LAST YEAR Robin Soderling had Roger Federer for company in the French Open final, and was blitzed. Tomorrow it is Rafael Nadal at the very zenith of his powers. Sometimes a guy never gets a break. The Swede is not complaining.
He had his revenge against Federer in the quarter-finals this week and looked exceptional, so now he gets a second crack at a Grand Slam. Yesterday he saw off the estimable Tomas Berdych 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
“He’s the only one who beat [Rafa] here,” Berdych said, “so I think he’s got a really big chance.”
To be fair, he said that before Nadal (late drama notwithstanding) put poor Jurgen Melzer through the grinder to ease through the second semi-final with as outstanding a performance as there as been at this tournament, winning 6-2, 6-3, 7-6.
Soderling’s win here over the Spaniard was a year ago in the fourth round when Nadal’s knee was troubling him – as were his parents, who were going through a divorce. Soderling’s chances are far from “really big”.
Although Soderling and Berdych were out there for two hours and 27 minutes in growing heat, there were 39 aces and some cheap points. So the draining was mental rather than physical. The Swede will draw on pure adrenaline – and he will need it.
Nadal was doing little more than loosening up his muscles against Melzer, the world No 27, until broken in sight of victory in the third set and forced to come through a gripping tie-break. He has yet to drop a set here.
Melzer was applauded only sporadically in the 125 minutes it lasted, but never more so than at the bitter but inevitable end. He was a dogged foe.
There is no stopping Nadal on clay. That is something written here before and that will be written many more times. He is so good he all but takes his opponent’s serve out of the equation. He is not among the game’s big boomers himself – he is not even in the top 20 of acers, nor speed merchants, although seventh in first-serve percentages – and Melzer could not get near him for all-round court dominance.
The similarities that bind Berdych and Soderling are uncanny, yet not altogether surprising. In height, weight, strength, power, style and a whole host of statistics, these behemoths give the overwhelming impression they were made in some secret tennis factory, gangling prototypes designed for the modern game. It was like watching the Klitschko brothers fight each other. If you closed your eyes, the pleasant, echoing thud of fluffy ball on synthetic strings could have been the jabs and hooks of those two giant pugilists.
Yet, for such a clash of titans, the atmosphere was that of a kids’ spat in a sandpit. The vast acreage of empty seats in Court Philippe Chatrier showed that the French don’t get worked up about a sporting event until absolutely necessary. Not till the fifth set, did the lower tier look even vaguely full.
Berdych cracked first, double-faulting in the sixth game; then a tell-tale ping told the story: he looked as tight as the popped string on his racket.
With his hands almost on the first set, Soderling’s ground strokes briefly went to pot to give Berdych just a glimmer of hope. He recovered quickly, though, and served out the set.
The match was now Soderling’s to lose, as he worked Berdych over on the forehand, keeping him deep behind the baseline. But he is a fighter. Against the tide, he broke Soderling, and the exasperation on the Swede’s normally impassive face reeked of anxiety.
Eerily, and for no immediately apparent reason, a nearby church bell tolled a single “bong”. A moment later, it did it again. It tolled for Soderling and they were level at a set apiece. Berdych hung on to grab the third.
Soderling grew in confidence in the fourth, which was his 6-3, and powered home in a tense if unimaginative fifth to go through to a final that will have infinitely more variety. And, unlike the first 13 days of this tournament, there will not be an empty seat in the house.
Guardian Service
PARIS DETAILS
Men’s Singles
Semi-finals: (5) Robin Soderling (Swe) bt (15) Tomas Berdych (Cze) 6-3 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-3, (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) bt (22) Jurgen Melzer (Aut) 6-2 6-3 7-6 (8-6).
Women’s Doubles
Final: (1) Serena Williams (USA) Venus Williams (USA) bt (12) Kveta Peschke (Cze) Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-2 6-3.
