Soderling beats Nadal at Tour Finals

(GETTY IMAGES)

Sweden's Robin Soderling returned to haunt Rafael Nadal at the ATP World Tour Finals today, beating him 6-4 6-4 in their opening Group B round-robin clash.

Soderling, who ended Nadal's 32-match winning streak at the French Open this year, again proved a tough opponent for the Spaniard whose hopes of knocking Roger Federer off the top of the world rankings here are now fading fast.

Nadal, who has not claimed a title since the claycourt Rome Masters in May, struggled to handle the powerful Soderling forehand on the faster indoor surface at the O2 arena and looked vulnerable on serve throughout.

Soderling, only in the eight-man showpiece after the withdrawal of American Andy Roddick, secured the first set by breaking serve in the 10th game and repeated the trick at the same point in the second.