Soderling holds off Gonzalez for French final place
Robin Soderling beats Fernando Gonzalez in five-set thriller to secure place in French Open final
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Friday, 05, Jun 2009 10:29
Robin Soderling has beaten Fernando Gonzalez in a five-set thriller to secure a first-ever appearance in a grand slam final at the French Open.
The 23rd seed, who knocked out four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, will meet Roger Federer in Sunday's final.
Soderling was pegged back to 2-2 in sets - having looked comfortable when leading 2-0.
But a dogged performance from the Swede saw him break his Chilean opponent twice in the decider to eventually edge through 6-3 7-5 5-7 4-6 6-4.
Soderling showed his fighting spirit from the start having been broken in game three. He reeled off four games in a row before serving out the set.
The Swede saved three break points in game nine with the help of two aces. Soderling then made his opponent pay by breaking in the next game on his way to taking the set.
But it was then Gonzalez's turn to show his resilience as he gained a crucial break in the third game on his way to taking the set. In the fourth set, the big-hitting South American saved three break points before breaking Soderling to force a decider.
Gonzalez looked on course for victory when he raced into a 3-0 lead in the fifth set. But Soderling recaptured the form he showed at the start of the match by breaking twice to move 5-3 ahead and on the brink of reaching his first grand slam final.
And he fulfilled his dream by serving out the set to set-up a showdown with world number two Federer.
Soderling admitted it had been a topsy-turvy encounter.
"I was down a break in the final set but I said to myself that I have nothing to lose. I started to return great and everything changed," he said.
"I still have far to go with the most difficult match, maybe against Federer, to come on Sunday."
Meanwhile, a dejected Gonzalez said he was disappointed with his performance.
"I served at 4-3 in the final set and I knew I had the match in my hands. I wanted to win it on my first serves, not second, but he made some great returns," he said.
"If he keeps serving at over 200kph and finding the lines, it'll be tough for whoever he faces in the final."