SINCE mid-2011, Robin Soderling’s tennis exploits have amounted to little more than an answer to a trivia question.

The only man to have taken on Rafael Nadal at the French Open and won has been conspicuously absent from the ATP tour for the past four years, but he plans to change that by targeting a comeback in 2016.

A destructive case of glandular fever has sidelined the Swede since he beat David Ferrer in the 2011 final of a tournament in Bastad in his homeland, and he is only now starting to feel confident enough to entertain the thought of a comeback to the big stage.

In an interview with the BBC, the 30-year-old said he was hopeful of being back to full fitness within the next 12 months.

“I’m actually finally doing a lot better,” said Soderling.

“I wouldn’t say I’m 100 per cent, but not very far from it, which is a great feeling.

“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 per cent.”

Soderling is best remembered for his triumph over the undisputed king of clay Nadal in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open, where he went on to lose the final against Roger Federer.

He couldn’t repeat the dose against the Spaniard a year later though, again finishing as the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2010 as Nadal prevailed in three sets.

While admitting that being struck down by illness in the prime of his career (Soderling was just 26 when he first started experiencing symptoms) was physically frustrating, the former world No. 4 also had to deal with the mental effects of his condition.

“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,” said Soderling.

“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.”

Part of that “other stuff” included setting up RS Tennis, a company that sells tennis products, while he has also spent the past year trying to produce the perfect tennis ball.

Soderling’s light and durable creation will be used at this year’s Stockholm Open, where he will enjoy his second stint as tournament director.

While far from a sure thing, if Soderling does manage to make a comeback, his new perspective on life will be evident if he finds himself on court again.

“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.”