World number five Robin Soderling aims to regain the Swedish Open title he last won in 2009.
Set in the picturesque seaside town of Bastad, the SkiStar Swedish Open is one of the most popular events on tour and as a result, despite being held barely a week after the end of Wimbledon, it generally attracts some of the world's best and this year is no exception.
Soderling became the first Swedish champion in nine years when he triumphed in 2009 and looked on course to make it a double last year before being unseated by Nicolas Almagro. Soderling will be smarting after a shock fourth round defeat to teenager Bernard Tomic at Wimbledon and he will be looking to erase those memories as quickly as possible.
David Ferrer may be a chronic underachiever at the French Open but at every other clay-court stop on the tour, he's a force to be reckoned with. He won Bastad in 2007 and is always a contender, losing an epic semi-final to Soderling last year. However Ferrer has just spent a week competing indoors ahead of Spain's Davis Cup quarter-final with the USA which could wreck his chances this week.
Tomas Berdych and Tommy Robredo are both two-time winners of this event. Berdych's ranking has slipped after he failed to live up to last year's feats at the French Open and Wimbledon but he is still clinging on to a place in the top ten and has almost nothing to defend for the next six months. Robredo is plagued by injuries these days and has just returned from another two month spell out of the game. Do not expect much from the veteran.
Defending champion Almagro will be a serious threat again. He briefly became the third Spaniard in the top ten earlier this year and has already won three clay-court titles.
