Two-time French Open finalist Robin Soderling, who had to end his career owing to mononucleosis, had stunned several players in his short but memorable stint on the ATP tour. The Swedish star defeated the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic amongst others.

Robin Soderling reminisces facing Roger Federer on the ATP tour

Soderling, who recently captained team Sweden at the Davis Cup Finals, talked to Spanish sports daily Marca over Swedish tennis and also about the Big-3. When asked about who among Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic was difficult to face, Soderling mentioned the Swiss Maestro.

“I’m not saying he was the best, but the most uncomfortable for my game was Federer. His style didn’t suit my tennis. Others will say that how Nadal and other Djokovic play are going badly”.

The Swede’s record against Federer proves the same. While he had a few match-ups against Djokovic and Nadal, Soderling went up 17 times against the Swiss and ended up losing 16 of them. The one victory he earned against Federer came in the quarter-finals at the 2010 French Open.

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Roger defeated Soderling in the previous year’s final and won his first-ever Roland Garros crown. The 2009 French Open also witnessed Rafael Nadal losing to Robin Soderling for the first time.

Soderling retired in 2015 and captained Sweden at the Davis Cup Finals this year

Even against Djokovic, Soderling was successful just once and lost to the Serb on other six occasions. Notably, the Swede became one of the few players to have defeated the Big-3 during his professional run.

After enjoying stupendous success during the years 2009-10, Soderling managed to reach a career-high ranking of no.4. However, he was diagnosed with mononucleosis in 2011 and played his final match at the Swedish Open the same year.

Irrespective of a short career, Robin Soderling imprinted a lasting memory amongst fans who were hoping for his comeback until he announced his retirement towards the end of 2015.

Since then, Soderling has played multiple roles by being the director of Stockholm Open and went on to launch his tennis gear, named ‘RS-Tennis’.

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