Robin Soderling wins ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament after Youznhy retires
Robin Soderling won the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title after Mikhail Youzhny was forced to retire due to injury in the second set.
Soderling was leading 6-4, 2-0 when Youzhny announced he was not able to continue due to a right hamstring injury.
Soderling was contesting the Rotterdam final for the second time and is the first Swedish winner at the Ahoy Stadium since Anders Jarryd lifted the trophy in 1993.
“It's been a very good week overall,” said Soderling. “I started out struggling a bit in my first two rounds, struggling to find my form, but I worked hard and managed to get better with every match. Obviously it's not the way I wanted to win today with Mikhail retiring injured but I am still very happy to end the week with another title.
“It's a tough situation playing somebody who is injured. You have to stay focused and I think I handled it pretty well today,” he added. “I really wanted to win the title since coming so close in 2008. It's a great tournament with a great history and it is amazing to add my name to the great list of past champions here.”
Youzhny, who upset Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, was contesting his 13th ATP World Tour final and was looking to reclaim the Rotterdam title he won in 2007.
"I tried my best but Robin was too strong,” he said. “My injury was getting worse and worse with every game. I could feel it since my match against Gael Monfils (in the quarter-finals) but today it was really tough for me to start running.
“I felt the pain yesterday already but then I still could play. But today it got worse. It feels like a muscle injury around the hip but it could also be a nerve.”
It is not surprising that so many players are injured early in the year if you see the tough ATP calendar,” he added.
“I really enjoyed the tournament; it's been an unbelievable atmosphere all week and I hope to do even better next year.”
Source ATP
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
