In tennis, a lucky loser is a player who loses in qualifying, but still makes the main draw because a player in the main draw has pulled out prior to the start of the tournament. Usually, the lucky loser is the highest ranked player that lost in the last round of qualifying.
Robin Soderling doesn’t quite fit this definition. At the end of the year, he had reached 9th in the point total for the ATP World Tour Finals. Only the top 8 players are accepted into this elite tournament. However, Roddick had to retire from a tournament back in Shanghai and was unable to return to the tour for the event. Thus, Robin Soderling was called to fill in.
Much like Gilles Simon, who filled in for Rafael Nadal last year, Robin Soderling has made the most of his chances. Having not played Nadal since his French Open victory, Soderling once again beat Rafael Nadal, this time in straight sets. Having never beaten Novak Djokovic, in five attempts, Soderling again came through with a victory, 7-6 (5), 6-1. This put Soderling at 2-0 with a very good chance at making the semifinals. Djokovic is 1-1. Nadal and Davydenko are 0-1, with their match scheduled for later today.
Tomorrow, Group A finishes its round robin with Roger Federer playing Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Murray squaring off against Fernando Verdasco. Friday, Group B completes its round robin with Rafael Nadal playing Novak Djokovic with the loser likely to miss out on the semifinals. Robin Soderling will play Nikolay Davydenko, a player he’s already beaten 3 times this year, including the French Open and two weeks ago in Paris.
Semifinals should be Saturday and finals Saturday, so a lot of top flight tennis scheduled ahead. Keep watching!