Topic: THE ROBIN SODERLING THREAD.... anything about him!

[monstertruck]

Bummer on the meltdown.
During this past year it looked to me like he was gaining confidence and mentally strong enough to challenge the top players consistently.
Hopefully he will learn from this loss.

[Soderking]

Bummer on the meltdown.
During this past year it looked to me like he was gaining confidence and mentally strong enough to challenge the top players consistently.
Hopefully he will learn from this loss.

Davydenko started making one ridiculous shot after another. He entered into some kind of zone that no matter how low percentage a shot he was taking, it would hit the lines or float perfectly over Robin's head when he was at the net for a winner. After Davydenko broke to go up 3-2 in the third set, Robin went into meltdown mode not even protecting his serve and missing easy putaways at the net. But this was more a case of Koyla getting hot and pretty much demoralizing Robin, than Robin losing his nerve for no good reason. I was just watching for awhile thinking "too good" and the fans in China started going crazy at the nerve and success of the shots he was making. I'm not sure I've ever seen Koyla play better. He obviously took it to Verdasco in the Final too. So Robin can take that as consolation.

[Soderking]

This is really cool, from the China Open web site:

Soderling and Wickmayer learn kung fu

The 2009 China Open hosted a special event at the west gate Wednesday evening. Robin Soderling, a finalist at this year’s French Open, and Yanina Wickmayer, a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open last month, both received some kung fu lessons on stage.

　　A teacher and some of his students from the Shaolin Temple, the most famous in China, put on a display before Soderling and Wickmayer arrived. They showed off different skills in kung fu, with some of them even breaking small metal rods over their heads. One of the students had blood streaming down his head on his face after breaking two pieces of metal over his forehead.

　　When Soderling and Wickmayer came to the stage, they were both a little nervous about trying some of the things they had just watched.

　　Soderling said it looked difficult, but he was willing to give it a shot.

　　Wickmayer went first and she went through basic movements, nothing involving breaking boards or metal rods over her head. Still, she admitted just doing that much was a little more than she was capable of.

　　Soderling was next and as soon as he began trying to follow the instructor, he realized he wasn’t quite as flexible as he needed to be. He took a minute to stretch out, then tried some more, getting through the exercises with a certain lack of grace.

　　He and Wickmayer both thanked the crowd, the teacher and the students, saying that as difficult as it was, it was a fun experience. (By Matt Schiffman)

========
By the way, Robin defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 yesterday in the First Round. There is no separate news article that I could find, nor an Interview transcript, as has been typical in the early rounds for Sod.

[Soderking]

Soderling hammers Robredo, joins Ljubicic in Beijing QFs


^{10/8/09 5:55 PM | Ricky Dimon
Robin Soderling dispatches Tommy Robredo in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, at the China Open on Thursday night. Soderling is joined in the quarterfinals by Ivan Ljubicic, a three-set winner over Lukasz Kubot.}

Soderling needed just one hour and 19 minutes to get past Robredo in the second round of the China Open on Thursday. While Robredo does his best work on clay courts, Soderling thrives on faster surfaces and it showed early and often in this meeting. The 17th-ranked Spaniard managed to stay relatively competitive throughout the first set, but he won a mere two points in five service games, so a single break was all Soderling needed to take the opening frame of play.

Robredo just barely kept himself in it by saving three break points in the first game of the second set, and he saved two more in the third game before finally getting broken for 1-2. It was all but over at that point, as Soderling again overwhelmed his opponent with his serve. The sixth-seeded Swede dropped only three points in his last four service games, wrapping up the proceedings with a total of five lost service points in nine games. Soderling added a final break of serve for good measure, closing out Robredo in style. Next up for Soderling is another unseeded foe in Ivan Ljubicic.

[monstertruck]

Sounds like a good win for Robin.
Robredo is usually so steady he can be tough on any surface, though my guess is clay is his fav.
I really like Lubicic's game, but I'll be pulling for Soderling in this one.

[Soderking]

Sounds like a good win for Robin.
Robredo is usually so steady he can be tough on any surface, though my guess is clay is his fav.
I really like Lubicic's game, but I'll be pulling for Soderling in this one.

