Robin Soderling Wins First Masters Title At Paris

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Robin Soderling Wins First Masters Title At Paris
By Ken Miller, Lawn Tennis Analyst, Posted: Sunday, November 14, 2010 7:40pm PST USA

Robin Soderling, Gael Monfils, Robin Soderling Wins First Masters Title At Paris

PARIS--Sunday at the BNP Paribas’ championship match, the big hitting Swede Robin Soderling defeated the local favorite Gael Monfils of France 6-1, 7-6(7-1) to claim his first ATP Tour Masters trophy and sixth career ATP Tour singles title.

The 4th seeded Soderling raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set behind aggressive serves and forehands while the 12th seeded Monfils too often found himself in a defensive position on the baseline.

In set two, the 24 year old Monfils executed a more aggressive game to reach leads of 5-4 and 6-5. However a crosscourt forehand volley winner from Soderling on the following gamepoint sent the match into a decisive tiebreaker.

Robin Soderling of Sweden | Image: AP

The 12th seeded Monfils too often found himself in a defensive position on the baseline.

The 26 year old Soderling would use his two greatest strengths, a booming serve and overpowering forehand to go ahead in the tiebreaker 6-1.

A Soderling crosscourt forehand volley winner ended the match after one hour and seventeen minutes.

For the day, the Swede broke serve twice without ever having faced a breakpoint against his own serve. For his victory, Soderling moved to a career-high number four in the ATP Tour rankings and earned a check for $620,000.