heartbreaking for the fans.