Nadal-Soderling III

Now, my title is not strictly accurate; their Wednesday evening French Open quarterfinal encounter will actually mark the eighth time Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling have met in an official ATP match. In fact, this won't even be the third, but rather the fourth time the two have met at the French Open itself. However, following up as it does upon historic clashes at both the 2009 and 2010 Opens, it will represent the third installment in what is becoming one of the most compelling rivalries since the days when Federer and Nadal were contesting two Grand Slam finals a year against one another, and with it will come a crossroads of sorts between several compelling supblots, the most notable among these involving Nadal's tenuous hold upon the world's number-one ranking.

In Rafa's favor, it may be pointed out that he soundly defeated Soderling in last year's final, that he holds the 3-1 career head-to-head advantage on clay, and that Soderling has not so much as claimed a set off him in any of their clay-court meetings aside from the 2009 shocker which saw the Spaniard suffer his first- and, thus far, only- defeat at the French slam. Nonetheless, Soderling's backers may rightly point out that Nadal's form throughout the 2011 clay court run has been significantly inferior to the standard he set last season; for example, Nadal lost only 14 games en route to the 2010 Monte Carlo title, but dropped more than double that total in another title-winning effort this year at 34, and had lost only 34 games (and zero sets) prior to the quarterfinals of last year's French Open, compared with 53 games and two sets this year. Furthermore, the Swede would be continuing the pattern he has established over the last two years were he to once again pull off a shock upset over a legend midway through the tournament.

So, how will this all turn out? Will Nadal keep his hopes alive to retain the title and number-one ranking, or will Soderling once again upset the apple cart at Roland Garros, protecting countryman Bjorn Borg's all-time French Open title record in the process? Truth be told, I really haven't the foggiest.