In-form Soderling To Pose Strong Threat At Finals

© Getty ImagesRobin Soderling reached the semi-finals in London last year.

With just one week to go until the eagerly anticipated Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in London, Robin Soderling proved he will be the danger man of the event after winning his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Masters Sunday.

The Swede goes into the season finale as a man in form, having reached the quarter-finals or better in his past seven tour-level events, and boasts a strong 103-38 career indoor record. On his debut in London last year, he beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic en route to the semi-finals.

“This is great. I think I played very good last week [in Valencia], and this week, too, on a surface that's pretty similar to what it's going to be in London,” said Soderling. “ And of course I played a lot of good players this week. It gives me a lot of confidence. I think playing in any Masters [1000], when you play the top players of the world, every match can be a Grand Slam final.

“I think you need to believe in yourself, and I think that can make a big change. I'm feeling really good right now, and I'm going to have one or two days of rest and prepare for London.”

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The 26-year-old Tibro native has reached the Roland Garros final (on clay) in the past two years, and has won five of his six career ATP World Tour titles indoors. He believes the versatility he has shown has helped him rise to the Top 4 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings; he will overtake Murray to reach a career-high World No. 4 on Monday.

“I mean, it's a great feeling, because now I really feel like I can do well on every surface,” said Soderling. “That's what you have to be able to do if you want to be on top of this game. All the top players, all the Top 10 guys can play well on every surface. I think if you look at Rafa [Nadal], he's an unbelievably good player, but maybe a couple years ago he was much better on clay; now he plays so well on every surface. That's why he's No. 1. I'm really happy that I can handle every surface.

“No. 5 is not bad. I think No. 4 is a little bit better. It's going the right way. Of course, now my goal is to be No. 3, and then we'll see. But it's not easy. I have to keep on playing really well. But I think if I can play like this, I think I have a good chance to stay in the top.”