How The ATP Fared in 2009: Verdasco Rises to No. 9
Career fourth-rounder.
Gotta lotta potential. Satisfied to be where he is as an athlete, and court the ladies.
Too bad.
Fernando got tired of hearing that sort of talk.
Fernando often mentions now how important working with the Adidas crew in Las Vegas has been for him; Gil Reyes and Andre Agassi taught him to believe in himself at the same time as they built up the strength of his body. "You have a big game...you have to look forward to beating the top guys on the tour."
That last one is important. Fernando’s head-to-head going into 2009 against some of the top men on the tour was unenviably lopsided. Against Andy Murray, 0-7; Roger Federer, 0-3 (never won a set); Rafael Nadal, 0-6.
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Fernando mentions that he would say to the crew in Las Vegas, "It’s him, there, on the other side of the net...” And they would say to him, "But you are on this side..."
The close of 2008 saw Fernando play the match of his life (at the time), and win the final singles rubber match of the 2008 Davis Cup for Spain.
Was it to be the harbinger of things to come?
How did Fernando fare in 2009? I'm going to concentrate on two tournaments, and only touch briefly on the others, for midseason injury was a factor in Fernando’s year.
2009 Australian Open
Murray 2–6, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Going into this match, Murray was the betting favorite to win not only the match, but the tournament itself.
Andy evidently believed the hype, and also likely believed that Fernando would choke on the occasion, as he had so many times before. Fernando had not previously won a single match against Murray.
A key moment happened in the fourth set. After exchanging sets where each competitor won just a single game, Fernando’s electric forehand was on exhibit like never before, and Andy’s penchant for standing back and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake wasn’t working. Fernando wasn’t choking as the match got into the latter stages.
Suddenly, one could read from Andy’s face the surprise and knowledge that in the fifth set he’d better make something happen fast. But it was too little, too late. This match constituted an announcement to the tour that the new and improved Fernando v2.0 was making the rounds.
Tsonga 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Jo-Willy, one of the most athletic men on tour, was every bit a match for Fernando with the vicious forehand. Fernando came out on fire in the first set. It was Fernando’s first quarterfinal appearance in a major tournament.
In the final set, Fernando started pulling Jo-Willy side to side like a yo-yo, stretching him into the splits to reach the ball with pounding forehands, and wore Jo-Willy out.
“Trust your legs" was Gil Reyes' advice to Fernando; the physical readiness powers the mental strength. Entertaining and forehand-licious, in this match Fernando challenged Jo-Willy’s fitness, and Jo-Willy wilted.
Nadal 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 4-6
Like the others before him in this tournament, Rafa had never faced a Verdasco like this.
Hot. On fire. Strength in the forehand and the legs.
Rafa wore a surprised and wary look on his face as the first set reached the business end. After missing a break opportunity in the eighth game, Fernando took charge of the tiebreak, and Rafa had to sit down grim-faced at the end of it.
This extraordinary match had many outstanding exchanges of shotmaking. The "Bend-it-like Rafa" shot, the "I’m cramping but can still beat you on one leg" serving, and "I’m just going to stand here and power forehands at you" approach.
In this end, this match represented a singular turning point for Fernando, just as had the Davis Cup win the month before. A brilliant match, a once-in-20-years match. Though he lost, he gained a whole new suite of fans, and the understanding that he could hang in there with the big dogs.
Here’s a complete recap of this epic match, written for Bleacher Report.
2009 WTF
In qualifying for the WTF for the first time in his career, Verdasco showed just how much improvement he’d undergone, and how much potential that he has, as he looked very good, while losing.
One of the interesting nuances of the WTF is that someone like Verdasco, who rarely meets the top guys on tour, played all of them in the round-robin stages. Fernando took a set off of each of these guys, but had problems in the remainder.
As Gil Reyes said, if physical readiness equates to mental readiness, then at the end of the year Fernando may not have physically been in a place to break out at the O2 venue.
Federer 6-4, 5-7, 1-6
An incredible breakthrough almost happened.
As with the match against Nadal to open the year (Nadal was then No. 1), Fernando started strong, getting 85 percent of his first serves in, and breaking Roger early. But as he warmed up, Roger started returning better, and with that, Fernando started losing confidence.
In the 11th game of the second set, Fernando held three break points, and could have served for the match and a major upset. When he couldn’t convert those and slam the door on Roger, Fernando collapsed. It’s a lot to overcome, when one has never even won a set off a competitor, and that competitor is the world No. 1. One could see Fernando tightening up as he got closer to winning.
Juan Martin Del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(1)
The two had never faced each other, which creates a special dynamic. The big man might seem to be susceptible to someone fast like Fernando putting the ball at his feet.
Both have the monster forehands, which largely didn’t appear (unlike with the Tsonga match from the AO). Instead, the match turned on serving, with the vicious forehand appearing at key moments for both players.
For example, down match point in the middle of the third set, Fernando with the monster forehand foiled Delpo, and extended the match for another half-hour.
Yet, indifferent serving by Fernando (lack of confidence in the second serve, and a number of double faults) kept Delpo in it. Then Fernando missed two key forehands down the line in the tiebreak, and the contest was over.
Murray 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(3)
He’d beaten Murray comprehensively at the AO, but that was in a different lifetime by the time of WTF. Murray had been under some criticism from Greg Rudzedski and the British media for not being aggressive. (Murray responded that he knew a bit more about tennis than Greg Rudzedski.)
Ignoring Rudzedski, and his past history with Verdasco, Murray employed his usual arsenal, exploiting angles, lobs, and unexpected shots.
Verdasco exhibited much more variety in his serve than in the previous two outings, and largely hung with Murray throughout the match. First serves of 138 mph, second serves of 110 mph, closing at net.
But Murray was dogged, fast, and more focused. A single point, a missed backhand volley at a critical time in the first set where Verdasco was broken, was largely the difference in what was otherwise a well balanced, interesting, all-court match, in which Verdasco proved to be unbreakable despite everything Murray threw at him.
The Rest of 2009
QF: Master’s Series (Indian Wells)
QF: Master’s Series (Miami)
QF: Master’s Series (Monte Carlo)
QF: Barcelona
QF: Master’s Series (Rome) (where Verdasco’s ranking rose to #7)
QF: Master’s Series (Madrid)
3rd: FO
3rd: Wimbledon – against Ivo Karlovic, 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 7-6(9)
QF: Swedish Open
3rd: Master’s Series (Roger’s Cup)
1st: Master’s Series (Cincinnati)
Win: New Haven
QF: USO - against Novak Djokovic 7-6(2),1-6, 7-5, 6-2
Fin: Malaysian Open
QF: China Open
1st: Master’s Series (Shanghai)
QF: Valencia Open
3rd: Master’s Series (Paris)
Win: Davis Cup (together with Lopez, Fernando clinched the 3rd point in doubles)
Conclusion
So on balance, Fernando seemed to have advanced from a career fourth-rounder to a consistent QFer (not able to get past the top 8), but that represents huge improvement.
From winning two career titles in five years, he added one more this year, made another major Davis Cup contribution, and played in the WTF.
More than that, Fernando demonstrated the ability to be "dangerous," that elusive quality that means on any given occasion, he can best the top players. He has all the weapons: forehand, backhand, net play, speed, to be better than the Gonzaleses, Soderlings, and Tsongas on tour. He has advanced to the top ten, and demonstrated game.
The hope, for this tennis fan, is for continued improvement and belief from this talented player. I believe he continues to be one to watch.
Read More of 'How the ATP/WTA Fared ...' written by others at b/r:
Fernando Verdasco
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