Thanks, dude! They haven't played for several years, but Ljubicic holds a 3-1 head to head lead.

I like the new video you posted. Do you like Alex Jones?

[monstertruck]

Sounds like a good win for Robin.
Robredo is usually so steady he can be tough on any surface, though my guess is clay is his fav.
I really like Lubicic's game, but I'll be pulling for Soderling in this one.

Thanks, dude! They haven't played for several years, but Ljubicic holds a 3-1 head to head lead.

I like the new video you posted. Do you like Alex Jones?

I've never heard of him.
Just keep in mind I'm an old school Yankee.
When it comes to government, I'm about as anti-socialism as you can get.
If anyone has any doubts as to the agenda of the Clinton's and the current admin/congressional majority they need look no further than Bill's speech in Pittsburgh to the Netroots bloggers.

[Soderking]

Sounds like a good win for Robin.
Robredo is usually so steady he can be tough on any surface, though my guess is clay is his fav.
I really like Lubicic's game, but I'll be pulling for Soderling in this one.

Thanks, dude! They haven't played for several years, but Ljubicic holds a 3-1 head to head lead.

I like the new video you posted. Do you like Alex Jones?

I've never heard of him.
Just keep in mind I'm an old school Yankee.
When it comes to government, I'm about as anti-socialism as you can get.
If anyone has any doubts as to the agenda of the Clinton's and the current admin/congressional majority they need look no further than Bill's speech in Pittsburgh to the Netroots bloggers.

Then you should be a big fan of Alex Jones. He's the dude who does the anti-Illuminati videos and constantly interviews the independents like Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Jesse Ventura. I lived in Minnesota when Jesse was Governor. He was fantastic. No phoney baloney. He always spoke his truth. And he tried to respect the rights of the individual.

Alex Jones
http://www.prisonplanet.com/

[Soderking]

Sixth-seeded Soderling victorious over Ljubicic, Reaches Semi-Finals in China Open


^{Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic (No. 45) fell to Sweden’s Robin Soderling (No. 11) in two sets Friday at the 2009 China Open.}

　　Ljubicic gave the sixth-seeded Swede a hard fight, but Soderling prevailed 7-6 (3), 6-4 in a match that lasted one hour and 37 minutes.

　　The first set ended in a tiebreaker, with neither player breaking the other’s serve throughout the set. In the second set, Soderling broke Ljubicic’s serve once, but the Croatian failed to break any of his opponent’s serves.

　　Soderling had the stronger service game throughout the match. He won 84 percent of first serve points compared to Ljubicic’s 75 percent. The Swede also won 70 percent of second serve points to Ljubicic’s less impressive 47 percent.

　　Soderling clinched the second set in the 10th game, playing through five times at deuce before winning the set 6-4.

　　Ljubicic led Soderling in aces, but he also led him in double faults. The 30-year-old Ljubicic had 12 aces and six double-faults while the 25-year-old Soderling had nine aces and only one double-fault.

　　Soderling, who reached the French Open finals this year, will play Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals Saturday.

　　Djokovic defeated Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in an earlier match Friday. (By Cassandra Belek)

Interesting Links:

• Another Nole/Soderling fan! Interesting (Translated from Romanian): http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://bluxia.blogspot.com/2009/10/djokovic-versus-soderling.html&prev=http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26ie%3DUTF-8%26scoring%3Dd%26q%3DRobin%2BSoderling%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
• A New Robin Soderling Blog (Translated from Spanish): http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsoderling-tenis.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Frobin-soderling-vence-ivan-ljubicic.html

Another tidbit from the Men's Tennis Forum. This could just be heresay, but I thought this post provides some great insight on Robin:

"A friend of mine who is a long time commentator on Eurosport France and who knows a bit about players from interviewing them and also chating off camera once told me Soderling seems to have higher inlelligence than the "average pro tennis player" and that could explain a bit why he is solitary and shy in his own way. Indeed I found his finalist speech at Roland Garros had great sense of humor I rarely see on the Tour and as developing superior sense of humor is impossible for a moronic guy, the Toad may be a bright dude
When I saw his ride in the Roland Garros car he also seemed to be a nice fellow, I think he just like to play the cold guys as a shell as some shy people do (me too so i can understand this behaviour of him)."

