US OPEN BETTING QUARTERFINALS FEDERER VS. SODERLING

Robin Soderling is set to take on Roger Federer in the US Open quarterfinals tonight, a rather gusty night in New York. Soderling has the recent win over Federer having beaten him at the French Open quarterfinals and that major triumph sends him into this clash with some measured optimism.
As optimistic as he might be, the markets are less enthusiastic where he’s concerned and Federer remains the favourite son. Soderling is tipped the 3/1 puppy to win outright with William Hill. Federer weighs in at 2/9.
Going back to the elements for a moment, the wind is determined to be a major player in the proceedings. If you were following any of the action today, I think you’ll agree it hasn’t been pretty viewing. The tennis has been downright awful and it has been a struggle for all players involved in the day’s card both mentally and physically.
Right now, the winds are gusting upwards of 25 mph and wrecking havoc in the Wozniacki vs.Cibulkova clash. Wozniacki seems to be handling the tricky elements better than her opposite is and if things continue on this breezy verve the Dane is almost certainly through to the semis. It's early yet and this could turn around as quickly as the breeze changes direction.
The wind looks like it’s to stay the night, which surely means it has designs on the Federer-Soderling clash.
Soderling packs a mean punch off both wings, but more so with his forehand than his backhand. The downside to his game is he’s a bit of a one-trick pony. He hits a flat ball, which can be used to devastating effect on hard courts and on any other day than today would make him a dangerous opponent. With these conditions, he’ll be in a whirlwind of trouble trying to control his groundstrokes.
Federer is a more versatile player with a plethora of shots at his disposal. Importantly, he can play a flat ball or use spin and I think he’ll be quicker to adjust to the conditions than Soderling will be.
Not that Federer really needed the wind to save the day. A quick gloss over their head-to-head record reveals an important fact; Federer owns Soderling lifetime 12-1. Soderling’s lone victory is diminished in the wake of all his defeats at the hand of the maestro.
Of course, nobody can take that win from Soderling but I think he’ll be hard pressed to repeat the feat in New York for several reasons a) Federer is in much better form than he was in May and b) he looks to be over whatever mental ailments he had then. To some extent I believe Federer had a hand in his own defeat in Paris. He played rather badly there and although he tried to fight his way back into the match, he never looked quite convinced he could and lo-and-behold he bowed out in four sets.
This isn’t to suggest that Soderling couldn’t beat Federer. Of course he can, in theory. But Federer is on form right now and as this match is on his racquet it would take a profound effort from Sodman to mastermind the upset and a second straight win over the Swiss No.1. Moreover, Federer will not be giving it to him as easily as he did in Paris, that's for sure.