2010 Australian Open: Robin Soderling Falls

In what can be called the most shocking upset of the 2010 Australian Open so far, Robin Soderling, who has defeated many top seeds in the past, lost in 5 sets to unseeded Marcel Granollers. An early exit for Robin Soderling in the first round of the Australian Open means that the draw has opened up a bit in the top half. In a shocking defeat to Marcel Granollers of Spain, Robin Soderling is the highest seed to be knocked out of the Australian Open so far. And the first round is not done yet. This just goes to show the quality of tennis being played at events such as these, and the fact that even the top players have to fight it out to stay at the top.

No one expected Soderling, who has improved in the last year by leaps and bounds, to be a first round casualty. In fact, many thought he would go all the way and maybe even take home the title. His performance in the last two to three months showed that he was more than capable of doing just that. However, Spaniard Marcel Granollers thought otherwise and put an end to Soderling's Grand Slam hopes in the first round itself.

The Soderling-Granollers match stretched over 2 days because of the rain, and into a five setter match. The Swede at first looked confident of his place in the second round, taking the first two sets 7-5, 6-2. Being just a set away from moving into the second round, Soderling lost concentration and allowed Granollers to claw his way into a match that he should have technically lost. Perhaps the many delays and the match being postponed to another day took its toll on the Swede, as he lost the next three sets pretty easily. Granollers came back from a 2 set deficit to oust the number 8 seed, winning the next three sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

This is a big setback for Soderling, who just moved into the top ten last year. He will have to up his game for the coming tournaments if he wants to retain his number 8 ranking. In fact, poor performances such as these might even see him slip out of the top ten again, something he will not want to happen. For Granollers, he moves to the second round full of confidence after having beaten the number 8 seed.

Lots more tennis action to come from the first grand slam of the year, the 2010 Australian Open. Stay tuned...