It was later noted that Robin's girlfriend, Jenni, is studying to take the bar exam for law in Sweden. She always mentions "studying" in her tweets, but I didn't realize she was a Law School graduate. Most Tennis Pros date models or celebrities. Robin dating a future lawyer plus the insight above indicates his intelligence is a major factor in his personality. You don't date a woman who is studying to take her bar exam unless you have a brain, when you're a tennis pro and could date just about anyone. Anyway, that is something new I learned today, and that is quite cool! 

[Soderking]

Ok, Robin is now in the Semi-Finals for the second consecutive week. He has gone 30-6 since Madrid Masters. This aint no fluke. I am seeing so many things on the Internet right now where people are showing genuine respect and admitting they have gone from either ambivalent or hateful to admiring this guy; and this makes me so happy!  

I wanted to post some of the great stuff I'm finding on the web here before the match I've been wanting to see for awhile against Nole in the Semis. Obviously, the idea of Sod meeting Nadal in the China Open Finals is in the back of everyone's mind right now. I think that would be a wonderful homage to both players in light of the historic French Open match. And once again, the fact that the first match Robin faces Rafa in would be an ATP500 Final would speak volumes for the fact that he is for real. Anyway, that is all conjecture at this point, but I wanted to touch on it because I know that is the possibility that many people are nervous, excited, or intrigued about.


This is from www.atpworldtour.com. It is called Soderling Fast Facts:

2009 Highlights:
W: Båstad (d Monaco); F: Roland Garros (l Federer); SF: Auckland (l Del Potro); Kuala Lumpur (l Davydenko); QF: Brisbane (l Stepanek); Washington (W/O vs Del Potro); US Open (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 39-16
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: August 14, 1984
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 11

· Soderling, 25, is making his fifth appearance in the semi-finals (or better) this season…He has dropped one set en route to the semi-finals, posting wins over Jeremy Chardy 63 46 62, followed by a 63 63 victory over Tommy Robredo and 76(3) 64 over Ivan Ljubicic on Friday
· This is his second semi-final in as many weeks after reaching the semis in Kuala Lumpur (l. to Davydenko)…He enters with a 39-16 match record (18-9 on hard)…He ranks a career-high No. 11 this week (first achieved on July 20) and if he wins the title he will break into the Top 10…He is 14-36 lifetime against Top 10 opponents (3-7 in ’09)
· Has a 4-7 career mark in finals (3-6 indoors) and looking to reach his first ATP outdoor hard court final
· He is trying to qualify for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London…There are three positions remaining
· The top Swede on the ATP World Tour has been one of the most consistent performers since mid-May...Began with a 9-10 match record but has turned things around with a 30-6 mark since the ATP World Tour Team Championship in Duessledorf where he went 3-0 in round robin play
· Then came into Roland Garros ranked No. 25 and posted consecutive wins over No. 14 Ferrer (3rd Rd.), No. 1 Nadal (4th Rd.), No. 11 Davydenko (QF) and No. 12 Gonzalez in five sets before falling to Federer in his first Grand Slam final...Afterwards, climbed from No. 25 to No. 12 on June 8
· At Wimbledon, turned in a career-best fourth round result, losing to Federer 64 76 76 (one break in match) and at last month’s US Open reached a personal-best quarter-final at US Open (l. to Federer)
· In July in his native country in Bastad, captured his first career title on clay (d. Monaco)

Interesting Links:

• Another Nole/Soderling fan! Interesting (Translated from Romanian): http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://bluxia.blogspot.com/2009/10/djokovic-versus-soderling.html&prev=http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26ie%3DUTF-8%26scoring%3Dd%26q%3DRobin%2BSoderling%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
• A New Robin Soderling Fan Blog (Translated from Spanish): http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsoderling-tenis.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Frobin-soderling-vence-ivan-ljubicic.html

Finally, this is a gem of a tribute from "All I Need is Picket Fence" blog at http://allineedisapicketfence.wordpress.com. It references Robin's appearance at the Kung Fu exhibition which is an article listed earlier this week before the China Open.

