DC: Djokovic Fights Off Isner to Send Serbia into the Quarterfinals

March 7, 2010

Serbia vs. United States: Serbia wins 3-1

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic battled past a diligent effort from tall American John Isner during Sunday’s first reverse singles match to send Serbia into the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup world group.

Defeating Isner 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 just over four hours, Djokovic fought off 24 aces by the American while striking seven of his own.

Saving two set points in the fourth set tiebreak, Djokovic made an errant backhand pass which forced a fifth set. Djokovic improved to 14-5 in Davis Cup singles competition with his victory on Sunday.

Capturing an early break of serve during the third game of the fifth set, Djokovic needed six match points to defeat his formidable opponent.

Playing in his first ever Davis Cup tie, Isner put forth a tremendous effort on arguably his worst surface.

Falling to his knees after his victory, Djokovic was embraced by his teammates on court, while the 20,000 fans in the Belgrade Arena provided a standing ovation.

Djokovic’s and his competent Serbian squad will face Croatia in the quarterfinals. The powerful Croatian team defeated Ecuador 5-0.

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Davis Cup Day 3 Review: Spain and Russia Make Quarterfinals

March 7, 2010

With three teams advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2010 Davis Cup World Group on Saturday, the remaining five ties (excluding the Chile-Israel tie, who will play their doubles rubber today due to a late start) would highlight Sunday’s reverse singles action.

Let’s now take a look at Sunday’s singles action.

Spain vs. Switzerland: Spain wins 3-1

Spaniard David Ferrer propelled his defending championship squad into a meeting with France in the quarterfinals after dismantling Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in two hours, 34 minutes Sunday.

Winning his seventh consecutive match, Ferrer was utterly brilliant in dispatching his formidable Swiss foe. Using his consistent two-handed backhand to move Wawrinka around the court, Ferrer struck 17 winners while winning 74 percent of his first serve points.

Breaking Wawrinka’s serve on seven of 15 occasions, Ferrer went on a rout in the third set after serving out the second set.

Improving to 13-3 in Davis Cup singles competition, Ferrer remains a perfect 9-0 when matches are contested on clay.

The scrappy Spaniard will now travel to Indian Wells, California to participate in the year’s first Masters 1000 event next week.

Nicolas Almagro, who lost to Wawrinka on Friday in the ties first match, will face Marco Chiudinelli in a meaningless fifth “dead” rubber.

The quarterfinal tie between Spain and France will take place July 9-11.

Russia vs. India: Russia wins 3-2

A day after losing the doubles rubber and a point to India, Mikhail Youzhny defeated Somdev Devvarman to boost Russia into the quarterfinal stage of this year’s world group, and a date with either Sweden or Argentina.

Youzhny, who is enjoying some the best form of his veteran career over the past six months, was efficient is dismissing Devvarman 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.

“I had to play a bit more aggressively than usual, as it’s tough to play against a guy who doesn’t miss anything,” said Youzhny. “Before the match I knew it could be a dangerous encounter because if he played his best tennis it could be very tough.”

Winning 80 percent of his first serve points, Youznhy struck 49 winners while breaking serve on six of 11 occasions. Devvarman squandered both of his break point opportunities (both in the third set), to fall to 4-5 in Davis Cup singles competition.

“I tried my heart out for every single point, and it’s just frustrating when the guy’s playing so well. I felt like I had a couple of semi chances, but I thought I made some bad decisions and I think that’s what’s frustrating,” said Devvarman.

Rohan Bopanna won the fifth and meaningless rubber against Teimuraz Gabasvili 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The results from the remaining three ties will be posted shortly.

Quotes courtesy of daviscup.com.

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DC: Djokovic Gives Serbia 2-0 Lead

March 5, 2010

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic gave the hometown fans in Belgrade, Serbia a second reason to celebrate on Friday by defeating Sam Querrey of the United States 6-2, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 in Davis Cup action.

After breezing through the opening set, Djokovic fell behind 4-2 in the second set before using his off forehand and footwork to capture a two set lead.

Showing his promise as a future force on Tour, Querrey broke Djokovic twice in the third set, displaying his respectable clay-court game.

