How Good was Robin Soderling?

[El Dude]

This was inspired by a stray comment from @mrzz , who has spoken before his praises for Robin Soderling.

PART ONE: CAREER SUMMARY
Born in August of 1984, Robin Soderling played his first Futures in late 2000 and made his ATP debut in 2001, winning his first match in the R32 of Stockholm as a wildcard, defeating Ramon Delgado, then losing to Thomas Enqvist in the R16. He reached the top 100 in 2003 after making the SF of Shanghai (250) and jumped to #60 to finish the year after reaching the final of Stockholm (250), losing to Mardy Fish as a wildcard. Soderling played 12 ATP level events in 2001-03 before becoming a full-time player on the ATP tour in 2004, playin a career high 28 tournaments.

From late 2003 through about 2008, he established himself as a talented but erratic journeyman, mostly ranking in the 25-50 range, winning a total of three titles during that span, all ATP 250s. In 2008 Bjorn Borg predicted he'd be a top 10 player and Soderling finally began to show more consistency later that year. First, he reached the Stockholm final, losing to David Nalbandian. Then he won the Lyon ATP 250, his third title to that point, finally breaking the top 20 barrier and finished the year at #17.

Soderling made his mark on the ATP tour in 2009 when he beat Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros R16, eventually losing to Roger Federer in the final. He followed up by winning a title in Bastad, reached the QF of the US Open--losing to Roger Federer in four sets--and capping it off by beating Nadal and Djokovic in the Round Robin of the Tour Finals before losing to Del Potro in the SF.

His results continued to improve in 2010 - taking the ATP 500 Rotterdam, reaching the final of Roland Garros (Rafa's Revenge) and the QF of both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing to Nadal in four sets and Federer in three, respectively. He also won his only Masters title in Paris, beating Gael Monfils in the final, going 1-2 in the Tour Finals round robin, beating Ferrer but losing to Federer and Murray. 2010 would end up being his best season overall, with a 57-22 record (72.2%) in 23 events.

He started 2011 strong by winning the Brisbane title, defeating Andy Roddick in the final. He had his best result in the Australian Open by reaching the R16, but lost to the sorcerous Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets. He then defended his Rotterdam title by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final and won in Marseille, defeating Marin Cilic, making his title count three out of four events played. After some struggles in the Spring hardcourt season, he fared better on clay - reaching the QF of Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros, losing to Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal. He lost in the R32 of Wimbledon to the promising 18-year old Bernard Tomic, suffering from a stomach illness. He came back strong in Bastad to win vs David Ferrer. He then suffered a wrist injury and was diagnosed with mono, leading to his withdrawal from North American harcourt season, including the US Open. The Bastad final would be the last professional match he would ever play, just a month shy of his 27th birthday. Due to lingering mono symptoms, he eventually officially retired in 2015.

PART TWO: THE STATS
Soderling finished his career with 10 titles, including two ATP 500s (Rotterdam in 2010-11) and one Masters (Paris 2010). He reached two Roland Garros finals (2009-10) and four Slam QFs. His peak ATP ranking was #4, which he first reached in late 2010. His peak Elo (UTS version) was 2271 which he reached in early 2011, and is 44th all-time.

Soderling was 7-37 (15.9%) vs top 5 opponents, 29-53 vs the top 10 (35.4%), 71-74 (49%) vs the top 20, and 259-161 vs the top 100 (61.7%), and 310-172 overall (64.3%). Note that he was 22-16 (57.9%) vs opponents ranked #6-10, and 2-21 (66.7%) vs opponents ranked #11-20. The point being, he was dominated by the very best players, but stronger against everyone outside of the top 5.

Key Matchups
An El Dude post wouldn't be complete without a chart, so here's two. Both include all players who Soderling played who reached a top 10 ELO ranking (UTS version).

CHART 1: SODERLING VS TOP 10 PEAK ELO PLAYERS BY BIRTH YEAR

Analysis
One thing to note is that there are a lot more players older than Soderling on the above chart, largely due to his early retirement. He faced Kei Nishikori once in 2008, but didn't play many players born the weak 1990s.

