Roger Federer vs Robin Soderling: French Open final 2009

Head to head: Federer leads Soderling 9-0, which includes a 2-0 mark when matches are played on clay.

Here is my problem with tomorrow's final everyone: Federer should win this thing no doubt, but when the factor of pressure is put into play, the outcome may not be as clear cut as once thought.

Roger has undoubtedly proven his ability to deal with all the obstacles that have been thrown at him (except Rafa Nadal of course), during his long and illustrious career.

But the one missing achievement which has haunted the 13-time grand slam champ up until this point has been his faux pas in France.

Although losing to Nadal in four consecutive French finals, is nothing to be ashamed of ...losing to Robin Soderling (regardless of his current level of play) would be catastrophic.

The favorite role is often times the most difficult card to play; because if you win, you were expected to; lose, and the scrutiny begins.

Soderling has one huge element going for him in the tomorrow's final, which is he has nothing to lose. He has exceeded all expectations to the highest degree, and anything from here on in, is well... gravy.

He may never get another chance like he has on Sunday (see Martin Verkerk), and must optimize his efforts and execution. He has lived and died with his go-for-broke game style thus far, and one has to think that tomorrow will be no different.

In terms of strictly a match up, Federer's domination over Soderling has primarily consisted of the exact same advantage he had in his most recent victory over del Potro: movement.

Soderling at times looks like a laboring duck trying to cover court on Chatrier; with Federer's liquid and graceful strides having no close second.

The good news for Soderling is that he does one or two up Federer in many categories. He gets a check for brute power factor, with his backhand being far superior.

The Swede can also hit thunderous serves at will; eclipsing Roger's mph averages by a wide margin. So why has this guy lost nine in a row to Federer?

Well simply put Roger loves pace; he eats it up frankly. Federer has always dealt well with the likes of Roddick, Blake and Karlovic, because they play perfectly into the strike-zone of the Swiss.