Soderling weathers "Hewitt" storm

The fifth seeded Swede, Robin Soderling pulled off a stunning win over the 2002 champion,Lleyton Hewitt in a grueling five set encounter 6-7 (5-7) 3-6 7-5 6-4 6-4, to keep his Wimbledon hopes alive.

When the Australian seemed heading to wrap up the match in straight sets, Soderling fought back from down two sets to love, to advance into the third round at the Championships. The 2002 champion was at his gutsy best early on and displayed some of his old form,which had fetched him the 2002 crown at SW19, when he rallied from 3-1 down in the first set tie-breaker to seal the first set. A spectacular diving backhand volley winner in the eighth game sealed a break for the Aussie to go 5-3 up and take a cmmanding 2-0 lead in the match.

Soderling soon found the range of his serve and as a consequence, Hewitt could not find the decisive break in the third. While serving at 6-5 to stay in the set, Hewitt found himself down break as well as set points which were converted by the Swede and the scoreline margin got reduced to 2-1. The same pattern was seen in the fourth set when Soderling conjured up a break off Hewitt’s serve at 5-4 and took the match to a decider.

Inspired by the cheers from his loyal green-and-golden clad fans and with some of his own trademark “Come-On” cries, Hewitt managed to go 3-1 up but the Swede immediately broke back. A second service break at 5-4 ensured Soderling registered a dramatic win after three hours and 53 minutes on a covered Center Court.