Among players born within a year of Soderling, or 1983-85, he was 34-15 agains the players on the chart - meaning, he was fairly dominant against his closest cohort, in terms of chronological age.

Now obviously that Roger Federer match-up was, like many players not named Novak or Rafael, rather brutal. Even during Soderling's prime years of 2009-11, when Roger had slipped half a step, he was only 1-8, his lone victory his four-set defeat of Roger in the QF of the 2010 Roland Garros (Robin's Revenge). He did poorly against Nadal (2-6), Djokovic (1-6), though held own against Murray (2-3), for an overall 6-31 record against the Big Four, though a tad better in his prime years (2009-11): 5-17.

Compare that to some other players born in 1981-88, in order of win% against the Big Four:

34.2% (13-25) - Nalbandian
28.3% (14-32) - Hewitt
28.0% (14-36) - Davydenko
27.8% (20-52) - Del Potro
27.6% (8-21) - Gonzalez
25.9% (14-40) - Roddick
25.4% (18-53) - Tsonga
22.4% (22-76) - Wawrinka
18.9% (17-73) - Ferrer
18.6% (11-48) - Verdasco
16.7% (17-85) - Berdych
16.7% (8-48) - Cilic
16.2% (6-31) - Soderling
14.5% (8-47) - Gasquet
14.7% (5-29) - Baghdatis
14.3% (7-42) - Simon
13.8% (5-31) - Robredo
13.5% (5-32) - Isner
11.1% (7-56) - Gasquet
6.3% (2-30) - Almagro

As you can see, he fared worse than most, and is right there with Berdych and Cilic, quintessential top 6-10 players. But it is also worth noting that all of the guys behind him are "Tier 3" players - meaning, they're guys who touch the top 10 but mostly hang out in the top 20. Of the guys above him, I'd say only Verdasco and Gonzalez fit that category, with the rest being either tier 1 or 2 (top 5 or 10).


CHART 2: SODERLING VS TOP 10 PEAK ELO PLAYERS BY PEAK ELO

Analysis
Not much more to add here, except to note that Soderling's peak ELO was higher than most on the list, and also that there's a notable gap between the Big Four and everyone else, which I represented by narrowed cells in the Peak ELO line for 50 ELO increments. On the all-time list, Soderling (2271) is right behind Roddick (2274) and Stich (2272), and just ahead of Raonic (2269) and Noah (2268), and Chang (2267) - all players, except for Raonic, who won a single Slam.


PART THREE: WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Here's where we do what could be called a bit of grounded speculation - that is, what could have been if Soderling hadn't lost half of his career to illness.

Soderling's Age & Trajectory
As I said above, Soderling played his last ATP match just about a month before turning 27 years old. 27 is a bit of an axis in a player's career, around when they start trending down - at least on average and for most players. Even among the Big Four, both Roger and Rafa had their last stratospheric seasons at age 27 or before. Roger's peak in 2004-07 ended the year he turned 26; he was still great through his 38th birthday in 2019, with notable spikes in 2009 (27-28), 2012 (30-31) and 2017 (35-36), but his very best was behind him before turning 27. Rafa's three best years were 2008 (21-22), 2010 (23-24), and 2013 (26-27). He also was great through 2022 when he turned 36 years old, with a late career spike in 2017 (30-31), but his very best years ended at age 27.

Novak and Andy are a bit different. Andy's best year was 2016 when he turned 29, and then he was basically finished. Novak's very best years were 2011-16 when he was 23-29, but like Rafa, he spiked in his 30s and was the best player in the world at the end of 2023 at age 36. But the Big Four, especially the Bigger Three, are freaks, and shouldn't be considered the norm for aging (or, at least, they were so great in their peak years that when they dropped a notch in their late 20s, they settled in at a more mortal level of greatness).

That said, Soderling was something of a late-bloomer; he jumped a level in 2009 when he was 24-25, which is the most common time for a player to play their very best tennis, and his Win% actually continued to improve: 70% in 2009, 72.2% in 2010, and 80.9% in 2011.

