Soderling in search of miracle

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:37

And Soderling is not holding out much hope that the result will be any different than at Roland Garros, where Federer won in straight sets to claim a record-equalling 14th grand slam title.

Asked if he had any reason to think he could get closer to the five-time Wimbledon champion on grass, Soderling joked: “No!”

The 24-year-old Swede, who has lost all 10 of his matches with Federer, added: “I can play well on every surface and he has definitely showed that he can play very well on all surfaces.

“Our closest matches have been on grass and indoor courts so maybe I can get a little bit more from my serve, trying to get some more easy or shorter points.

“It’s tough to play against Roger. I’ve played him 10 times and after the match I never felt like I played well. It’s not because of me, I think it’s because of him. He makes you play. It’s tough to play well against him, put it that way. I’d like to improve everything from Paris.”

Federer surprisingly dropped his first set of the championships but responded in style to beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-1.

“I thought it was my best match of the tournament so far,” Federer said. “We played a lot of tough points. I really thought from my side it was an excellent match.”

Elsewhere, Ivo Karlovic won an unsurprisingly serve-dominated clash with ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 6ft 10in Croatian winning 7-6 6-7 7-5 7-6 on Court One.

Karlovic hammered down 46 aces and will now take on Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round after the seventh seed recovered from a set down to beat compatriot Albert Montanes in four sets.

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