The Most Misunderstood Man in Tennis
Posted on 9, October, 2009 by dootsiez

"I am sold, folks. HOW CAN YOU RESIST THE DIMPLES?

And the wrinkly eyes?!"


Of course, the Dimpled One got a few Kungfu tips too.

LOOK AT HIM GO!"


"I can’t believe I started the year hating Sod, thinking he was the biggest wanker in tennis. He was a little misunderstood, that’s all.

Really, he’s just a dork."


"And a dork who’s through to the Beijing semis after defeating Ljuby 76 64. It was was a sound serving display from the Sod, who cruised on serve and only had to face one break point. Should he continue in this form, he’s got more than a chance against Novak Djokovic.

Mentioning Nole, with Murray out of Shanghai, the Djoker finds himself one match away from No 3 spot after defeating Nando 63 16 61. Didn’t catch any of the match, but just from the see-saw score line, I’m assuming there was a few brain farts involved.

Rafa v Safin on. I’m drooling too much to blog.

xx doots"

Thanks Dootsiez! I think people are starting to get Robin finally.  

[Soderking]

Jenni, Robin's girlfriend, doesn't look too unhappy about the Semi Final loss to Nole. I guess, they really can't complain. He is getting deep into all his tournaments and is the 11th ranked player in the world. This is a really cool tweet today:


Jenni tweet:
"I got a cute present from one of Robins fans, mine's the pink one :-) Tomorrow we continue our journey to Shangahi. The reason I use twitpic all the time is bc the Chinese gov has blocked Twitter..but I found a loophole!! :-)"

http://twitpic.com/ky102

[monstertruck]

Jenni, Robin's girlfriend, doesn't look too unhappy about the Semi Final loss to Nole. I guess, they really can't complain. He is getting deep into all his tournaments and is the 11th ranked player in the world. This is a really cool tweet today:


Jenni tweet:
"I got a cute present from one of Robins fans, mine's the pink one :-) Tomorrow we continue our journey to Shangahi. The reason I use twitpic all the time is bc the Chinese gov has blocked Twitter..but I found a loophole!! :-)"

http://twitpic.com/ky102

Sounds like a great life, eh?

I wonder if he has the drive to push for the peak or will he just be content to balance his time and effort and settle for that result.

[Soderking]

Jenni, Robin's girlfriend, doesn't look too unhappy about the Semi Final loss to Nole. I guess, they really can't complain. He is getting deep into all his tournaments and is the 11th ranked player in the world. This is a really cool tweet today:


Jenni tweet:
"I got a cute present from one of Robins fans, mine's the pink one :-) Tomorrow we continue our journey to Shangahi. The reason I use twitpic all the time is bc the Chinese gov has blocked Twitter..but I found a loophole!! :-)"

http://twitpic.com/ky102

Sounds like a great life, eh?

I wonder if he has the drive to push for the peak or will he just be content to balance his time and effort and settle for that result.

After watching yesterday's match, I wonder if he has the ability!  

Seriously, some Swedish fans in the MTF we're worried before the match because Robin had apparently re-injured his elbow in the Ljubicic match. So there is the "lame" excuse us fans can use to continue to wear the rose colored glasses. 

[monstertruck]

When he's on, to me he looks like top 10 material all the way.
I think it's just a matter of having the mental toughness to play at that level consistently.

[Soderking]

When he's on, to me he looks like top 10 material all the way.
I think it's just a matter of having the mental toughness to play at that level consistently.

Thanks man! That helps! I wish he would be "on" against Fed or Nole sometime. Actually, I think he has played pretty well against Fed this year. But that match against Nole verged on embarrassing.

Nole is obviously very good. But just remember this: NOBODY beats Robin Soderling 5 times in a row!! 

[monstertruck]

When he's on, to me he looks like top 10 material all the way.
I think it's just a matter of having the mental toughness to play at that level consistently.

Thanks man! That helps! I wish he would be "on" against Fed or Nole sometime. Actually, I think he has played pretty well against Fed this year. But that match against Nole verged on embarrassing.