An 80% winning percentage gets into territory, and there are usually only around 2-4 80% performances in a given year, with the range of the Open Era being 0-6 per year. Plenty of really good players never broke the 80% line - including players with better peak levels than Soderling, like Del Potro and Wawrinka.

Over the course of the entire Open Era, there have been 170 80% or better seasons by 43 players. Federer has done it 16 times, Novak and Rafa 15 times each. Connors, McEnroe and Lendl have all done it 10 or more times, and every 6+ Slam winner did it at least four times. Of the players to do it once, you've got a grab-bag of names (see Addendum below).

Summary (and Speculation)
I think the numbers paint a pretty clear picture: Soderling was not a super elite player, but--in the last two or three years--among the best of the second tier.

Now what might we have expected if he hadn't gotten sick? I am reasonably confident in speculating that we would have at least gotten two or three more seasons like 2009-11. But there's a big problem. Those years were peak Big Four. By the end of 2008, all four had won multiple big titles, by 2008, Rafa had taken it up a level, by 2011 Novak had gone supernova, and by 2012 Andy had won his first Slam.

By my accounting, the Big Four's best collective seasons were 2011-12, and at least two of them were in prime form from 2005 to 2022, and at least one from 2004-23 - a full two decades.

Meaning, Soderling stopped playing right in the heart of the Big Four era, with a lot more to come. Even as Roger struggled in 2013, the other three were going strong; when Rafa struggled in 2015-16, Novak and Andy were peaking and Roger had a good 2015. In 2017, as Andy faded and Novak was injured, we had the Indian Summer of Fedal. Then in 2018-19, the Bigger Three were all being well, and Djokodal for a few more years.

Or to put it another way, there would have been no easy window for Soderling. He would have continued to face the same problem as other players of the era: Not just two mega-stars dominating like the last two years, but three or four, and no less than two for the decade after Soderling's last match. There were no gaps, really, and only a few players managed to win big titles in the heart of that era.

Soderling might have won another Masters or two. But to win a Slam, he would have had to emulate Stan Wawrinka (or Marin Cilic) and play at an unbeatable form for a short period of time. I mean, it is certainly possible - and the best-case scenario was probably a lesser version of "Stanimal," but I think the odds would have been against him to get even a lone Slam.

This is no knock on Soderling. In the end, he was a very good player who could, at times, play at a level a cut above the rest of the second tier. But I think we saw him about as good, or close to as good, as he every would have become.

ADDENDUM
Total Open Era Seasons with 80% Win Percentage
16 Federer
15 Nadal, Djokovic
12 Connors
10 McEnroe, Lendl
7 Vilas, Borg
6 Laver, Sampras
5 Becker, Agassi, Murray
4 Metreveli, Nastase, Wilander, Edberg, Alcaraz
3 Sinner
2 Santana, Ashe, Okker, Smith, Orantes, G Mayer, Carlsson, Hewitt, Roddick
1 Rosewall, Mulligan, Bungert, Tiriac, Newcombe, Gottfried, Gerulaitis, Clerc, Gomez, Muster, Rios, Soderling, Ferrer, Medvedev, Zverev, Rublev.

As I said, the players towards the end, especialy with one, are a bit of a grab-bag. Some played short seasons early in the Open Era (e.g. Metreveli, Bungert, Tiriac, etc).

 

[mrzz]

That was an absurdly good and deep analysis, @El Dude.

I was writing a longer response, but I will trim it down to the basics: I really don't remember anyone saying, by the end of 2011, "that's how far this guy gets". Again, this still could be the case, but you get my point. And, anything better than his 2011 means he is challenging the big 3, and even stealing something from them here and there. A higher wining percentage than 80% would be something that no one can ignore. To say that this was not at least in the cards in the end of 2011, early days of 2012 is wishful thinking.

 

[El Dude]

That was an absurdly good and deep analysis, @El Dude.

