Tennis
2009-06-29 - Roger Federer vs Robin Soderling
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Tennis: England, Wimbledon Men
Monday 29th June 2009 - Start 12:00
Roger Federer
Roger Federer cruised through week 1 of the tournament and all for the loss of 1 set. Federer has only dropped 31 games so far in his 3 matches.
Federer came through against Kohlschreiber in the last round in 4 sets. He won 68% of the points behind his serve and served 68% first serves. He faced 7 break points over the course of the match but was only broken 2 times.
It was the returning game which was most impressive for Federer in this match. He managed to win 44% of the points off the Kohlschreiber serve which is impressive when considering the German's serve. This looks more impressive when considering that Kohlschreiber served 65% first serves. He also created 22 break point opportunities and converted 7 of those.
Federer hit 33 winners compared with 21 unforced errors and attacked the net frequently.
Robin Soderling
Robin Soderling faces Federer soon after their match in the final of the French Open. He has quietly gone about his business in this tournament, winning 3 matches for the loss of 2 sets. He has dropped 50 games in the tournament so far which shows how tight his matches have been.
The Swede won his last match with Nicolas Almagro in straight sets and this never looked in doubt as he won 79% of the points behind his own serve. Soderling served 60% first serves and won 50 of the 53 points behind that serve. He did not face a break point in the match.
Soderling won 35% of the points behind Almagro's serve, winning 2 breaks of serve from the 6 break point chances he created.
He hit 24 winners and made 15 unforced errors.
Head to Head
Federer's head to head record against Robin Soderling was making the rounds before their meeting in the French Open final and it has now improved to 10-0.
They have played 23 sets of tennis and Soderling has only won 1 of them.
The 2 have met on grass courts on 2 previous occasions. The first meeting was at Halle in 2005 when Federer won in 3 sets, this being the only occasion that Soderling has won a set against Federer.
The other meeting took place here at Wimbledon last season and Federer cruised through in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
Prediction
Roger Federer played very well in the last week of the tournament and is clearly confident in this match up as he stated in his interviews. He has such a mental hold over Soderling and is so much more comfortable on grass that I expect him to perform to win again.
Robin Soderling has already knocked out one player on his 'own court' this season at this stage when he beat Nadal at the French Open in the 4th round. This is also going to be a difficult challenge for him and he must overcome the mental barrier of 1 set in 23 played with Federer.
I think Federer will come through in straight sets here but I think the handicap has been set high enough for Soderling to at least keep within that.
I see a Federer win of 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
The Pick :
Roger Federer
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Robin Soderling +6.5 games 1.83 (5/6) at Paddy Power
