Top Comebacks Of The Year - Nos. 3-5

© Getty ImagesRobin Soderling came back from a two-sets deficit for the third time in his career.

ATPWorldTour.com reviews the Top 5 comebacks of the year, beginning with Nos. 3-5.

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5. Robin Soderling d. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, Wimbledon 2nd RD
Lleyton Hewitt had to feel good about his chances after jumping out to a 7-6(5), 6-3 lead against World No. 5 Robin Soderling at Wimbledon. The former World No. 1 had established a two-sets lead 94 times in Grand Slam competition and won all but one of those matches, his sole loss coming to Tommy Robredo at Roland Garros back in 2003.

Soderling, meanwhile, had battled back from a two-sets deficit twice before, most recently in 2005 at Roland Garros. “I tried not to think about the scoreline,” he said. “Instead, I tried to keep looking forward. I know I was playing pretty well. I served well. And if I could just start to move a little bit better, start to return a little bit better than the first two sets, I knew I had a good chance.”

Two games away from defeat at 5-5 in the third set, Soderling broke Hewitt for the first time to begin his comeback, and he broke the Australian at the end of a tight fourth set to level the match.

Hewitt fought to regain the momentum with a service break in the third game of the fifth set, but his retaliation would be short lived as Soderling immediately levelled. The Swede broke Hewitt to love in the 10th game to close out the dramatic victory in just under four hours.

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4. Andy Murray d. Viktor Troicki, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, Roland Garros 4th RD
Andy Murray had torn a tendon in his right ankle during his third-round match at Roland Garros, and looked troubled when he confronted Viktor Troicki for a quarter-final spot a couple days later. After losing five straight games to start the match and four straight to end the second, he surrendered his serve for a sixth time to give Troicki a 2-1 lead in the third.

But the match proved to be far from over. The British No. 1 immediately broke back, had his ankle re-taped and fought to draw level at two-sets apiece before darkness suspended play Monday night.

When the pair resumed the match Tuesday afternoon, Troicki was once again first out the blocks. He broke Murray in the sixth game and held the match on his racquet in the ninth game. However, tight shots crept into the Serb’s game at 5-3, 30/0 and Murray took full advantage to strike back. The Scot reeled off a total of five straight games from 2-5 down to claim victory after three hours and 26 minutes.

The match was also notable for a rare incident in the sixth game of the final set. Believing that the point was over after an out-of-position Murray threw up a defensive lob, a ballboy charged onto the court as Troicki put away an easy smash on top of the net, forcing umpire Pascal Maria to call for the point to be replayed. Murray won the replayed point but Troicki still broke serve for a 4-2 lead.

“Today, more so than yesterday, I was really nervous, it was very windy on the court,” admitted Murray, who completed a comeback from two sets down for the fifth time in his career. “Once I went behind again I loosened up a little bit and started going for my shots more. I got through it, but emotionally it was pretty challenging.”

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3. Ivan Dodig d. Rafael Nadal, 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5), Montreal 2nd RD
One could be forgiven had they chalked this one up as a win for Rafael Nadal early into the second set. The Spaniard, a finalist in the first five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments of 2011 and a two-time Montreal champion, appeared on his way to a routine victory in his second-round opener after building a 6-1, 3-1 lead against 41st-ranked Croatian Ivan Dodig.

Dodig had won just four matches in Masters 1000 competition and never in succession, but found a new level of composure with his back against the wall. “I think I relaxed more and my serve started to work,” said the 26 year old, “especially after I broke him [for the] first time. I was getting more points with my serve. I was getting also like more relaxed during the rallies. I was going more for the shots.”

Dodig successfully drew level with Nadal not just once, but three times. In the decisive set, Dodig fought back from an 0-3 start, and after losing serve for a second time to fall behind 3-5, prevented Nadal from serving out the match. With both players two points from victory at 5-5 in the tie-break, Dodig fired his 19th ace to reach match point and won the subsequent point to pull off the improbable comeback.

“I know it's very tough when you play these guys to be aggressive,” said Dodig. “Today I had some chances and I think I used them. I finished the match by myself. I didn’t wait for his mistakes.”

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Coming Saturday: The 2 Top Comebacks of 2011