world-tour

Bloomberg:

By Danielle Rossingh Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Robin Soderling , who ended Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten French Open run in May, beat the Spaniard for a second time this year at the ATP World Tour Finals . The 25-year-old Swede won 6-4, 6-4 yesterday in a group match on the second day of the season-ending tennis event at London’s O2 arena. Novak Djokovic fought back to beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets in the evening match. “It’s a long way to go, but it’s a good start to beat the world No. 2,” Soderling said in a courtside interview after a backhand error by Nadal handed him the victory. After ending Nadal’s unbeaten streak of 31 matches and four titles in the fourth round of the French Open, Soderling lost to top-ranked Roger Federer in the final at Roland Garros. The Swede broke into the top 10 in October and entered his first ATP World Tour Finals as an alternate only last week after former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick pulled out with an injury. Nadal, who missed the defense of his Wimbledon title mid-season because of knee tendinitis, is a two-time semifinalist at the Tour finals. Using his flat forehand, Soderling put Nadal under pressure from the beginning, moving the six-time Grand Slam champion around the medium-paced court and attacking his forehand. Two consecutive forehand errors on Nadal’s serve handed Soderling the first set 6-4. In the second set, Nadal thumped his chest as he broke serve for 2-1. The Swede immediately got the break back, as the crowd cheered for the Majorcan. Nadal continued to struggle with his ground strokes, uncharacteristically producing more unforced errors, 24, than winners, 18. Djokovic Wins Nadal will play his next Group B match against Russia’s Davydenko, who was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 by defending champion Djokovic in 2 hours, 46 minutes in a rematch of the 2008 championship decider. The Serb, ranked No. 3 , entered the London finals after winning back-to-back titles in Basel, Switzerland, and Paris. The ATP Finals are played in a group format, with eight players split into two sections. The top two from each advance to the semifinals. Four-time champion Federer and home favorite Andy Murray were both tested before winning their opening matches two days ago. They’ll meet today in Group A. Federer fought back to beat Fernando Verdasco of Spain 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, while Murray opened the event by defeating U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh at the O2 arena through the London sports desk at drossingh@bloomberg.net

Read more from the original source:
Soderling Upsets Nadal 6-4, 6-4 at ATP Finals; Djokovic Defeats Davydenko

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