I was writing a longer response, but I will trim it down to the basics: I really don't remember anyone saying, by the end of 2011, "that's how far this guy gets". Again, this still could be the case, but you get my point. And, anything better than his 2011 means he is challenging the big 3, and even stealing something from them here and there. A higher wining percentage than 80% would be something that no one can ignore. To say that this was not at least in the cards in the end of 2011, early days of 2012 is wishful thinking.

I agree that he was, at worst, stabilizing as the "best of the rest." Where we might disagree is your inference that he'd be at least coeval with Andy Murray, or play a role similar to Del Potro or Wawrinka (2nd tier guy with 1st tier peak form). He might have had that ability, but I think his "match mentality" was worse than Murray's. Rather, I think he was headed towards being the best of the Tsonga/Berdych/Ferrer pack..at least for a few years, which is still pretty darn good. But who knows.

Here's a follow-up question. We sometimes talk about who might have a Stanimal-type late breakout to elite level, but that is exceedingly rare - and no one else, really, did it like Stan did (three Slams age 28-31). But we could ask: Who could be the next Robin Soderling? Not a career ruined by smooching with Roger Federer (allegedly), but someone who was a "dangerous floater" into his mid-20s, then broke through to a higher level around age 24 or later like Soderling did.

I'm not talking about guys who are 21 or younger, and presumably still improving, but guys who established an early prime level lower than the top 20. Meaning, guys who at 24 or older, seemed to establish themselves. (Players usually reach their prime no later than the 22-24 window).

Scanning the rankings, some candidates stand out:

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: He's already 26 and I think it very unlikely he becomes as good as Soderling in 2009-11, but as much as has been said about him being the "best player not to win a title," at least playing right now, his overall performance skyrocketed in 2025 when he finished #14 with a 63 W%, after previously peaking at #21 back in 2023 and mostly hanging out in the 25-50 range for the last five years. He's a player I can see breaking his title cherry and then winning half a dozen or more titles over the next few years. Soderling Lite. Maybe.

Tommy Paul: He seemed to be close to that guy last year, but struggled with injuries most of this year. Like Fokina, he doesn't have the peak potential of Soderling, but fits a similar mold of having that late spike in the second half of his 20s.

Stefanos Tsitsipas: I know, but hear me out. I always felt the talent was there for him to be the best of the Little Three, but that backhand--and perhaps entitled mentality--kept him to third fiddle. But imagine this: This offseason he did some soul-searching, worked on his backhand, and decides to put his heart and soul into tennis. Now, unburdened by what has been through micro-dosing, he could have a nice little run in which he returns to the top 5 and maybe even threatens for a Slam. I don't think this will happen, but it could...

Ugo Humbert: He's 27 and fell out of the top 30 after finishing #14 last year. I've sort of felt like more was possible for Humbert. He seems able to beat top players on occasion, even taking Alcaraz out in Paris in 2024. He's won a couple 500s and reached a Masters final. He's not a guy I expect to be a top 10 player, at least not at this point, but he's sort of interesting.

Jenson Brooksby: He's already 25, so no longer a spring chicken. He's peaked at #33 and teased in better potential, but just has never found it - mostly due to missing almost two full seaons. He was back in 2025 and made it back into the top 50, which is pretty impressive considering how he played all of seven matches in 2023 and none in 2024. Right now I'd be please if he reached the top 20, but he's a guy to keep an eye on.

And last but not least, and really the obvious choice: Alexandr Bublik. "Obvious" because he just had the best year of his career at age 27-28. It is had imagining a 28-year to get better, but he showed elite form at times last year and if he can be more consistent...well, he's trouble. And remember: he's one of only three players to beat Sinner last year, and one of only six to beat him over the last two. Where I'm less ready to buy on Bublik, is that we've sort of seen this before. His 4 titles in 2025 is impressive--doubling his career total--but he did win an ATP 500 in 2023, and has flashed potential for years. I think a best realistic scenario is that he establishes himself as a bottom half top 10 guy for a couple years an sneaks out a Masters.