Nole is obviously very good. But just remember this: NOBODY beats Robin Soderling 5 times in a row!! 

He's had some good periods against Fed.
I'd just like to see him develop the confidence in his game so that he doesn't have the breakdowns/meltdowns.

[Soderking]

When he's on, to me he looks like top 10 material all the way.
I think it's just a matter of having the mental toughness to play at that level consistently.

Thanks man! That helps! I wish he would be "on" against Fed or Nole sometime. Actually, I think he has played pretty well against Fed this year. But that match against Nole verged on embarrassing.

Nole is obviously very good. But just remember this: NOBODY beats Robin Soderling 5 times in a row!!  

He's had some good periods against Fed.
I'd just like to see him develop the confidence in his game so that he doesn't have the breakdowns/meltdowns.

Yea, the commentators keep saying his free swinging style doesn't allow him to have a very large margin of error. But it does seem as though he is playing consistently enough in the early rounds. I don't mind that he loses to someone like Davydenko when they're in the zone like that. I just don't like it when he starts panicking and can't hit a first serve and loses control of his game plan. That happened at the end of the Davydenko match, and seems to happen when he starts off playing against Top 5 guys like Nole and Fed. He was up 2-0 in the second set against Nole, and then he had a long game trying to hold serve and go to 3-1. When Nole finally broke him to go 2-2, it seemed like he was toast the rest of the match. That kind of thing has to end if he is to make it. Look what Nole did yesterday when he was down a break to Cilic in the second set (multiple times). Or when Nole first served to open the match, Cilic had 4 Break Points and Nole saved them all. That is the mark of Champion. Robin somehow needs to acquire that. I'm not sure he ever will, but I'll keep hoping. If not, he should be in the 8-15 ranking range for awhile, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

[Alex]

When he's on, to me he looks like top 10 material all the way.
I think it's just a matter of having the mental toughness to play at that level consistently.

Thanks man! That helps! I wish he would be "on" against Fed or Nole sometime. Actually, I think he has played pretty well against Fed this year. But that match against Nole verged on embarrassing.

Nole is obviously very good. But just remember this: NOBODY beats Robin Soderling 5 times in a row!!  

He's had some good periods against Fed.
I'd just like to see him develop the confidence in his game so that he doesn't have the breakdowns/meltdowns.

Yea, the commentators keep saying his free swinging style doesn't allow him to have a very large margin of error. But it does seem as though he is playing consistently enough in the early rounds. I don't mind that he loses to someone like Davydenko when they're in the zone like that. I just don't like it when he starts panicking and can't hit a first serve and loses control of his game plan. That happened at the end of the Davydenko match, and seems to happen when he starts off playing against Top 5 guys like Nole and Fed. He was up 2-0 in the second set against Nole, and then he had a long game trying to hold serve and go to 3-1. When Nole finally broke him to go 2-2, it seemed like he was toast the rest of the match. That kind of thing has to end if he is to make it. Look what Nole did yesterday when he was down a break to Cilic in the second set (multiple times). Or when Nole first served to open the match, Cilic had 4 Break Points and Nole saved them all. That is the mark of Champion. Robin somehow needs to acquire that. I'm not sure he ever will, but I'll keep hoping. If not, he should be in the 8-15 ranking range for awhile, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

very good post. Tennis is 90% mental.

[Soderking]

When he's on, to me he looks like top 10 material all the way.
I think it's just a matter of having the mental toughness to play at that level consistently.

Thanks man! That helps! I wish he would be "on" against Fed or Nole sometime. Actually, I think he has played pretty well against Fed this year. But that match against Nole verged on embarrassing.

Nole is obviously very good. But just remember this: NOBODY beats Robin Soderling 5 times in a row!!  

He's had some good periods against Fed.
I'd just like to see him develop the confidence in his game so that he doesn't have the breakdowns/meltdowns.

