Soderling puts out Murray
Source: Agencies |
March 21, 2010, Sunday
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SIXTH seed Robin Soderling delivered a tennis master class in the opening set before eliminating fourth seed Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Friday.
After saving four break points in the first game, the Swede overwhelmed Murray with a dazzling array of deep top-spin forehands, flat backhands and power serving to race through the first set in just 36 minutes.
Although Soderling wobbled when serving for the match at 5-4 and 30-0 up to be broken for the only time, he recovered to clinch the tiebreak 7-4 when Murray netted a backhand.
The Swede punched his right fist into the air in delight and will next face seventh seed Andy Roddick, who powered his way past Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-5 earlier in the day to reach the semifinals in Indian Wells for a fourth time.
"It's a big win because Andy is definitely one of the best players in the world," Soderling said after reaching his first semifinal in an elite ATP Masters 1000 event.
Murray, beaten in last year's final by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, was subdued after the match.
"He played very well to start with and I didn't," said the Scot. "I didn't move particularly well. I was hitting the ball really short and he's obviously got a big game and he was able to dictate all of the points."
Holding serve
The big-serving Roddick broke the 18th-seeded Robredo in the 11th game of the second set before holding serve to seal victory in 78 minutes.
"I feel like I'm playing really well on my own serve," the American said after booking his place in the last four when the Spaniard hit a forehand long. "I think I've been broken once, but I don't know that I've had that many break points against me throughout the week.
Nadal and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic reached the semifinals from the other half of the draw on Thursday.
In the women's draw, Caroline Wozniacki breezed into the final with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory over her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska.
The Danish second seed pumped her right fist in celebration after sealing victory in one hour 38 minutes when her Polish opponent, seeded fifth, hit a forehand wide to be broken for a fifth time.
Wozniacki, who is projected to climb to a career-high second when the world rankings are released tomorrow, trailed 15-40 on Radwanska's serve in the final game before winning the last four points.
"I played consistent and tried to be aggressive," Wozniacki said after reaching her first WTA final of the year. "We know each other so well.
"Agnieszka is a great fighter and she doesn't give up. I knew I had to fight till the last point to win this."
The 19-year-old Wozniacki will take on Jelena Jankovic in the final, the sixth-seeded Serb having cruised past Australian eighth seed Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 earlier.
"Jelena is a great player, a former world No. 1, and it's going to be a tough match," Wozniacki said.
After saving four break points in the first game, the Swede overwhelmed Murray with a dazzling array of deep top-spin forehands, flat backhands and power serving to race through the first set in just 36 minutes.
Although Soderling wobbled when serving for the match at 5-4 and 30-0 up to be broken for the only time, he recovered to clinch the tiebreak 7-4 when Murray netted a backhand.
The Swede punched his right fist into the air in delight and will next face seventh seed Andy Roddick, who powered his way past Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-5 earlier in the day to reach the semifinals in Indian Wells for a fourth time.
"It's a big win because Andy is definitely one of the best players in the world," Soderling said after reaching his first semifinal in an elite ATP Masters 1000 event.
Murray, beaten in last year's final by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, was subdued after the match.
"He played very well to start with and I didn't," said the Scot. "I didn't move particularly well. I was hitting the ball really short and he's obviously got a big game and he was able to dictate all of the points."
Holding serve
The big-serving Roddick broke the 18th-seeded Robredo in the 11th game of the second set before holding serve to seal victory in 78 minutes.
"I feel like I'm playing really well on my own serve," the American said after booking his place in the last four when the Spaniard hit a forehand long. "I think I've been broken once, but I don't know that I've had that many break points against me throughout the week.
Nadal and Croatian Ivan Ljubicic reached the semifinals from the other half of the draw on Thursday.
In the women's draw, Caroline Wozniacki breezed into the final with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory over her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska.
The Danish second seed pumped her right fist in celebration after sealing victory in one hour 38 minutes when her Polish opponent, seeded fifth, hit a forehand wide to be broken for a fifth time.
Wozniacki, who is projected to climb to a career-high second when the world rankings are released tomorrow, trailed 15-40 on Radwanska's serve in the final game before winning the last four points.
"I played consistent and tried to be aggressive," Wozniacki said after reaching her first WTA final of the year. "We know each other so well.
"Agnieszka is a great fighter and she doesn't give up. I knew I had to fight till the last point to win this."
The 19-year-old Wozniacki will take on Jelena Jankovic in the final, the sixth-seeded Serb having cruised past Australian eighth seed Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 earlier.
"Jelena is a great player, a former world No. 1, and it's going to be a tough match," Wozniacki said.
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