US Open - Fish in frame for US Open run

American Mardy Fish put himself firmly among the challengers for the US Open, his defeated opponent and compatriot Andy Roddick said.

Since Wimbledon, Fish has won at Newport Beach and Atlanta and narrowly lost to Roger Federer in the Cincinnati Masters final.

Even though Fish, who enjoyed his only victory over Federer the last time they met at Indian Wells in 2008, lost the final, Roddick believes he has earned the right to be considered a real contender at Flushing Meadows.

"You're going to have the normal cast of characters as the favourites and then that next kind of tier of four or five guys and I think Mardy has played himself into that discussion," Roddick said. "I think with this week I've kind of put myself back in that discussion."

Roddick will re-enter the top 10 in next week's rankings after reaching the last four but Fish has flown up the rankings and will be 21st, even if he loses Sunday's final.

In the guide to current hard court form in North America, the US Open Series rankings, only Britain's Andy Murray is above Fish, who agrees with his old school mate and friend that he is in the frame at the US Open, which begins on August 30.

"I think it's fair to say. I've won a lot of matches this summer, more than most guys," Fish said. "You know, the US Open Series, there's no better way to judge than that. I think I'm pretty high up that list.

"I feel great, I've done some things that I have never done in my career and won more matches this year up to this point than I ever have.

"I have a great opportunity to improve my ranking to where I've never been before."

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/22082010/58/ … n-run.html

Strzeż się Novak, odchudzony Fish będzie czekał w IV rundzie

US Open 2010 - wywiad po zwycięstwie w 2 rundzie

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I noticed that you had 14 aces throughout the match, but you only had 52% first serve percentage. What else did you do right out there today?

MARDY FISH: Well, I competed well. You know, he started out great, really sort of uncharacteristic to what I thought he was going to play like. I never played him, practiced with him, played him in doubles, none of that, or seen him play all that much. You know, I knew he was sort of a typical slow court player, and he took to the hardcourts really well in the beginning. I was sort of surprised how aggressive he was playing. So I kind of fought hard to stay just a break down, to be honest, in that first set. I figured that hopefully I could weather this as long as I can, and eventually, you know, he'll maybe come down to earth a little bit. He gave me a few points there in that 5 4 game and the 6 5 game to allow me to win that first set, which was huge, because the weather, it was pretty hot. So, you know, the first set is huge in this type of weather.

Q. Any other shots in particular or parts of your game that may have won you some points specifically?

MARDY FISH: I mean, I think I was pretty solid throughout from the baseline, much more aggressive than with my first round. I thought I played better than my first round, as well. I think my legs won me a few points in the end of that first set. You know, I felt -- physically I felt great throughout the match, and I knew he was sort of struggling there a little bit, I could tell.

Q. You made the quarters here a couple years ago. Is there a sense of house money? You seem so relaxed in the big spots as you were today.

MARDY FISH: Um, I mean, this is a scenario playing, you know, these first few rounds in a tournament, in this tournament, that I'm not used to much. There's a lot of people that have talked about my summer and how well I've played. To be honest, I felt like I've been the underdog most matches in my career. This is the spot that I want to be in. You know, you want to be the favorite and winning a lot, so I think my summer that is changed a lot of that. But I have played well here the past couple times that I've come. So, you know, I've got a really good opportunity, you know, from the 12 month calendar year from Newport, you know, sort of the start of Newport -- or I feel like that was the beginning of, you know, maybe a 12 month run that I can try to get myself into the top 10. I have a really good opportunity. I didn't play -- obviously I didn't play at all last year. Still have four or five zero pointers on my ranking that will come off. I'm excited.

Q. It just seems weird. This is your 10th US Open, and to find yourself in that spot 10 years out.

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I mean, and I've come in a couple times having played well in the weeks prior to the Open, 2003 and 2004. I played well in Cincinnati in 2003. I was 21 years old at the time, so people, you know, talked a lot about me then. Then 2004 after the Olympics, people talked a lot there. I didn't handle it well. I learned from it, obviously. I've learned from even my first round match here to, you know, like you said, just be a little more loose, have a little more fun, and enjoy the spot that you're in.

Q. Is there a greater satisfaction knowing what it takes to do all that and having gone through all of that to be where you are?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I mean, certainly the experience helps a ton with that. I've been in a lot of positions in my career, but I've never put myself in a Grand Slam sort of as a guy that people talk about to really, you know, really do well here.You know, I've come in under the radar. The two quarters I made I was unseeded in both of them and under the radar quite a bit. This is a new -- certainly new for me, and I enjoy it.