Djokovic, though, would not be denied in front of his hometown crowd, breaking Querrey’s serve once in the fourth set to send his country to a 2-0 lead.

Earlier on Friday, Viktor Troicki defeated John Isner in four sets to give Serbia a 1-0 lead.

Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic will battle the Bryan brothers on Saturday in third match of the weekend.

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Serbia Leads United States 1-0, After Troicki Defeats Inser

March 5, 2010

Serbia vs. United States: In Serbia

World N0. 35 Viktor Troicki won an emotionally charged first rubber over world No. 20 John Isner 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 in 3 hours and 36 minutes to give Serbia a 1-0 lead over the U.S. in Belgrade during day one action in Davis Cup.

Surviving 21 aces from Isner, Troicki squandered a break lead in the second set, which he would eventually lose in a tiebreak. Holding his mettle after the disappointment of losing of the second set, Troicki broke Isner during the 11th game of the third set to lead two sets to one.

Isner, whose worst surface is on clay, played a well thought out match but lacked considerable sting off of his backhand side which hurt him against the Serbian.

Needing four match points to close out the match, Troicki fell to his knees after a final Isner forehand went into the net.

Playing in the first Davis Cup match of his career, Isner will have a day of rest on Saturday, while hoping that he gets a second shot at victory on Sunday.

The day’s second match will pit Novak Djokovic against lanky American Sam Querrey. Djokovic, decked out in red and white, won the first set against Querrey, but trails 4-2 in the second set. For updates on the Djokovic-Querrey encounter, please check the TennisConnected live-scores section.

Saturday’s doubles rubber will feature Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic vs. Mike and Bob Bryan.

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Player of the Month for February 2010: Juan Carlos Ferrero

March 3, 2010

Seemingly far removed from the best days of his career, an eager and determined Juan Carlos Ferrero poured in a devastatingly consistent month in February to capture Player of the Month honors.

Recording an envious 14-1 record throughout the second month of the season, Ferrero won back-to-back titles in Brazil and Argentina, while advancing to the finals of the 500 point event in Acapulco, Mexico before losing to scrappy countryman David Ferrer.

In total, the month of February brought Ferrero $262,600 in prize money, and 800 ATP World Tour points. The 30-year-old also improved his ranking position seven spots in February, jumping from No. 21 in the world to his current spot of No. 14. With a return to the top 10 in his sights, a confident Ferrero will look to raise the stakes at the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami events which will take place States side. Having not played either Indian Wells or Miami last year, the opportunity for Ferrero to increase his ranking is ever present. (The last time Ferrero saw top 10 status was in August of 2004).

To me, the most impressive attribute of Ferrero’s recent success was highlighted by the belief that he can still win Tour events. Having a lull of nearly six years between Tour titles, Ferrero snapped the forgettable streak last year in Casablanca, but remained modest in his results for the remainder of the season by reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon (l. Andy Murrray), and advancing the final 16 at the U.S. Open (l. Juan Martin del Potro).

The springboard was inevitably set for Ferrero to succeed this season, with his experience and consistent level of play throughout the second half of last year helping him to gain momentum. Working diligently through the offseason with his longtime coach Antonio Martinez, and his secondary coach Samuel Lopez, Ferrero knew that in order to stay on par with today’s generation of hard-hitting, younger, and stronger players, his game, and more importantly his fitness, would have to be paramount.

Although Ferrero injured his knee during his finals loss to Ferrer in Mexico—the injury, to me anyway, was a preventative measure to ensure his withdrawal from this weekend’s Davis Cup first-round tie against Switzerland. Allowing his body to rest after a grueling month of South American tennis will ultimately allow Ferrero to head over to Indian Wells early, and fine-tune his hard-court game for the month of March.

Ferrero will unquestionably have a difficult time in reaching the top 10 this season, simply because the current crop of top 10 players is younger and consistently posting enough quality results that they can sustain their position.

However, the X-factor that Ferrero will have on his side for the remainder of the season, and his career for that matter, is his love for the sport.

