World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

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Nuggets: Citi Open 2012 in review – singles, doubles and kid journalist at large

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By Christopher Lancette

Emptying out my reporter’s notebook of observations, facts, ruminations and other random thoughts from the Citi Open …

One of the great things about covering any tournament is seeing players up close that I have not seen play in person before. Interviewing them is even better. Every tournament gives me a bevy of new people whose games and whose lives I take an interest in. The Citi Open was no different.

Alexandr Dolgopolov – Photo by Wonok Kim

Start with tournament champion Alexandr Dolgopolov. I love this guy’s game. He plays tennis the way we would all be well-served to live – boldly. He made it clear that he loves to live life on the edge. Dolgopolov is quite sincere when he says he simply does not worry about making a lot of errors. If he makes one more winner than he does errors in a match, he believes he will win.

A reporter friend of mine pointed out to the Ukrainian that Sam Querrey said his shots were crazy and that Tommy Haas described them as kind of strange. What did Dolgopolov think?

“I’d say they described it right, pretty much,” he said. “They are a bit unique. They are a bit crazy. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I think that’s my way to play.”

Dolgopolov’s work here boosted him to No. 16 in the rankings. A long, hot week and rain-delayed final, though, may have spelled his doom at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He lost in the first round to Radek Stepanek, last year’s Citi Open champion who also lost in the first round of the Rogers Cup a few days later.

Mica Gelb – Photo by Wonok Kim

Journalists who covered the Citi Open should fear for their jobs because an 11-year-old kid might just send us all to the unemployment lines. Mica Gelb asked the best question of the week when he asked Mardy Fish how he approaches playing close friend Tommy Haas. Not only was the follow-up question a timely one, the young man showed no fear when he jumped in to ask it. Fish treated the youngster like a full-fledged member of the press corps, giving Gelb a thoughtful answer: Fish said he has to put friendship aside when someone is trying to take his lunch money.

Gelb was in the pressroom thanks to the Citi Open offering fans the chance to purchase an experience for their kids enabling them to get a taste of the varied professions involved in a tennis tournament. Naturally, World Tennis Magazine pulled aside Gelb and his father Amos Gelb – a journalism instructor at Northwestern University here in the District – for a “Changeover” video interview. Look for that in the weeks ahead.

Irina Falconi – Photo by Wonok Kim

Speaking of “The Changeover”, we have a nice little strong of them on YouTube, ranging from a light-hearted conversation with the Bryan Brothers at the Rogers Cup 2011 to a serious conversation with Shahar Peer. Next up is Irina Falconi. She is make-you-fall-down funny. I caught up with her after her doubles final here. Look for that video soon but get the jump on following the quick-witted and hard-hitting WTA newbie on Twitter @irinafalconi.

I enjoyed watching Magdalena Rybarikova win the women’s title. I had not seen her play before and it’s always refreshing to see a new face in the pressroom. The 5’11’’ right-hander from Slovakia jumped in the tournament at the last minute and played fearlessly all week long. She said she played like she had nothing to lose — even in the finals against top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who didn’t seem to enjoy “defending” the position one bit.  To Pavlyuchenkova’s credit, though, she still fought to scrape out a few points even when all was clearly lost. Rybarikova’s win sent her flying up the rankings, jumping from No. 102 to No. 67.

Magdalena Rybarikova (L) and Wayne Bryan – Photo by Wonok Kim

You’d think life would be kind to a young man for at least a few hours after he wins a doubles championship. (See the Tennis Grandstand report by Romi Cvitkovic on the match.) Not so for Treat Conrad Huey of University of Virginia and Washington Kastles fame. After he and partner Dominic Inglot knocked out Kevin Anderson and Sam Querrey, Huey dropped his sandwich on the ground. With our photographer Won-ok Kim’s camera clicking away, he instituted the five-second rule, picked it up and ate it.

Doubles part deux: I regret not having a chance to see more of, or interview, the Citi Open women’s doubles champions – Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan. I caught glimpses of Chang crushing some groundies in two matches and look forward to seeing if the 21-year-old can make a move inside the Top 100 in singles and doubles.

