In the best-ever foreign representation in a single match at the Chennai Open, 50 Swedes turned up to watch their hero Robin Soderling.

By Bhagya L Ayyavoo

On Tuesday, the Aircel Chennai Open wore a Swede look. Blue and yellow stripes, Swedish chants, and painted faces added to the cheer. It was an atmosphere that Chennai Open missed in its 14-year history. Even when Rafael Nadal featured in the tournament as world No.2 in 2007 and 2008, his supporters were mostly the locals in Chennai. The story was different when top seed Robin Soderling entered the center court on Tuesday. His supporters were his very own - straight from Sweden.

A high-level source from the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association is pleased to see the tradition that exists all over the world catch up with Chennai as well. The source said, “In the last few years, India’s only ATP tournament has received a lot more foreigners. There are lots of tennis fans across the globe visiting us this time of the year. They line up their activities according to the Chennai Open. It’s a good sign; this will help the tournament to be known all over the world.”

Maria and her husband Jonas, who are visiting India with their kids Arvid and Rasmus, ensured they stopped at Chennai to support their home hero.

It was a memorable moment for Maria, “This is the first tennis match we’re watching in a stadium. This is our first time in India. We are here on a holiday. We didn’t even know that he (Soderling) was playing. But then we came to know of it and bought our tickets and we’re here. This is really nice. It’s so fascinating that there are so many Swedes here. But, there aren’t many Americans here to support Robby (Ginepri)."

Maria recalled how Sweden received the news when the 25-year-old shocked the world when he upset Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at Roland Garros. “Soderling didn’t have big wins for some time. So, when he beat Nadal last summer, it was unexpected. It was a huge for us. When we had Bjorn Borg, it was really big. Then it (the interest) went down when we didn’t have good players. Soderling has brought the passion back”

Amongst another group of supporters, Sofia pointed out how tennis has caught up with more popular games like downhill skiing, ice hockey and soccer in the country post French Open, “Everybody started playing tennis in Sweden after that. Now that we have a new star, the interest has grown.”

Sofia lives in Chennai with her husband and two kids. She said living away from home has taught them a lot, “We’re here not because we follow tennis, but because we live in Chennai. We enjoy living in Chennai, most of it. It’s really nice to get to know about another country. That way, you also get to know your country better which is nice, especially for the kids.”

But Abba, the young girl who was making the most noise chipped in, “I am here because I wanted to see Soderling. I am not really a big fan of tennis but it’s nice to watch. And Soderling belongs to my community. We come from the same hill town!”

To the question, who’s going to win? Abba screamed, “Robin Soderling, of course!”

Unfortunately, that was not to be.