By Bud Collins
KEY BISCAYNE, FL — Maybe no man is an island, but a little man owned an island called Key Biscayne — at least for a day as the Transcontinental Double set up shop on an East Coast beach after a fortnight in a California desert.
Although the cast is similar – the best the game has to offer – this tournament at Crandon Park, the Sony Ericsson Open, has suffered some jolts in the early days. That’s where Little knocked off Big. Little is 5-foot-4 Ollie Rochus who removed Big, the 2009 finalist, 6-foot-2 Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-4.
As a lad, the Belgian, Rochus says, all he ever wanted for Christmas was to grow. “Never happened,” he says with a smile. “Everybody else grew, except me.”
But they soon found out that Ollie’s a dangerous character, so quick and competitive. Determined to move a foe all over the ball park. He and Djokovic ran, retrieved and rapped winners for more than three hours, a thrilling display of shotmaking that kept the customers oohing and ahhing. But it was No. 59 Rochus who forced the last point, and No. 2 Djokovic in a fog.
I love to watch Ollie. He’s like a wind-up doll going every-which-way, letting the opponent know that he’ll climb Everest to overtake a ball.
Good to have him back. Shoulder surgery shelved him two years ago, and his ranking was in the 170s
As if inspired, another Little – small in ranking, that is – No. 101 Mardy Fish bounced No. 3 Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-4. Bingo! The 2009 final (Murray over Djokovic) had vanished in the second round. I like Mardy also. He recently recovered from surgery (knee) and is not hesitant to charge the net.
Murray, grimacing and apparently dispirited, is frank about his head being mixed up. “Haven’t played well since Australia. It’s up to me, not anybody else.”
Maybe he should join me in a refreshing morning swim in the Atlantic.