2010 Farmers Classic

Knock me down, it’s all in vain

I’ll get right back on my feet again!

The Southern California crowd was clearly on native son Sam Querrey’s side during his semifinal match Saturday afternoon.  The Thousand Oaks resident rewarded them almost three hours later with the win, 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4.  These UCLA courts Querrey loves have been a battlefield for him all week, the semifinal having been his third three-setter at the Farmers Classic. He has come dangerously close to getting dumped from the draw more than once, but has persevered.

The American brought out the big guns, his serve and forehand, against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, playing aggressively throughout the match.  The only drawback to that style was a tendency to overhit, causing balls to sail long or land in the net.  For the most part, patience and persistence paid off for Tipsarevic.  Using strong defensive skills and a few booming serves of his own, the Serb worked on keeping the Querrey on the move, waiting for an opening to hit a winner.  Those tactics helped him win the first set in a tiebreak and took him to match point in the second.  Querrey had to dig deep to stay alive at 4-5 and again down a 1-5 deficit in the tiebreak.   A few great serves and superior shotmaking under pressure from Querrey cost Tipsarevic the lead, the set, as well as a racquet, and took the match into the final stretch.

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And another one gone and another one gone...

Queen may not have been talking tennis when they wrote “Another One Bites the Dust,” but read the lyrics and you will see they're pretty apropos.  There are no second chances in tennis; a player either gets the job done or he's done, even if it isn't perfect or pretty.  Although Janko Tipsarevic has won his three matches in straight sets, it took three tough sets for both Sam Querrey and Feliciano Lopez to land a spot in the Semifinals. The ride has been equally bumpy for the top seed and World No. 4, Andy Murray.   Wednesday night, the Scotsman struggled against American qualifier Tim Smyczek, showing some rust on his shotmaking since his last tournament appearance in the Wimbledon semis.  Still seeking a title in 2010, Murray seems to be doing battle more with himself than with his opponents.   “I hadn’t been training that much since Wimbledon,” he commented.  “Obviously, a change of surface, not playing a lot…  I think it’s a combination of three or four things, really.”

Murray's challenge in the Quarterfinals was getting past Colombian Alejandro Falla, the man who almost caused one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history by nearly knocking Roger Federer out of the First Round last month.   Though neither player could find any real consistency, Falla took advantage of his opponent’s error-prone game early on, keeping the scoreline close and threatening to steal the first set.  The Scot had to dig his way out of more than one service game, managing to save two set points in the process and finally clinched the lead in a tiebreak.  Unfortunately for Falla, the wheels came off in the second set.  Too many errors and some poor shot selection offered Murray several break opportunities and he capitalized on just enough of them to close out the match, 7-6(3), 6-1.

We're comin' to your town,

The band of brothers known as Bob and Mike Bryan isn’t just interested in making records; they're looking to break them as well.  With their recent win in Madrid, the twins now have 61 titles, matching the record held by Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, aka "The Woodies," previously the most successful doubles team in the Open Era.  Four wins this week, and the twins hailing from Camarillo, Calif. would cross the finish line a nose ahead of the Australian Hall of Famers with their 62nd title.   The Americans still trail the Woodies by three in Grand Slam titles. But they've got time to work on that record, since, according to Mike, they, "plan on playing another 5 years."

The Bryans are aiming for a sixth title here at UCLA and love playing on Straus Stadium, claiming they still got goosebumps before their first match this year.  “We played on that court when we were six years old and pretty much every year since, so that's our favorite court in the world,” Bob commented to the media.  “We treat this tournament like it's one of the biggest tournaments in the world.”