<P> Söderling was seeded 12th at the US Open and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time at Flushing Meadows after defeating notable opponents such as Albert Montañés, Marcel Granollers, in form American 22nd seed Sam Querrey and 8th seed Nikolay Davydenko . En route to the quarterfinals, Söderling had a bit of luck on the fact that two of his opponents retired, including the Russian, who retired when Söderling led 7--5, 3--6, 6--2 . Söderling went on to face five - time defending champion and 1st seed Roger Federer for the fourth time this year (three of them in a Grand Slam event). Söderling was defeated by Federer 0--6, 3--6, 7--6, 6--7 . This was the second time in the pair's 12 meetings that Söderling took a set against Federer . In Davis Cup Playoffs, he helped in achieving a 3--2 win over Romania and a chance for Sweden to compete in the 2010 Davis Cup by clinching a 7--5, 6--1, 6--0 victory over world No. 28 Victor Hănescu . </P> <P> After US Open, he reached the semifinals in both Malaysian Open and China Open before the Shanghai Masters where he officially made it into the top 10 for the first time, notably beating fifth seed Jo - Wilfried Tsonga 6--3, 6--3 . However, he was upset in the quarterfinals by Feliciano López 6--7 (4), 3--6 . Söderling was the No. 1 seed at the Stockholm Open but due to an elbow injury had to retire in the semifinals . Though not a serious injury, Söderling retired from the Valencia Open 500 tournament as well . At the moment No. 9 on the ATP Race to London, Söderling needed a big performance in BNP Paribas Masters to reach the ATP World Tour Finals . He started strong against Ivo Karlović, winning in straight sets, 6--4, 7--6, and beat 6th seed Davydenko in the third round, 6--3, 3--6, 6--4 . Söderling lost his chance of qualifying to the ATP World Tour Finals, however, when 3rd seed Novak Djokovic was too strong in the quarterfinals and was defeated three sets, 4--6, 6--1, 3--6 . </P> <P> However, Söderling qualified as first reserve for the finals when American Andy Roddick withdrew due to an injury sustained in Shanghai . Söderling was drawn into a group comprising Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko . He made an impressive start, beating Nadal in his first round robin match 6--4, 6--4 . He followed that up with a 7--6, 6--1 win over Djokovic . He was then assured a place in the semi finals of this year - end championships . However, he lost to Nikolay Davydenko 6--7, 6--4, 3--6 in his third and final round robin match . Despite this, he became the winner of his group (group B), and set up a semifinal clash with US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro who defeated him 6--7, 6--3, 7--6 . Söderling finished the year ranked No. 8, a new career best . </P> <P> 2010 proved to be Söderling's most successful year to date . He reached No. 4 in the world (career best) and finished the year as a Top 5 player . He repeated last years success at Roland Garros by reaching a second successive final and winning his first Masters 1000 crown . </P>

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