Q. We have expectations for you, but what are your expectations?

MARDY FISH: Um, well, I'd like another crack at a top 5 player, top 10 player in a slam. I think I've beaten a couple of them in slams, but never deep into a tournament. So, you know, sort of getting yourself into winning maybe another match and getting myself into the situation of playing, you know, a Djokovic or a Davydenko or one of these guys that has been there quite a few times you know, slam in, slam out, they're going deep so to put myself in a position to play them. I certainly feel like I can hang with them.

Q. I'm wondering with all that heat and humidity if you might still be losing weight on us here.

MARDY FISH: Probably. Out there I probably did. (Smiling.) I'll try to put it back on. No, you sweat quite a bit. You've got to be real disciplined a couple days before these, all these matches, to, you know, really hydrate well and hydrate during the match. There's a lot going on to try not to cramp out there. You just never know how your body is going to react to all the sweating.

Q. Might you actually lose up to four or five pounds out there today?

MARDY FISH: Oh, sure. It's definitely possible. I weigh myself before and after almost every match.

Q. What about today? Did you go down?

MARDY FISH: Um, I did. You do, for sure. You just lose all the water weight and try to put it back on right away. It's only a couple pounds. It's nothing drastic.

Q. Tennis is obviously a sport of up and downs; everyone goes through that. Close friends with Andy. What's your read on the sort of big picture? Good spring and sort of some problems after.

MARDY FISH: Yeah, you know, I mean, he's getting himself to feeling healthy. Yeah, it's certainly disappointing to see him lose. This is his favorite tournament. It was too late for me to stay up last night, but I saw it in the morning. I mean, you sort of are bummed out for a friend and you know, you know, how badly how much he puts into all the weeks that he plays. He's certainly had a spectacular career, so there's nothing to dwell on by any means. He'll be back. He'll put in the work, and he'll enjoy his time off now, I'm sure.

Q. Do you think he could win another slam?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I mean, he's gone through periods where he's been the best player on that, you know, on that surface during that week. You saw in the spring he was the best hardcourt player by far not by far but he was the best hardcourt player during that time. If there's a Grand Slam during that time, he's the winner. Every slam he puts himself in the position where he's physically as fit as anyone, you know, and he can handle any challenge that anyone brings. There's no doubt that you know, I'm sure in his last few years out here he'll put himself in his best position to do well at Wimbledon. Clearly that's one that he wants, and I would probably expect him to not play as much. We only played two clay court tournaments this year. But, you know, sort of cure his maybe kind of like Lendl did back in the day when he geared himself around wanting to do well at Wimbledon. So we'll see what happens, but clearly he's probably, you know, disappointed today.

Q. What are your thoughts on whether Andy plays aggressively enough when he's on the court? There was discussion after his match yesterday. His opponent said he doesn't see Andy as being the aggressor as much as he should be.

MARDY FISH: Well, I think he's I've watched some tape of him when he won the US Open in 2003. He's certainly played a more aggressive style. But I think he's fitter now than he was back then, so he can rely on his legs a little bit more now. There's clearly -- he's no dummy. You know, he's gonna play how he feels best suits him. You know, he's got a great team behind him that Larry -- they put together a game plan, and I guarantee you that's how it's gonna play. You know, that's how they think that he can best play, and he's sometimes he is the aggressor. I didn't watch much of the match last night, so, you know... But with his serve, he can be on you like lightning.

Q. The other day when you were talking you were saying how like before the weight started to come off you stopped right before you got tired. How did it change once the weight came off, and how are you feeling now?

MARDY FISH: Well, it was sort of -- I really got aggressive with my training once I was -- once I knew I was able to put in the long hours and not get, you know, injured or have nicks and bruises and things like that that come up when you're probably not in your best shape.And it really got -- it got fun. I mean, it got fun to practice. It's fun to, you know, try to outlast guys, and it's fun to see when, you know, you play a match like today and you're in the heat and you sort of crawl back and win that first set. You kind of look over in the changeover and you see the guys got the ice towel around and he's probably not feeling that well. That's why you put in the work.

Q. When did that whole process start exactly?

MARDY FISH: September 28th.

