Soderling defeats Federer to reach final

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:57

Federer began well in his first match of the campaign, taking the opening set on a tie-break and then breaking in the opening game of the second.

Soderling is a different prospect since reaching his first grand slam final in France last year, though, and he broke back in game six before levelling in a one-sided tie-break. The Swede gained the crucial break in the third game of the deciding set and then saved four break points in the next before breaking again to seal a 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/1) 6-2 victory.

The 25-year-old said: “I always said the more times I play him, the closer I’ll get, and here I am.

“So far so good, but it’s going to be a long season for sure. Hopefully I’ll get to play against Roger a few more times.”

Federer reflected on a tough opening to his 2010 season, saying: “Obviously it’s hard to start playing against him but I had fun.”

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