Lindsay Lee Waters – Photo by Romana Cvitkovic

One person I don’t need to see on the court again – at least not with me as the opponent – is women’s doubles specialist Lindsay Lee Waters. I renewed an acquaintance with her this week, reliving memories of the day 16 years ago that she gave me a beat-down. She was charming as ever in my interview with her, even if I didn’t give her enough competition for her to remember me. I thought I was done suffering from the humiliation until a college friend who witnessed the event dropped me an email after he read the story. He told me something I had forgotten: He brought his camera that day.

The horror.

Follow Christopher Lancette on Twitter @chrislancette.

Electric Alexandr Dolgopolov wins Citi Open championship

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By Christopher Lancette

WASHINGTON – When Alexandr Dolgopolov spots a ball he can attack, he springs to life like a sleeping dog smelling a whiff of bacon. The 23-year-old almost levitates as shuffles his feet into position, draws the next shot or two in his mind, and pounces.

The 25th-ranked Dolgopolov feasted on a heavy diet of such points this week – enough to fuel his rain-delayed 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 36 Tommy Hass today at the Citi Open. One second he’s serving out wide and racing in for a put-away volley, the next he’s running wind sprints between the sidelines before cracking winners.

Alexandr Dolgopolov – Photo by Wonok Kim

Forget playing defensively and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.

“I have so many shots that I like to risk,” Dolgopolov said after winning his first 500-level championship and second title overall. “It’s a part of me, like my personality. I like risking in life so I do that on the court. I just like to play tennis like that; I don’t think about the percentage. I like to do it my way and that’s how I win.”

Dolgopolov  is as confident driving winners through openings only he can see as he is racing cars at 200 miles per hour. That’s how he loves to spend his free time. Leave golf for the milk toast crowd.

His unconventional style was born when he was a kid. He was undersized and had health issues occasionally. Dolgopolov compensated for it by swinging for the fences – strikeouts be damned — like a Ukrainian version of Babe Ruth.

The power and prowess, along with the pitfalls they create, were on full display against Haas. Dolgopolov struggled a bit early in the first set, allowing it to go to a tiebreaker. At 7-all in the breaker, he came to the net and was in position to put away a volley. Instead, he chose to let Haas’s passing shot go by and drop in for a winner. Dolgopolov sent a forehand long on the next point, giving Haas the early momentum.

Dolgopolov began to find his rhythm through the course of the second set, constantly forcing Haas to work exceptionally hard to hold his serve. He held his own serve more easily, often filling Fitzgerald Stadium with the electricity of his strokes. At 1-all in the second set, Dolgopolov raced back toward the baseline to retrieve a would-be winner from Haas. He stopped, planted his feet and whipped a stunning forehand past a diving Haas. Up 5-4, he broke Haas’s serve – if not also his spirit – with a combination stab returns, lobs and vicious groundstrokes.

Haas admitted the match got away from him in the second set, too.

Tommy Haas – Photo by Wonok Kim

“In that second set, I think I cracked a little bit mentally,” Haas said. “I made a few bad decisions and was behind a break.”

The 34-year-old Haas turned in an excellent week of work himself and will see his ranking go up next week as well. His Citi Open accomplishments add to a great summer that has also included a title at Halle and a finals appearance at Hamburg.

“It has been unbelievable,” he said. “Obviously I’m a little frustrated now. I thought I had some chances to maybe win this title and I really wanted it. Overall, I’m obviously proud to get here to a final. I played really solid tennis. I just hope I can stay injury free and keep going and try to keep improving.”

Haas said he has no doubt that Dolgopolov get better, too.

“I know he’s got a pretty tricky serve, a pretty tricky game,” he said. “You have to be ready for all sorts of things. He’s got good firepower and he keeps the ball very flat. He’s a shot maker and he goes for his stuff. He’s tough and he has a good future ahead of him.”

Dolgopolov said he was going to celebrate the win in a way that a lot of people can appreciate.

“Drink some beer,” he said in answer to his evening plans. “I can’t really afford to celebrate too much. I play Tuesday already in Toronto. I have a flight in the morning. I have to have a practice tomorrow. It’s a bit of a tough schedule but still I’m happy to win here.”

