Rafael Nadal, untroubled since the opening rounds at Roland Garros, persevered as a comfortable straight sets winner over fifth seed Robin Soderling in the quarters of the 2011 French Open.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal moved one step closer to equaling Bjorn Borg’s record of six Roland Garros crowns after defeating No. 5 seed Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(4) in the quarter-finals Wednesday.
“Six semi-finals here in Roland Garros. Easy to say; very difficult to do,” said Nadal. “Seriously, for me is fantastic news, fantastic result, especially without playing my best during all the tournament. Today I played well… Today I was ready to beat the No. 5 of the world and two times finalist in this tournament.”
The defending champion was assertive on return, breaking Soderling six times in 11 chances. Nadal cruised through the first two sets in 81 minutes and started off well in the third with an early break, until Soderling found a steady rhythm to get back on serve. The Swede had three break point opportunities at 5-5, but did not convert, and was finished off by the Spaniard in a confident tie-break.
Nadal improves to 6-2 overall against Soderling, including a 2-1 mark at Roland Garros; Soderling handed Nadal his only defeat at the event in a fourth-round upset in 2009, but Nadal avenged the loss in last year’s final to win his fifth title in Paris.
“The match here in 2009 where I won I played really well; I served well,” said Soderling. “I just had a little bit of a better day than today, of course. I took my chances. I really did in that match, which I didn't do today. I only had some chances in the third set. To win a match like this you have to take your chances.”
After being tested in his first two matches Nadal has hit his stride, winning his past three matches in straight sets.
“What satisfied me most without any possible doubt was the improvement in my game,” he said. “Today was my best match, I believe. My highest level in the tournament. I think I improved every day.
“I was able to today find solutions that I didn't think I was able to find. So I'm very happy that I was able to find those solutions today, and I was happy because I was very focused during the whole match.”
With his victory, it marks the 20th time since 2007 Roland Garros that Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have reached the semi-finals together. Overall, it’s the eighth Grand Slam the trio has reached the semi-finals.
Nadal will next face Andy Murray, who completed the top 4 semi-final line-up with his straight-sets win over Juan Ignacio Chela. Nadal leads the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series, 10-4, and has won their three previous meetings on clay, but anticipated a touch match against the World No. 4.
“In Rome I think he played fantastic match in semi-finals against Djokovic. Was the closest player to beat him this year, so he’s doing great,” he said. “Right now he is in semi-finals [after a] tough match against [Viktor] Troicki the other day, saving important moments. So he’s coming with confidence, and it will be a very difficult match for me in semi-finals.”
