On August 14, 1984, in the small town of Tibro, Sweden, Robin Soderling was born – a tennis player who did not shine in his early professional days and who few believed could crack the top 10 or notch resounding victories. But one coach changed his career forever – Magnus Norman, one of the most prominent Swedish tennis players of the last few decades.
Magnus Norman brought out the best in Soderling, who had powerful shots but also many deficiencies in his game. In 2008, he began to show promise, but it was in 2009 that he solidified his place and achieved the most remarkable victories of his career.
That year, he surpassed Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros where no one had done so before, and he did the same against Novak Djokovic on an imposing stage. A year later, he would break an impressive streak of Roger Federer at Grand Slams.
Rafael Nadal played his first French Open in 2005 and was the champion, also doing so in 2006, 2007, and 2008, but in 2009 the streak was broken, and the one who achieved that was Robin Soderling, who beat him in four sets in the quarterfinals. He would then play the decisive match against Roger Federer, who managed to prevail and thus win the Roland Garros for the first and only time.
Robin Soderling and Roger Federer after the 2009 Roland Garros final, with Jean Gachassin and Andre Agassi. (IMAGO / Schreyer)
His first ATP Finals appearance
After being a finalist at the French Open and having great performances in general, Robin Soderling qualified for the ATP Finals, which was played in London and featured Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martín Del Potro, Fernando Verdasco, and Nikolay Davydenko.
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In the group stage, Soderling defeated Nadal and Djokovic in straight sets, advancing to the semifinals, where he would fall to Juan Martín Del Potro.
A historic victory over Roger and a new final in Paris
Roger Federer arrived at the 2010 Roland Garros with an impressive record: he had reached at least the semifinals of the last 23 Grand Slams, but that streak was broken by Robin Soderling in what was the only victory of his career over Federer.
In the quarterfinals of the major Parisian tournament, the Swede defeated the Swiss and avenged the 2009 final. Soderling reached the decisive match again, but on this occasion, the winner was Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
A serious illness ended his career
After winning the Bastad tournament in July 2011, Robin Soderling was diagnosed with mononucleosis, an illness that kept him bedridden for months and put an end to his career. Although he officially announced his retirement in 2015, his last official match was in 2011, at the peak of his career when he was 26 years old.