Opponents at the Rogers Cup next week won’t see anything different from him than they’ve seen all year. Lest anyone think Dolgopolov is just a free spirit who plays with no rhyme or reason, there is a method to his madness.

“That’s my game, you know – to miss shots and to make winners,” Dolgopolov explained earlier in the week. “That’s what I understood this past half a year when I tried to play more solid. The (other) players get more comfortable and everyone is hitting so well these days that you can’t give them time. It’s more comfortable for me to make an error than let the player, the opponent, play really well. Then, you don’t have control of the match. For me, it’s better to make errors and make winners than let the guy beat you in a normal-paced game.”

Dolgopolov can certainly drink to that tonight.

Follow Christopher Lancette on Twitter @chrislancette. Get a look at the Citi Open men’s doubles finals later this week in World Tennis Magazine.

 All photos below by Wonok Kim

Rybarikova wins Citi Open title; Dolgopolov and Haas to play for men’s championship

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By Christopher Lancette

WASHINGTON – Unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova completed her remarkable romp through the 2012 Citi Open by upsetting top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (No. 28) 6-1, 6-1. The world No. 102 knocked out all three of the top-seeded players en route to winning a tournament she barely planned to attend.

“I didn’t expect this,” Rybarikova said. “I am absolutely happy. I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing.”

 Magdalena Rybarikova – Photo by Wonok Kim

Rybarikova dominated from the start, breaking Pavlyuchenkova in the opening game. She displayed calm nerves and a combination of power and placement throughout the match, never giving the more heralded player a chance. The win gives Rybarikova her third career title and a pending boost in the rankings.

“I didn’t have anything to lose,” she said. “I was very relaxed and able to play my game.”

Despite winning the championship, Rybarikova said what so many players say at the end of a tournament – even when they win: There will be no big celebration tonight.

“Maybe more tomorrow,” she said, “because tonight I’m very tired … I just want to sleep tonight and tomorrow celebrate for sure.”

The men’s side offered more competition today. Tommy Haas punched his ticket to Sunday’s championship match by upending top seed Mardy Fish 6-3, 7-5 and will square off against second seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, who overpowered Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4.

Haas earned his first trip to the tournament’s finals by playing steadily and attacking Fish’s second serve.

Tommy Haas – Photo by Wonok Kim

“Mardy probably has a slight edge on the first serve, I think,” Haas said. “His first serve is even better than mine, I would say. He has more speed, better placement at times, so I knew if I get some opportunity on the second serve, I’m going to have to take as many as I can and try to put some pressure on him, which I think I did really well throughout the whole match.”

Haas turned the match in his favor after fighting off a Fish charge in the second set. Down 4-5 and serving at 30-40, Haas came in behind a curious drop shot from Fish and won the point – causing Fish to slam his racket into the ground in disgust. (Fish said later that he was attempting to hit a deep slice instead of a drop and that he saw that play as a turning point.) Haas drew even two points later with a forehand winner. Haas went up 6-5 by breaking Fish in the next game, hitting winners off an inside-out backhand and crushing returns from the back side, too. The game ended on a poorly timed double fault by Fish.

Mardy Fish (L) congratulates his close friend Tommy Haas after the match – Photo by Wonok Kim

While Fish contributed four double faults and 26 unforced errors on the day, Haas gave away but one point on his serve and made only seven unforced errors in the match – none of them occurring in the second set.

“I didn’t even register that,” Haas said of the perfect second set. “That’s obviously something that doesn’t happen often in my game since I play quite aggressively at times and mishit a few balls here and there. In order to beat people like Mardy Fish, you have to play at a very high level and I guess that speaks for itself – that stat.”

Haas has now won six of his last seven matches against Top 15 players and will see his ranking climb next week regardless of Sunday’s result.

On the other side of the bracket, Dolgopolov (No. 25), turned his first appearance at this event into a shot at the title – moving to 22-15 on the year.

