PARIS (AP)—Robin Soderling is saving his energy at this French Open.
The 2009 runner-up won 20 of the first 22 points Wednesday during a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 victory over unseeded American Taylor Dent that took only 71 minutes and put Soderling in the third round at Roland Garros.
“Of course, I mean, second round of the Grand Slam—you’re not expecting to win that fast,” said the fifth-seeded Soderling, who faced only four break points and saved them all.
It was the Swede’s second consecutive easy outing; he’s lost a total of seven games in two matches.
“I didn’t have to run for many hours on court so far,” he said, “so I feel fresh and prepared for next round.”
Soderling never had been beyond the third round at a Grand Slam tournament until last year’s French Open. But he upset four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round and made it all the way to the final before losing to Roger Federer.
Soderling could meet Federer in the quarterfinals this year.
Dent, of Bradenton, Fla., once was ranked as high as 21st but a serious back injury stalled his career and he’s currently 102nd. He’s lost 10 consecutive matches against top-10 players.
“That was fun, huh? I’d be a fool to say that I felt like I was in it at any stage. It would be tough for me to beat the 12-and-under French champion, playing that way,” Dent said.
“I’m not taking anything away from Soderling. He did as much as I guess he could in that match,” Dent added. “But if I can’t put a first serve in, if I’m hitting two (double-faults) a game, and I can’t hit a short forehand approach shot, then I’m in for I guess a long—but short—day.”
He double-faulted eight times, and managed to collect a total of only six winners—18 fewer than Soderling.
One of Dent’s strengths is his volleying, but he won only 2 of 10 points when he went to the net, including 0 for 7 in the first two sets. One of the few remaining players on tour who likes to serve-and-volley, Dent quickly abandoned that tactic against Soderling.
“It’s just unrealistic,” Dent said. “I tried it a couple of times today, and it just feels stupid out there.”