Growing up in Onteniente, Spain, Ferrero would spend hours upon hours improving his court craft, even after his training on-court was completed. Ferrero was so adamant on reaching his goal as a professional player that his father Eduardo would oftentimes catch his son hitting against the inside of the garage of their home while aiming to defeat his fierce rival the “light socket.”

Ferrero’s theory on hitting against the light socket was driven from the precise nature one would have to acquire in order to hit such a small area on the wall. Ferrero would also take his “garage training” one step further by imaging that every time he hit the light socket a victory over Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, or Boris Becker had taken place.

Clearly, the love for the game was ever present in Ferrero’s youth, and that same passion for the sport runs deep today.

Owing a junior academy in Villena, Spain, Ferrero readily spends his off Tour training helping to develop new Spanish talent, while squeezing in his own court time.

Battling an 0-2 start to begin the season, Ferrero is now a realistic pick to triumph at Roland Garros this spring. Winning his maiden Slam in Paris in 2003, Ferrero also made the finals in 2002 before losing to current Davis Cup captain Albert Costa in four sets.

All in all, it’s great to see Ferrero enjoying the fruits of his labor, while challenging the new charge on the ATP World Tour.

Other notable contenders for Player of the Month honors included:

Novak Djokovic: The recent world No. 2 defended the first title of his career in Dubai, while displaying his grit and determination in winning four straight three-set matches en route.

David Ferrer: The never-say-die Spaniard also had a glorious month in February which included making the semifinals in Johannesburg, South Africa, the finals in Buenos Aires, and winning his eighth career title in Acapulco. Ferrer, who has always endured a crisis of self belief, preserved through his self doubt to record a splendid 12-2 record in February.

Marin Cilic: Leading the Tour with a 17-2 record, Cilic banked his second title of the season in Zagreb, Croatia, while raising his ranking to a career high of No. 9 in the world. Continuing his sensational run from Australia, Cilic will continue to be a mighty force on Tour for the remainder of the season.

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Novak Djokovic: Acquiring a Taste for Second

March 2, 2010

Throughout the proposed sarcasm, ball-bouncing, hits with Johnny Mac, and arch in his serve, Novak Djokovic has chalked up a pretty good tennis resume up until this point. Capturing 17 career singles titles which includes his maiden Slam victory in Australia in 2008, Djokovic remains a threat to win any tournament he enters.

However, foiled within the young Serb’s success lies the constant anxiety that Djokovic plays under; through the emotional rollercoaster that has allowed him to gain a legion of fans throughout the years, and finally, after waiting nearly three seasons to move out of the No. 3 spot to his current rank of No. 2, will the 23-year-old be able to sustain his current form amongst the giants of the sport?

I have my doubts to be honest, and it has nothing to do with Djokovic’s ability to hit a drop shot or save a break point. The Belgrade native was simply sensational last week in Dubai, defending the first title of his career after winning three, three-set matches in a row. Djokovic’s level of play wasn’t particularly the highest we’ve seen from him, but his ability to fight and persevere through the heat of the desert, and a slew of hungry competitors proved that his mettle was in check, irrespective of his ball-striking ability.

My concerns for the Serb simply stems from his overuse of emotion on court. Unlike Rafael Nadal, who uses his volumed fist pumps and leg hikes to spur on his sonic forehand, Djokovic’s constant yells and looks of dismay to his players’ box seem to take its toll on him during the bigger tournaments. It appears that the exertion of Djokovic’s emotions has also increased with his improved status.

I remember covering a tournament in 2005 at the Paris Masters 1000 against Djokovic and French Open runner-up Mariano Puerta. Puerta was at the time the N0. 9 ranked player in the world, while Djokovic occupied a respective position at No. 85. Puerta had also come off his best season to date, which would later end with a career rattling suspension because of a performance enhancing drug. Nevertheless, Puerta was a formidable player, and he knew exactly what he was looking at when he lost to Djokovic in straight sets.

After going down 6-3, 7-6(9) to the Serb, Puerta told the media that: “He’s a future champion. His poise and calmness on-court, along with his shots will take him to the top.”