The Ukrainian broke Querrey in the first game of the match, held on through a shaky first service game of his own, and denied Querrey of the advantage that often comes with his big serve.

“That was really important,” said Dolgopolov, who has spent 41 career weeks in the Top 20 and will return there next week. “It’s tough to break his serve. To start the game with that gave me confidence even though I almost lost my serve … That was a big moment in the match.”

How did Dolgopolov neutralize Querrey’s booming serve?

“The players know each other,” he said. “Most of them watch matches and try to see where a player is serving in the important moments. I analyzed a bit his service so that was the main thing – and just to step in the court and with a good reaction try to return as many serves as you can on the first serve, and be aggressive on the second serve. I do that anyway with the other players but with the servers that’s really big. They get a bit unconfident and try to go for bigger serves. I think at that point he hit a few double faults as well. That made him uncomfortable on the serve.”

Alexandr Dolgopolov – Photo by Wonok Kim

The critical moments of the second set came at 4-4 with Querrey serving at deuce. Dolgopolov ran Querrey around, cranked an approach shot, hit an aggressive volley and then finished the point on an overhead smash. Dolgopolov won the next point and then took the match onto his strings in the next game. He opened with a sizzling forehand slice volley winner and followed that with a forehand winner into the corner, another put-away at the net and an inside-out backhand winner.

For his part, Querrey said he was pleased with his work in the nation’s capital but knows there’s something he must do more often.

“I just need to play a little more fearless on those big points and I didn’t do a very good job of that today,” he said.

The men’s final takes place on stadium court at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center at 4 p.m. Sunday. The men’s doubles match is scheduled for 1 p.m., when the team of Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson will face Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot.

Follow Christopher Lancette on Twitter @chrislancette

 

Dolgopolov rallies, men’s semifinals and women’s finals set at Citi Open

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By Christopher Lancette

WASHINGTON — Second seed Alexandr Dolgopolov came within one point of going down 0-4 in the first set but rallied for a 7-6, 6-4 win over fan favorite James Blake on Friday. He will play Sam Querrey at 7 p.m. Saturday in one semifinal while top seed Mardy Fish will take on Tommy Haas at 3 p.m. in the other. The women’s final, meanwhile, features top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova against surprise title contender Magdalena Rybarikova. In women’s doubles, the team of Shuko Aoyama (Japan) and Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan won the championship today by defeating Irina Falconi (U.S.) and Chanelle Scheepers (Russia.)

“I was pleased with how I got back in that game,” No. 25 Dolgopolov said of the critical point in the most compelling match of the day. “I got back in the game and got some momentum going.”

Alexandr Dolgopolov – Photo by Wonok Kim

Dolgopolov said he did not make any drastic changes in his game when he faced that double-break point in the fourth game.

“I was playing the same game,” he said. “I got lucky on one point but I was pretty much playing the same but making less unforced errors.”

Fish (world No. 15) dispatched Belgian Xavier Malisse (No. 67) 6-3, 6-4, taking command early in the first set and never looking back. In the second set, he pounded serves reaching the mid-130s and buried a bushel of backhand winners up the line – depositing a number of cross-court forehands in the same location.

Mardy Fish – Photo by Wonok Kim

The highlight point of the night came in the second set with Fish up 2-1 and serving for the game. The American ran Malisse from sideline to sideline with a series of groundies and hit a drop shot to lure his opponent to the net. Malisse hit a backhand overhead into the corner that Fish tracked down before blasting a backhand passing shot up the line for the winner.

Despite the quick start, Fish said that he does not consciously try to finish matches quickly and conserve energy for later in the week.

“That doesn’t enter my mind at all,” he said. “Federer is the only guy who’s able to do that.”

Fish’s win increased his season series lead over Malisse to 3-1 and proved to be another step forward in his return to good health. Fish continues to rebound after missing two and a half months between April and June recovering from surgery to fix an irregular heartbeat in May. Injuries also prevented Fish from competing here last year.

Next up for Fish is Haas of Germany. He opened the men’s quarterfinals today by steamrolling German countryman Tobias Kamke 6-1, 6-2. The easy win improved Haas’s 2012 quarterfinal record this season to 4-0.