I wanted to say Frances Tiafoe, and he did reach as high as #10 back in 2023, but I think he is what he is: Pretty much the definition of third tier, aka top 20 regular in his prime, but not top 10. Franscisco Cerundolo is the type of player who could sneak in a clay Masters and see his ranking spike, but I don't think he's more than a top 20-30 guy (Sebastian Baez is similar); he's finished in that range for four years in a row. Valentin Vacherot...I think he could be a very lite Soderling in that he skyrocketed from outside the top 100 all the way up to 30, but I think the most we can reasonably expect is consolidation in the 20-50 range. He's a legit journeyman.

Maybe I didn't dig deep enough, but I don't quite see any Soderlings, but maybe a few micro-Soderlings.

 

[mrzz]

I agree that he was, at worst, stabilizing as the "best of the rest." Where we might disagree is your inference that he'd be at least coeval with Andy Murray, or play a role similar to Del Potro or Wawrinka (2nd tier guy with 1st tier peak form). He might have had that ability, but I think his "match mentality" was worse than Murray's. Rather, I think he was headed towards being the best of the Tsonga/Berdych/Ferrer pack..at least for a few years, which is still pretty darn good. But who knows.

Here's a follow-up question. We sometimes talk about who might have a Stanimal-type late breakout to elite level, but that is exceedingly rare - and no one else, really, did it like Stan did (three Slams age 28-31). But we could ask: Who could be the next Robin Soderling? Not a career ruined by smooching with Roger Federer (allegedly), but someone who was a "dangerous floater" into his mid-20s, then broke through to a higher level around age 24 or later like Soderling did.

I'm not talking about guys who are 21 or younger, and presumably still improving, but guys who established an early prime level lower than the top 20. Meaning, guys who at 24 or older, seemed to establish themselves. (Players usually reach their prime no later than the 22-24 window).

Scanning the rankings, some candidates stand out:

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: He's already 26 and I think it very unlikely he becomes as good as Soderling in 2009-11, but as much as has been said about him being the "best player not to win a title," at least playing right now, his overall performance skyrocketed in 2025 when he finished #14 with a 63 W%, after previously peaking at #21 back in 2023 and mostly hanging out in the 25-50 range for the last five years. He's a player I can see breaking his title cherry and then winning half a dozen or more titles over the next few years. Soderling Lite. Maybe.

Tommy Paul: He seemed to be close to that guy last year, but struggled with injuries most of this year. Like Fokina, he doesn't have the peak potential of Soderling, but fits a similar mold of having that late spike in the second half of his 20s.

Stefanos Tsitsipas: I know, but hear me out. I always felt the talent was there for him to be the best of the Little Three, but that backhand--and perhaps entitled mentality--kept him to third fiddle. But imagine this: This offseason he did some soul-searching, worked on his backhand, and decides to put his heart and soul into tennis. Now, unburdened by what has been through micro-dosing, he could have a nice little run in which he returns to the top 5 and maybe even threatens for a Slam. I don't think this will happen, but it could...

Ugo Humbert: He's 27 and fell out of the top 30 after finishing #14 last year. I've sort of felt like more was possible for Humbert. He seems able to beat top players on occasion, even taking Alcaraz out in Paris in 2024. He's won a couple 500s and reached a Masters final. He's not a guy I expect to be a top 10 player, at least not at this point, but he's sort of interesting.

Jenson Brooksby: He's already 25, so no longer a spring chicken. He's peaked at #33 and teased in better potential, but just has never found it - mostly due to missing almost two full seaons. He was back in 2025 and made it back into the top 50, which is pretty impressive considering how he played all of seven matches in 2023 and none in 2024. Right now I'd be please if he reached the top 20, but he's a guy to keep an eye on.

And last but not least, and really the obvious choice: Alexandr Bublik. "Obvious" because he just had the best year of his career at age 27-28. It is had imagining a 28-year to get better, but he showed elite form at times last year and if he can be more consistent...well, he's trouble. And remember: he's one of only three players to beat Sinner last year, and one of only six to beat him over the last two. Where I'm less ready to buy on Bublik, is that we've sort of seen this before. His 4 titles in 2025 is impressive--doubling his career total--but he did win an ATP 500 in 2023, and has flashed potential for years. I think a best realistic scenario is that he establishes himself as a bottom half top 10 guy for a couple years an sneaks out a Masters.