Going through the archives of post-match press conferences, (which takes up a brilliant amount of my time) I have only heard one other player in recent memory (Nadal telling reporters that he believed Kei Nishikori would be a top three player one day, after defeating the Japanese youngster at Queens Club event in 2008) receive the type of accolades that Puerta gave to Djokovic in Paris.

So far so good for Puerta’s prediction, and if not for a knee injury to Nishikori, the 20-year-old could have potentially made Nadal add his prognosticator views to his long list of off-court ability.

If we look closer into Puerta’s comments about a younger Djokovic being “calm” and “poised”, can we honestly say that those characteristics embody the current world No. 2? Through his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open this year, to his out-of-gas performance against Roger Federer at the US Open last fall, will Djokovic be able to consistently put it all together when he needs to in a best of five format?

I’m not disputing Djokovic’s ability to supplant Federer at the No. 1 spot (I actually picked Djokovic to end the year No. 2 with the chance of overtaking the No. 1 spot at some point)—my concern for Djokovic resides more around his ability to win multiple Majors and put a stamp on the top spot similar to Federer, or even Nadal.

Can Djokovic in essence do the top spot proud?

It just seems to me that Djokovic would be better served if he would allow for a more independent approach to the Grand Slam events, as opposed to the constant dialogue he constructs with his players’ box and ultimately himself. Historically, the greatest champions of the sport, Federer, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver have all approached tennis matches—regardless of their magnitude—with more of an introverted silence when competing. They all showed emotion from time to time, but it was based more around a mechanism of momentary uplifting, and not three hours of attempting to ask for approval from outside the lines.

I understand that creating a vortex of calmness and independence in the men’s game is far from easy; if anything, that’s why every player doesn’t win over 10 Majors, or if they’re lucky even five. But a player of Djokovic’s caliber certainly has the wherewithal and physical gifts to post significant numbers—it will inevitably come down to his emotional management in the end.

It seems, anyway, that Djokovic has a lot more to think about now that he’s acquired a taste for second.

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Day 7 Review: Djokovic Defends Dubai; Ferrer Captures Acapulco Title; Gulbis Wins Maiden Tour Event in Delray Beach

February 28, 2010

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships–U.A.E.

Holding a significant lead while heading into Sunday’s resumption of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic liked his chances of success.

Having won the first set over No. 7 seed Mikhail Youzhny, Djokovic had a service break in hand before heavy rain ended Saturday’s action.

However, the resumption of Sunday’s final meant Djokovic would have to play his fourth consecutive three-set match. The Serb’s 7-5, 2-0 lead would soon evaporate, courtesy of a Youzhny serve break during the fifth game of the set.

Djokovic would steer ahead once again to hold an opportunity for a 5-3 lead, but over-hit a routine forehand and squandered his opportunity of putting the Russian away. Youzhny required a second chance at forcing a third set, after failing to capture the set at 5-4. Not making the same mistake the second time around, the 28-year-old Russian broke Djokovic in the 12th game.

Fighting off early adversity by Youzhny in the seventh game of the third set, Djokovic saved two break points and 15-40, 3-3 to go ahead 4-3.

Pulling ahead at 5-3, Djokovic would seal victory with a final break of serve.

Defending the first title of his professional career, Djokovic acknowledged the many variables that went into his success in Dubai.

“It means the whole world to me. Of course there are always people who are saying he can’t do it. He can’t do it. But I’m playing for myself, and this is another success in my career that I wasn’t able to make in the last two years. But now, finally, I did it, and it’s a big relief. So in the future I just hope I’ll make a couple more of those.

“It’s a big boost because I believe in myself. Even when I play bad, I know I have the abilities… Today was another good example of how much I believe in myself and how much I fight till the end.”

Pocketing $383,000 in prize money and 500 ATP World Tour points, Djokoivc will remain over 3000 points behind No. 1 ranked Roger Federer in the rankings.

Djokovic joked with the media about his inability to close out his competition in straight sets—having gone three sets in his last four matches.

“Obviously this tournament I don’t allow myself to win in straight sets except the first round. Even when I can finish the job in two sets, I still want to play. Thinking about people who bought tickets and want to stay a bit longer (laughing).

