Whereabouts clause a necessary evil, says Swede Soderling

“It is tough on players to make themselves available for tests and also inform where they would be on a particular day the whole year. But there have been some doping cases, very few I would say, in tennis and I guess we have to comply,” Soderling said here on Monday.

The Swede admitted that he was surprised by Andre Agassi’s disclosure that he took drugs on occasion. “Yes, I would say I was surprised when he came up with that revelation. But at the same time, I think it was something that he really wanted to get out of his system,” he noted.    Asked why he chose the Chennai Open to kick off his season, the number eight in the ATP rankings said: “No special reason, but I had tried basically everything. I have been to Doha and as well as Australia. I have never played here so far, so I thought why not. Yes, it’s very different from where I come from. Back home, it’s very cold,” he remarked.

Soderling warmed up nicely for this event by reaching the final in Abu Dhabi. “It was nice. I got to play some of the world’s best players in Abu Dhabi and that was the best possible preparation for me coming into this tournament. I am in good form and hope to do well here.”

Soderling was also able to break the Roger Federer jinx, registering his first win over the world number one in his 13th attempt. “He is the world’s best player and possibly the greatest ever. I have played many matches against him and maybe I was a bit unlucky on some occasions to end up losing. But each time I played him, it was a learning experience for me. I have learnt something new every time,” pointed out Soderling, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the Abu Dhabi final.

Having broken into the top ten for the first time in his career last year, Soderling said he was not setting any goals for the new season. “I have not set any specific goals, but I would like to focus on my game and improve further. I want to work on some specifics and win as many matches as possible,” he stated.