I wanted to say Frances Tiafoe, and he did reach as high as #10 back in 2023, but I think he is what he is: Pretty much the definition of third tier, aka top 20 regular in his prime, but not top 10. Franscisco Cerundolo is the type of player who could sneak in a clay Masters and see his ranking spike, but I don't think he's more than a top 20-30 guy (Sebastian Baez is similar); he's finished in that range for four years in a row. Valentin Vacherot...I think he could be a very lite Soderling in that he skyrocketed from outside the top 100 all the way up to 30, but I think the most we can reasonably expect is consolidation in the 20-50 range. He's a legit journeyman.

Maybe I didn't dig deep enough, but I don't quite see any Soderlings, but maybe a few micro-Soderlings.

Hmmm... I guess that just by compiling this list you became closer to sharing my opinion on Soderling. At least I am more convinced of it after reading it.

 

[britbox]

I thought up until a few years ago Khachanov might break into that Soderling bracket. Too late now. Bublik not far behind him either. I don't think anyone on that list is going to do it. Tsitsipas had a brief window of opportunity but I honestly believe that's closed already.

PS - You missed Edberg on your percentage stats (to be a pendant).

He's not very popular around here and people may laugh, but I think Zverev could still win a major if certain things align.

 

[El Dude]

I thought up until a few years ago Khachanov might break into that Soderling bracket. Too late now. Bublik not far behind him either. I don't think anyone on that list is going to do it. Tsitsipas had a brief window of opportunity but I honestly believe that's closed already.

PS - You missed Edberg on your percentage stats (to be a pendant).

He's not very popular around here and people may laugh, but I think Zverev could still win a major if certain things align.

Nice catch. I added him (with 4 such seasons).

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

That was an absurdly good and deep analysis, @El Dude.

I was writing a longer response, but I will trim it down to the basics: I really don't remember anyone saying, by the end of 2011, "that's how far this guy gets". Again, this still could be the case, but you get my point. And, anything better than his 2011 means he is challenging the big 3, and even stealing something from them here and there. A higher wining percentage than 80% would be something that no one can ignore. To say that this was not at least in the cards in the end of 2011, early days of 2012 is wishful thinking.

Sometimes, that's the way the cookie crumbles in tennis. I'm pretty sure after the 1988 US Open, no one would have thought that Mats Wilander, with 7 slams at age 24, and winning 3 slams that year, would never win anything of note again.

Soderling, at the end of 2011, was 3 years older than Wilander. Heck, Soderling was older than Nadal, and 2011 was really Nadal's last peak year (at least, the last year he was really great on all surfaces... in 2012, he really wasn't good on grass anymore, as evidenced by his loss to Rosol at Wimbledon).

Soderling taking another step at 27-28 might have been a bit too much of an ask.

 

[mrzz]

Sometimes, that's the way the cookie crumbles in tennis. I'm pretty sure after the 1988 US Open, no one would have thought that Mats Wilander, with 7 slams at age 24, and winning 3 slams that year, would never win anything of note again.

Soderling, at the end of 2011, was 3 years older than Wilander. Heck, Soderling was older than Nadal, and 2011 was really Nadal's last peak year (at least, the last year he was really great on all surfaces... in 2012, he really wasn't good on grass anymore, as evidenced by his loss to Rosol at Wimbledon).

Soderling taking another step at 27-28 might have been a bit too much of an ask.

This is one possibility, sure. But as the OP shows, Soderling was a late bloomer, so that complicates things a bit.

 

[Kieran]

Great analysis, all round. I would say of Soderling that he was a great sniper but not fit for big finals. Some players are like that. They can play fearlessly when there’s zero pressure on, they maliciously take a free swipe at the king, but put the crown near their head?