“But, generally, it took a lot of energy for me. Stopping and playing, and coming back and then again stopping the match last night because of the rain. As I was saying, if we continued last night, I think I had much better chances to get the job done in two sets. I felt really well on the court, hitting the ball, feeling relaxed. Today I was really nervous before the match, during the match for no reason. [But] winning the tournament in any way, it’s a huge success.”

Youzhny, who fell to 10-3 on the season, took home $180,000 for his efforts, and 300 ATP World Tour points.

“Before the tournament if you say you’ll play the final, you say good result. But now straight after the final, when you have some chances [I am disappointed]… It was good match for me. It was a good level of tennis. I’m disappointed because I lost, but I’m happy because it was a good level of game.

“It was a very close set. Today I understand I have to try to play aggressive, maybe more aggressive than normal if I want to continue, if I want to save this match.”

Both Djokovic and Youznhy will now head to their respective Davis Cup venues to prepare for next week’s first-round ties.

Djokovic will lead his team against the Americans in Belgrade, while Youzhny and his Russian teammates will host India in Moscow.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel–Acapulco, Mexico

Scrappy Spaniard David Ferrer won his eighth career title on Saturday in Acapulco, Mexico, defeating countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Losing to Ferrero last week in the Buenos Aires final, Ferrer improved to 6-2 against his good friend in career head-to-head meetings.

Ferrero, who was riding a 14-match winning streak, showed visible signs of fatigue while attempting to win his third straight Tour title.

Converting on all three of his break-point chances, Ferrer won 83 percent of his first serve points while striking two aces.

Improving to 13-4 on the season, Ferrer captured 500 ATP World Tour points for his victory, and $227,000 in prize money.

The usually consistent Ferrer admitted that his ability to go for his shots throughout the one hour and 47 minute match made the difference.

“I was more aggressive, hitting harder,” Ferrer said. “It was the other way around in Buenos Aires.”

Ferrer and Ferrero will now head back to Spain to prepare for the nation’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Switzerland next Friday. The Spanish pair were chosen as singles players for the tie by captain Albert Costa.

Delray Beach Tennis Championships–Flordia

Unseeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis won his first career singles title in Delray Beach on Sunday, defeating ace machine Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-2.

Breaking Karlovic’s serve on four and nine occasions, Gulbis survived 14 aces, while striking six aces of his own.

“I’m never impressed with statistics,” said Gulbis, who also reached the Memphis semifinals last week. “I’m impressed I won the title. So I didn’t lose a set, I don’t see that as a big accomplishment.

“I think winning a title is a big accomplishment.”

Winning 79 percent of his first serve points, Gulbis allowed Karlovic a mere 27 percent of his second serve points won.

Needing 80-minutes to win the title, Gulbis told reporters that his win was in honor of his country.

“Everything I do it’s the first for my country,” Gulbis said. “I was first one in top 300, first one in top 200, first one in top 100.”

Ousting the No. 2 seed in routine fashion, Gulbis will move inside the top 50 when the new rankings are released on Monday. The 21-year-old is currently ranked No. 72 in the world.

Losing his first final of the year, Karlovic failed to win his fifth career title on his 31st birthday.

“He was really cool, calm, like nothing could impress him,” said Karlovic. “This year he’s going to make a breakthrough.”

Karlovic had defeated defending champion Mardy Fish in the semifinals and two-time finalist James Blake in the quarterfinals.

Quotes courtesy of Associated Press, and atpworldtour.com.

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Djokovic Pulls Through to Defend Dubai Title

February 28, 2010

Holding a significant lead while heading into Sunday’s resumption of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic liked his chances of success.

Having won the first set over No. 7 seed Mikhail Youzhny, Djokovic had a service break in hand before heavy rain ended Saturday’s action.

Djokovic would steer ahead once again to hold an opportunity for a 5-3 lead, but overhit a routine forehand and squandered his opportunity of putting the Russian away. Youzhny required a second chance at forcing a third set, after failing to capture the set at 5-4. Not making the same mistake the second time around, the 28-year-old Russian broke Djokovic in the 12th game.