Juan Martin del Potro's rehab continues at ever-quickening speed. The tall Argentine, who was out of the game for almost a year with a wrist injury, reached his first ATP final since his return to action last October by blasting Mardy Fish 6-1, 7-5 under the lights at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.
This follows semifinal appearances at San Jose and Memphis in successive weeks.
“This has been a big test for him, both physically and for his confidence,” said his coach Franco Davin, a former touring pro. “A lot of matches in three weeks, but the more he wins, the better he feels.”
And the better he plays.
“You could say he's hitting the ball pretty clean right now,” said Fish with a wry smile. “He's so tall — a pretty big 6-foot-6, in my opinion. I mean, everything's long — his arms, legs. There doesn't seem to be any way to keep the ball out of his strike zone. You have to get it very high or very low. Some of my shanked forehands got low enough, but otherwise, it was tough!”
Fish actually made a pretty good fight of the second set after being rushed out of the first by a series of huge, swinging forehands from the former U.S. Open champion. The American, well supported by local fans who remember him from his days at Boca High, broke for 2-0 in the second, lost his serve, but broke again to eventually lead 4-1. He was doing the right thing; trying to mix it up and prevent del Potro from getting into his baseline rhythm.
“I probably should have tried to serve and volley a bit more than I did,” he admitted. “But I wasn't seeing the ball that clearly on the volley. It might have been different had it been in the afternoon, but he was just swinging from the hips and he's certainly past the stage of just getting a few matches under his belt. He's looking pretty good.”
Earlier, Janko Tipsarevic defeated Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third ATP final of his career. Most players seem surprised when told that the Serb has yet to win a title.
Maybe he thinks too much.
Tipsarevic is certainly one of the most interesting characters on the Tour. A graduate of Belgrade University, he reads Nietzsche and Dostoyevski and is currently reading the Bible.
“Not because I believe in God, but because I don't want to rely on just what other people say,” he explained in his near flawless English. “I want to make my own opinions, and to do that you have to read.”
Not surprisingly, his father is a professor. Tipsarevic, who is 26, has been around for a while now, but has made his best-ever start to a season even though he feels he threw away matches he should have won in Chennai and Johannesburg.
He received a text before and after his match from Novak Djokovic, who had just beaten Roger Federer 6-3, 6-3 in the final of Dubai, and readily admits that being part of Serbia's Davis Cup triumph against France in December has given his confidence a boost.
“It is not just the fact that we won, but that we are all so close,” he said. “We are in touch with each other all the time, and I must admit that Novak's victory over Federer gave me extra motivation when I went on court today.”
As his final against del Potro will be played on Sunday afternoon, Tipsarevic will not be wearing those heavy framed shades.
“I don't wear them to look cool,” he smiled. “At night, without them, I am as blind as a chicken. But in daylight, it's OK.”
He will need to be seeing the ball very clearly if he is to withstand the kind of barrage that hit Fish. If Tipsarevic wins his first title here, he will have earned it.
