Soderling takes place in London line-up

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:56

The Wimbledon runner-up had qualified for the prestigious season-ending tournament for the seventh consecutive year but injured his left knee in Shanghai last month and has not competed since.

Roddick said: “I am really disappointed to miss the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. I love playing in London and I’ve heard so many good things about the venue. However, I have not fully recovered from my knee injury and I won’t be able to compete. One of my goals in 2010 will be to qualify for this event again.”

Soderling was the first reserve for the eight-man event at the O2 Arena and will join Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco on the banks of the Thames.

Soderling hit the big time in spectacular fashion at the French Open this summer, when he became the first player to beat Nadal at Roland Garros before finally losing to Federer in the final.

The 25-year-old took the momentum from his surprise run, winning the Swedish Open on home soil in Bastad and then reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open before climbing into the world’s top 10 for the first time last month.

The big-hitter will be the first Swede to play at the season finale since former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson in 2002.

The draw for the two round-robin groups will be made on Wednesday morning, with France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga now first reserve.

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