“I expect a tough match,” Fish said, “a really tough match. I expect him to play well. He has played well in the past few weeks. He’s a great player, as high as No. 2 in the world a while ago. He has had a ton of injuries but he seems to be pretty close to back to one hundred percent with his health and he’s hitting the ball as well as I’ve seen him hit it in a long time.”

Sam Querrey – Photo by Wonok Kim

Querrey, the No. 8 seed, knocked out Kevin Anderson, 6-4, 6-4.  Querrey took control of the match at four-all in the second set when he pulled the score to 30-all with a backhand cross-court winner.  After Anderson hit an inside-out forehand wide right on the next point, Querrey responded to a high-bouncing tape job by hitting a dropshot that caught Anderson on his heels. Querrey polished off the match with a bevy of booming serves that Anderson returned long.

Querrey’s advance to the semis in Washington continues the roll he has been on, too. After falling outside the Top 100, he has fought his way back inside the Top 40 thanks to a 2012 season that has included a championship title in Los Angeles and a semifinal appearance at Queen’s Club.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Photo by Wonok Kim

On the women’s side of the tournament, top seed Pavlyuchenkova of Russia turned in a come-back win, dropping the first set 4-6 to No. 4 seed Vania King of the U.S. She righted the ship in the second, 7-5, and closed out the match 6-4 in the third. World No. 28 Pavlyuchenkova has been on a hot streak since the French Open this year, reaching the third round or quarterfinals at four of her last five tournaments.

Rybarikova (Slovakia) reached her first WTA final by upsetting No. 3-seed Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-3.

“I’m very happy,” she said, “because I didn’t expect this. I came here Saturday and thought, ‘OK, let’s prepare maybe for some other tournament because it was going to be very tough to play here. It’s amazing hot here. The first match, I was playing very relaxed because I had nothing to lose and I was playing very good. Then it continued.”

The No. 102-ranked Slovak broke the American midway through the first set and applied consistent pressure throughout the second, causing Stephens to begin committing a barrage of unforced errors throughout the first set. Stephens became visibly upset with herself and could not pull out of her tailspin.

Magdalena Rybarikova – Photo by Wonok Kim

Once Rybarikova observed the impact of the pressure she was applying, did she choose to get more aggressive or simply play conservative balls to Stephens and let the younger player make more mistakes?

“I have to play every match different,” Rybarikova said. “One match, I’m more aggressive. One match I’m making her play. That’s why I was playing sometimes more aggressive and sometimes I was just making her play because I saw that she was struggling.”

The women’s final between Rybarikova and Pavlyuchenkova is scheduled on stadium court at no earlier than 9 p.m.

Citi Open cold chills: Remembering the day Lindsay Lee-Waters taught me a lesson

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By Christopher Lancette

WASHINGTON – Cold chills shot up my spine the moment I spotted her on the court today at the Citi Open.  I hadn’t noticed her name when the tournament announced the women’s draw but there she was standing right in front of me on court two: Lindsay Lee-Waters.

Lindsay Lee-Waters – Photo by Romana Cvitkovic

The horror.

I was a brash young man of 27 during the summer of 1996 when I first met her. I was covering her Atlanta Thunder of the World Team Tennis league. Her last name was just Lee then. She was about 19. She had long blond hair that she tied up neatly in a large daisy on the day that I opened my mouth. I fancied myself quite the street hustler on the tennis court. I wasn’t ATP material but I certainly thought I was good enough to hold my own against a young female pro ranked around No. 100 in singles at the time – especially a fellow Southerner who probably weighed all of 120 pounds in the rain.

All my guy friends who played tennis always talked about how superior they thought they were to women on the WTA tour … that they could be even beat a pro woman despite the fact they were just weekend warriors like myself. I bought into the hyperbole and challenged Lee to a set.

The horror.

Thunder coach Brian Devilliers and the Jensen brothers told me I was going to get humiliated, that I should just stay in press row where I belonged. I told them I was not scared, that I could do it.

