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Soderling Dispatches Mayer, Verdasco Ousted by Ljubicic
by Richard Lucas
Photo Credit Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Sport
(May 28, 2011)
 Two-time Roland Garros finalist, Robin Soderling, continued his quiet move through his section of the draw with a swift victory over 217th-ranked Leonardo Mayer, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Spaniard Fernando Verdasco failed to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2006 after crashing out to former World No. 3, Ivan Ljubicic 3-6, 6-7 (6), 4-6.
Looking to move one step farther than his previous two tries in Paris, Soderling was never threatened by the Argentine who was hoping to back up his win over Marcos Baghdatis. Soderling used his hard, flat groundstrokes to dictate many of the points and hit 27 winners to Mayer's 18.
The big difference in the match was the return of the Swede, applying pressure to Mayer and winning 49 percent of points on return. Soderling converted on seven of his 11 break-point chances.
Things were not as well for the struggling 16th seed, Fernando Verdasco, who came into Paris on the heels of a less than spectacular clay court season, going a paltry 4-5. The former World No. 7 went down to another of the big-serving Croats, and former Roland Garros semifinalist, Ivan Ljubicic.
The Spaniard played a relatively uninspired match, hitting 36 winners and 39 unforced errors. Ljubicic allowed Verdasco to commit errors and forced the issue with 11 aces and 29 winners of his own.
The most telling part of the match was Verdasco's inability to do anything with the Ljubicic serve, winning a mere 27 percent of points on his return.
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