Alexandr Dolgopolov: Can He Maintain Recent Form and Land in the Top 10?
While it might not garner as much attention as the resurgence of Roger Federer or the state of Andy Murray's game, physically and mentally, the consistently high level of play from Alexandr Dolgopolov over the past few weeks is definitely newsworthy.
The 25-year-old from the Ukraine notched a huge win at the Sony Open in Miami, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, defeating reigning Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
That's Dolgopolov's sixth different victory over a player in the top 20 in his past four tournaments, which includes a win over world No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the last Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, where "the Dog" reached the semifinals.
With all of these quality wins, Dolgopolov's confidence continues to grow. Can he sustain this momentum, though, and find himself in uncharted territories: The top 10 of the ATP World Tour rankings?
As far as looking at it from a talent standpoint, an examination of his game would indicate he does possess the ability to make it there. Dolgopolov is one of the more versatile players in the men's game and is able to keep his opponents off-balance with a mix of different spins and angles.
And just when the player on the other side of the net is getting lulled into a nuanced game of back-and-forth, Dolgopolov is likely to blast a winner past him from either wing. He's also a very effective server and possesses good hands at the net.
Right now, he's playing better than when he reached his career high of 13 back in 2012. Last year was essentially a lost one for him, where he finished 2013 outside the top 50.
But he's back on track now. Perhaps he's been inspired by the strife in his home country: It seems his recent run started when the unrest in the Ukraine emerged. Whatever the case, Dolgopolov appears poised for an even bigger breakthrough—one that could find him in the world top 10 soon enough.
