Robin Soderling

Robin Soderling

For one afternoon in Paris, Robin Soderling did what no one else could. On 31 May 2009 he blasted Rafael Nadal out of Roland Garros, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, the champion's first defeat there and the only one until Novak Djokovic in 2015. The weapon was flat, ferocious power, a forehand among the most lethal of its era. He reached that final and the next: in 2010 he beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, ending Federer's run of twenty-three straight major semi-finals, and that November he reached No. 4.

He lost both finals, to Federer in 2009 and Nadal in 2010, then the end came without warning. In July 2011 he beat David Ferrer for the Bastad title, the last of his 11 career titles; mononucleosis followed, he never played again, retiring in 2015 with his final match won at 26. He later spoke openly about the anxiety and panic attacks that shadowed his career, and captained Sweden's Davis Cup team at the 2021 Finals before stepping down in 2023.