Yea, the commentators keep saying his free swinging style doesn't allow him to have a very large margin of error. But it does seem as though he is playing consistently enough in the early rounds. I don't mind that he loses to someone like Davydenko when they're in the zone like that. I just don't like it when he starts panicking and can't hit a first serve and loses control of his game plan. That happened at the end of the Davydenko match, and seems to happen when he starts off playing against Top 5 guys like Nole and Fed. He was up 2-0 in the second set against Nole, and then he had a long game trying to hold serve and go to 3-1. When Nole finally broke him to go 2-2, it seemed like he was toast the rest of the match. That kind of thing has to end if he is to make it. Look what Nole did yesterday when he was down a break to Cilic in the second set (multiple times). Or when Nole first served to open the match, Cilic had 4 Break Points and Nole saved them all. That is the mark of Champion. Robin somehow needs to acquire that. I'm not sure he ever will, but I'll keep hoping. If not, he should be in the 8-15 ranking range for awhile, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

very good post. Tennis is 90% mental.

So true. Robin is now 31-7 since May, but his best period by far was BEFORE the French Open and during it because he was taking out big guns left and right. Since that time, he pretty much has won every match he was expected to win (exceptions being Hewitt in Cincy and Almagro in Hamburg although he had just played Wimby and won Bastad and beat Almagro twice this year...), but when playing Federer and Nole, suddenly he starts looking careless and starts shanking the ball a lot. Also, his first serve percentage and first serve points won, which is top 5 statistically for the year, suddenly becomes unreliable and he just looks like a different player. Now, as I wrote before, I still think Nole takes him in that match because Nole was playing at a very high level, even if Robin brought the game level he had against Ljubicic, but the scoreline would've been more respectable.

He needs to step UP his game against the top players, but watching his matches, he seems to step it down like he has stage fright or something. And when I say that, I mean it in regard to the things he can control like his serving, which is usually one his best weapons and one of the best on tour. I'm assuming if you have only seen him play Nole recently, you probably didn't know he had a killer serve, and statistically is Top 5 on winning points on his first serve.

I just want to rant about something else. I'm angry that Soda, as the #9 seed, has to play the #5 seed (Tsonga) in the R16 and then will probably play Del Pony, the #3 seed in the Quarters. Why do these Tennis draws consistently do crazy things like have #5 and #9 seeds meeting in the final 16? If seedings follow suit, the #5 seed should be playing the #12 seed and the #8 seed should be playing the #9 seed. I'd much rather face Simon than Tsonga in R16. Additionally, Simon, who Robin is competing with for the Barclay's Final, would have had to play the #12 seed in R16, but Cilic lost as you know. Anyway, he got no favors in this draw, and this has been the story in other Masters series too. Maybe it's just bad luck? If they had a set system like the NCAA tournament where 1 is against 16, 2 vs 15, etc., one really couldn't complain. But they come up wit screwy combinations that make someone's well earned seeding obsolete. The 10, 11, and 12 seeds all have easier R16 opponents than Robin. That is ridiculous!! 

[Soderking]

Soderling Dispatches Viktor Hanescu 6-3, 6-4, First Round Shanghai Masters
^{10/13/09 10:09 PM | Kelli DeMario}


Robin Soderling, a back-to-back hard-court semifinalist in Kuala Lumpur (lost to Davydenko) and Beijing (lost to Djokovic), defeated Victor Hanescu in the opening round, 6-3, 6-4. Soderling prevailed easily over a potentially tough opponent in Hanescu. The Tibro native won 83 percent of his first serve points, hit nine aces, and broke the serve of his Romanian opponent on three occasions.

Soderling was in complete control of the baseline exchanges throughout the one hour and 13-minute encounter, improving to 40-17 on the season. Ninth seed Robin Soderling, remaining in contention to secure a spot in the ATP World Tour finals, meets Nicolas Almagro for the fourth time in 2009 on Wednesday. The French Open runner-up holds a 2-1 series lead, including a quarterfinal-round victory earned en route to his title-run in Bastad. The Spaniard recorded his first win over the Swede on the clay in Hamburg, prevailing 7-5, 6-3 in the round of 16.

Almagro, entering the event ranked 29th, crushed 23 aces as he rallied to notch a 6-7, 6-1, 7-6 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday. The Swede remains in the hunt for his first ever tour finale in London, and could face either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Shao-Xuan Zeng on Thursday.