They crumple like tin foil armour…

 

[Moxie]

@El Dude I was just about to respond to Kieran's above, because I rather agree with it, but before I do, I was looking at your OP, and you say that Soderling had an 80+% win year in 2011. Which surprised me because I thought 2009 or 2010 would have been his best years. So I looked them up. 2011 was the year that he contracted mono and never played again after Bastad. He only played half of that year. His record when he stopped was 38-9, which is 80.85%, but isn't there a minimum number of matches played for making your exalted list? At least having played a full season? Not trying to be contrarian, but making much of his win percentage that year, when he only played half of it seems overstated. What do you think? Is there anyone else on that list with only 47 matches played?

 

[Moxie]

Great analysis, all round. I would say of Soderling that he was a great sniper but not fit for big finals. Some players are like that. They can play fearlessly when there’s zero pressure on, they maliciously take a free swipe at the king, but put the crown near their head?

They crumple like tin foil armour…

I also thought it was a great analysis on an interesting player, who was cut short. Speculation is inevitable. I lean your way, that he was a bit of a "sniper." We have two examples of him taking out a top player, then losing in a Major final in straights, so there's that. El Dude mentions Stan, and also that Soderling was ripe in the heyday of the Big 4. When Soderling had his best years, he had Magnus Norman in his corner, but still didn't bag a Major. They parted ways at the beginning of 2011, as Norman had a young family. It was Norman who coached Wawrinka to his late career Major wins, btw.

Back to your above, I think Soderling might be more correctly compared to Zverev or Tsitsipas. As in, not up to the ultimate pressure.

 

[Kieran]

I also thought it was a great analysis on an interesting player, who was cut short. Speculation is inevitable. I lean your way, that he was a bit of a "sniper." We have two examples of him taking out a top player, then losing in a Major final in straights, so there's that. El Dude mentions Stan, and also that Soderling was ripe in the heyday of the Big 4. When Soderling had his best years, he had Magnus Norman in his corner, but still didn't bag a Major. They parted ways at the beginning of 2011, as Norman had a young family. It was Norman who coached Wawrinka to his late career Major wins, btw.

Back to your above, I think Soderling might be more correctly compared to Zverev or Tsitsipas. As in, not up to the ultimate pressure.

In terms of handling pressure, definitely. They’ve won bigger titles than he could, but as you say, he played during The 3, which was obviously tougher than facing old players in obvious decline. This is also an argument for putting Novaks remarkable late career surge into context, but that’s a different bottle.

Did I say bottle? I meant to say “kettle of fish.”

 

[brokenshoelace]

Really, really good for about 2 years between 2009 and 2011. This is purely going off memory (and having not kept up with tennis as much over the last few years, I find that I've forgotten a fair bit of information even ones pertaining to the history of the game. Funny how that happens), so I don't really recall if he had any early slam exits during that time, but I do remember him being a perennial second week threat since the infamous 2009 RG run. His game was so huge that it translated to every surface in the era of homogenization (from what I see, it's gotten a lot worse now where every surface feels the same) , and he was an underrated athlete who really improved his movement during that stretch. I remember the super high ball toss on serve and how difficult it was to read, as well as the huge backswings he took on his groundstrokes which really added optical confirmation as to how much he was bludgeoning the ball. His rally ground strokes and his winners looked more similar than most players I've watched over the years in that he was hitting the ball so hard, you really couldn't tell he was going for a winner. His point construction got so good during that time and he seemed to relish the big matches, even if I think the two upsets he caused against Nadal and Federer at RG in 2009 and 2010 respectively mask just how often he got thoroughly outplayed once he played the big guns. No shame in that though.

He might have been irritating if you didn't root for him, but he was an interesting personality. His rise really cemented just how loaded the competition was during that time as I feel the top 10-15 players were about as strong as we've ever seen, with a mix of the big 4, huge hitters like Del Potro, Soderling and Berdych, as well as guys from the mid 2000's who were still going strong during that time (Roddick, Davydenko, Ferrer), add to that guys like Tsonga, Verdasco and Cilic... In that sense, that made Soderling's rise more impressive as while nobody was going to seriously challenge the big 4 consistently, he definitely was better than the rest of the pack for a while.