My date with destiny arrived. Lee looked me with a great sense of kindness when she asked me if I really wanted to go through with the challenge. I think I was actually offended. Now I had to show her that good recreational male players were at least as good if not better than the 100th- ranked female pro.

I was so confident I would do well against her that I had invited some of my tennis pals to watch. This was my second mistake of the day but there was no turning back.

The svelte right-hander and I stepped on to the court. She served first and I felt a quick surge of confidence when I realized I was engaging her in good rallies. I would become the last person in the building, however, to realize what she was doing.

Lee batted the ball around with me and put her shots just within my reach to make me feel like I was accomplishing something. When she grew bored, she smacked a winner to end a point. It dawned on me that I was working mighty hard yet not producing no return on my investment. I hit what I thought were crushing forehands only to watch her track them down, put them back on me, regain her position on the court and make me pay.

The worst moment was still to come.

We started a rally. I was in center court and really fired up to seize the day. I was if nothing else going to hit a winner and earn one stinking point before giving up.

Lee hit a forehand that took me precisely three feet right of midcourt, then a backhand that took me precisely three feet to the left of it. She added more heat to each shot, dragging me exactly six feet to the right of center court and six feet to the left. I was mighty fast then but felt my heart pounding. She narrowed her line of fire and began running me one and half feet past where I had just come from.

The fatal moment unfolded in slow motion. I scrambled toward the right sideline to hit another forehand and looked up as I shifted my weight and began heaving myself back toward the other baseline. She was grinning widely and staring me straight between the eyes. Everyone, including me at last, knew what she was about to do.

Lee hit the ball as gently as if she were caressing a baby. I think the ball took ten minutes to go from her racket toward the gaping hole on the left baseline but there was not a thing I could do about it. I was spent. I shook my head as I heard my friends erupt in laughter.

My white t-shirt would have to do for a flag: I surrendered.

My friend George was the first to greet me as I came off the court. “Dude,” he said. “You just got beaten by a girl with a daisy in her hair!”

Sixteen years have passed since that drubbing. Lee went on to marry Heath Waters, become a mother of two and continue traveling the world playing tennis for a living. At age 35, she is still good enough to hover around No. 100 in doubles. A couple of breaks here and there and her ranking would be higher.

As she played today, I wondered if Lee-Waters remembered the day she faced me in Atlanta. After all, it was a huge day in my life – a defining and humbling moment.

Lindsay Lee-Waters (Left) and Christopher Lancette – Photo by Won-ok Kim.

“No,” she said, sweetly. “I don’t. I remember wearing the daisy back then, though.”

I recounted the story for her but triggered no memory. I had given her my very best but didn’t even earn a blip on her radar.

The horror.

I told her how humble that day made me and how much respect it gave me for the women’s game. I asked her if she has provided other foolish men the same education she gave me. Is playing well against women pros as easy as guys watching TV might think?

“No,” she said. “If it were that easy, there would be more people on tour. Sometimes we make it look easy.”

I pressed her a little further. Ever the gracious Southern belle, she didn’t want to rub salt in my old wounds. Eventually, though, she shared that other men have met a similar fate. She is sometimes thrown in as a substitute in Atlanta’s most popular recreational tennis league (ALTA). “I didn’t know pros could play ALTA but my coach throws me in there. I play mixed doubles and guys … yeah; they don’t quite get it until they step on the court.”

Lee-Waters came up short in her doubles match today but she still flashed all the skills that kept me awake at night long after she thrashed me on the court in Atlanta. She smashed serves wherever she wanted them to go, ripped forehands up the line and feared nothing at the net.

She said her tennis career isn’t over. She aspires to accomplish more in doubles. She and partner Megan Moulton-Levy “are looking for that breakthrough. We’ve had a lot of close matches against the top teams.”

It would be bad form for a reporter to openly applaud for her when she does make her next surge up the rankings. Inside, though, I’ll be cheering. Lindsay Lee-Waters taught me a lesson I’ll never forget: My fellow rec league buddies need to stop puffing our chests. We can’t beat a Williams. We can’t beat Sharapova. We can’t even beat a woman adorned wih daisies.

Follow writer Christopher Lancette on Twitter @chrislancette.