After five-year absence
Robin Soderling - who remains the only man ever to have beaten
Rafael Nadal
at Roland Garros - is hoping he will be able to return to the ATP Tour in 2016.
The two-time French Open finalist has not played competitively since July 2011
because of severe
glandular fever, but has told BBC Sport of his optimism he still has "some good years" ahead.
Soderling was just 26 at the time and admits to feeling bitter about the illness
which has robbed him of arguably the best years of his career.
"In the beginning I didn't think so much about it because I was feeling so bad:
I had problems going from my bed to the bathroom," he said.
"But then after a while, as I started to feel physically better,
it was tough of course mentally: all [manner of] thoughts started going through my head
about maybe I cannot ever play tennis again. But I did some other stuff.
I had a kid and I learnt that tennis is a big part of my life
but it's not my whole life as I thought it was before."
"I'm actually finally doing a lot better," says the 30-year-old Swede.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100%, but not very far from it, which is a great feeling."
He added: "Hopefully - if it continues to progress the way it has been - then maybe,
it's tough to say, but maybe six months or a year from now I can hopefully start to train 100%.
"My goal was to play a long career and to play until I was way over 30. If I can become healthy,
I still feel that I have some good years in me.
Look at the way the players on the tour are performing now at a high age - that gives me a little bit of hope."
And if
Soderling does return to the tour in 2016,
we should expect to see a man whose illness has given him a different perspective on professional life.
"Sometimes I wish I had been a little bit more humble as a player,
because sometimes you could complain about really small things
like there's no water on the court."
BBC news 31/5/2015
Robin Soderling hopeful of 2016 comeback !
at Roland Garros - is hoping he will be able to return to the ATP Tour in 2016.
The two-time French Open finalist has not played competitively since July 2011
because of severe glandular fever, but has told BBC Sport of his optimism he still has "some good years" ahead.
Soderling was just 26 at the time and admits to feeling bitter about the illness
which has robbed him of arguably the best years of his career.
"In the beginning I didn't think so much about it because I was feeling so bad:
I had problems going from my bed to the bathroom," he said.
"But then after a while, as I started to feel physically better,
it was tough of course mentally: all [manner of] thoughts started going through my head
about maybe I cannot ever play tennis again. But I did some other stuff.
I had a kid and I learnt that tennis is a big part of my life
but it's not my whole life as I thought it was before."
"I'm actually finally doing a lot better," says the 30-year-old Swede.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100%, but not very far from it, which is a great feeling."
He added: "Hopefully - if it continues to progress the way it has been - then maybe,
it's tough to say, but maybe six months or a year from now I can hopefully start to train 100%.
"My goal was to play a long career and to play until I was way over 30. If I can become healthy,
I still feel that I have some good years in me.
Look at the way the players on the tour are performing now at a high age - that gives me a little bit of hope."
And if Soderling does return to the tour in 2016,
we should expect to see a man whose illness has given him a different perspective on professional life.
"Sometimes I wish I had been a little bit more humble as a player,
because sometimes you could complain about really small things
like there's no water on the court." BBC news 31/5/2015