2009 ATP World Tour Finals Radek Štěpánek and the Malaysian Open losing to Nikolay Davydenko. Verdasco is making his debut at the championship. After Roddick's withdrawal due to left leg injury on 17 November Robin Söderling was announced as his replacement. Robin Söderling 's highlight of the year was reaching the French Open final. After becoming the first player to defeat Rafael Nadal at the Roland Garros. He won his only title of the year at the Catella Swedish Open defeating Juan Mónaco. He reached 4 semifinals as well at the Heineken Open, Proton Malaysian Open, China Open, and the If Stockholm Open. Soderling is
Rafael Nadal courts (including 4–4 on outdoor courts, but Nadal leads 3–1 on indoor hard courts), but trails 1–3 in finals. The pair once met regularly at Grand Slam level, with nine out of their 23 meetings coming in Grand Slams, with Nadal leading 7–2 (3–0 at Wimbledon, 2–0 at the French Open, 1–1 at the Australian Open, and 1–1 at the US Open). Seven of these nine appearances have been in quarterfinals and semifinals, making the rivalry an important part of both men's careers. Nadal defeated Murray in three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals in 2011 from the French Open to the