Thursday, November 12, 2009

Soderling, Tsonga Turn Race for Final 8 into a Whirlwind in Paris



This time of year in men's tennis tends to be somehwat dull, but the storylines are piling on and the race to compete in the ATP World Tour Finals in London is starting to get very interesting. Heading into Paris, Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco needed to eaither reach the semis or see Robin Soderling, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Gonzalez, the trio trailing them, falter. Perfect for our entertainment, Davydenko and Soderling squared off today in the round of 16. Soderling won in 3 sets, but due to losses by others, Davydenko qualified, leaving the final spot up for grabs between Verdasco, Tsonga, Soderling and Gonzo. The race became even crazier when Tsonga defeated Gilles Simon, followed by Marin Cilic's upset of Verdasco. Gonzalez, who will be eliminated from contention with a loss, is currently on court against Juan Martin del Potro. Andy Murray, who qualified months ago, was upset by Radek Stepanek in 3 sets, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both advanced.

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