Now that the tennis season is over, let's take a quick look back at 2009 and a quick look forward. Roger Federer. Federer started off 2009 making it to yet another Slam final. Although he started 2009 much like 2008, that is, struggling to find form, he still did his part by reaching the final.
If you were to ask a tennis aficionado who would be in the semifinals, few would tell you: Federer, Davydenko, Soderling, del Potro. Perhaps you might guess Federer and del Potro, but to think the very hot Novak Djokovic and the nearly hot Andy Murray would not be contending would be a surprise. Indeed, both
Group B was full of surprises. Robin Soderling was the 9th ranked player in points for the ATP World Tour Finals and only made it in because Andy Roddick was still injured and not ready to play. He made the most of his opportunity by winning over Nadal and Djokovic in straight sets. The straight
At this point, Rafael Nadal's record is 0-2. You would think, with such a deficit, that he was "eliminated" from semifinal consideration. But it's not that simple. He is eliminated, yes, but there is a scenario where this would not be as obvious. Let's imagine the following scenario. Nadal beats Djokovic in straight sets. Soderling
Group A consisted of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, and Fernando Verdasco. With 3 Slams won by members of this group, Group A was considered the tougher group. Today was the last day of the round robin for Group A and the results came down to the wire. Andy Murray played earlier
In tennis, a lucky loser is a player who loses in qualifying, but still makes the main draw because a player in the main draw has pulled out prior to the start of the tournament. Usually, the lucky loser is the highest ranked player that lost in the last round of qualifying. Robin Soderling doesn't