Q. You closed both of these matches pretty convincingly. Is that a part of the fitness, of the, of the confidence, are you trying to put the hammer down?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I think it was probably a lot of both. I think in both rounds guys kind of ran out of gas a little bit. I mean, it's hot. It's hot. I'm used to it. Both guys I played in the first two rounds only played New Haven. They weren't over here for Canada and Cincinnati and stuff. So I'm used to the heat.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interv … 56191.html

US Open 2010 - wywiad po porażce w 4 rundzie

MARDY FISH

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How do you feel about your run here this year?

MARDY FISH: Um, well, it's a little tough to put it into perspective this soon, but, um, it's been a great summer, obviously, for many reasons. Sort of put myself back into a position where I feel like I belong, and I put in a ton of hard work. Speaking just of this tournament, I mean, I haven't -- I don't think I've played necessarily my best tennis of the summer, but was in a position in the first three rounds, you know, sort of as the favorite of those matches. You know, in the third round of a slam, I haven't been in that situation many times, so it was nice to get through there. Novak played great today. You know, I just didn't execute. So it's been a great summer, to answer your question.

Q. You've beaten a lot of top players. What is it about Novak that's given you problems? Is it a matchup issue?

MARDY FISH: I mean, it certainly is a matchup issue. We've played a lot of good matches. I mean, we've had we played a match in Hopman Cup one year; he beat me 7 6 in the third. The final of Indian Wells was 6 3 in the third. Indian Wells just this year was three sets, as well. So we've played good matches. I felt so many times today like even off my first serves I was sort of fighting to neutralize the point. I was on my back foot quite a bit even, when I was with the wind. I think he certainly had the advantage as far as playing I haven't played on that court in two years. Man, is it different from playing on Louis Armstrong and Grandstand. There's not hardly any wind outside, and it's windy in there, really windy. For him to play every match in there and sort of get used to that I think certainly helped him. Didn't help me at all. It took me a while just to get used to sort of the conditions. Even when I warmed up this morning at 10:30 it wasn't too bad. We actually looked at the flag up at the top of the stadium, and it was dead. It wasn't moving at all.

Q. Do you think the Americans have gotten short shrift on the stadium courts this tournament?

MARDY FISH: I like Louis. Louis Armstrong and Grandstand are two of the best courts we have out here. I had 20 minutes to get ready, you know, for that. I never got a chance to get on there the practice week. You know, for whatever reason, I don't know why they haven't put us on there, but I'm sure that had nothing that doesn't mean that if I play Clément out there that I win today by any means. But it took me a while to get used to it, for sure. It's certainly a windy court.

Q. Can you predict from the way the flag is blowing where the wind is going, or is it different on the...

MARDY FISH: No, it's pretty predictable. The way that the flag is going, it's the opposite of the way the flag is going, for whatever reason. I looked at the forecast today and it didn't look like it was too windy at all. Certainly got to be the windiest court out there, for sure.

Q. Heading forward, have you set any kind of goals in terms of a ranking or results where you'd like to be at this time next year?

MARDY FISH: Well, I mean, I'm sure I'll sit down with the right people, you know, maybe after Davis Cup, and try to come up with some ranking goals and some tournament goals, like you said. Just off the top of my head, I'd love to make it into the top 10. I think there's just such a significant difference between a player who's been in the top 20 or even the top 15 and then, you know, a top 10 player. I mean, there's not many guys that have done it, and seems like most of the really good players on tour have been there, you know, just once just for a couple weeks, if that's what it is. But, you know, you saw someone like Stan Wawrinka yesterday beat Murray. He's been in the top, as high as 8 in the world. He's had a run, and people have put together runs like that. I've certainly put myself in a great position. I got 1400 points or so in the summer just in the summer, the U.S. summer. So, I mean, that alone puts you around top 30 in the world. I've got a great opportunity, and so that -- just off the top of my head, that would be a huge goal for me.

Q. How did you feel today? I mean, it looked like you were laboring a little bit at times. How did you feel on the court?

MARDY FISH: It's just, you know, you're at the end of a long summer. I haven't played many tournaments, but I played way more matches than I ever have, which is a great thing. I'm certainly not complaining, but, you know, I don't think anyone feels 100% at this point. I've got a few things that are going on, but none of which had any effect on the match. You know, so I think it kind of comes down to just a matter of, you know, trying to put together the best plan of attack to play him, and then execution. You know, because, I mean, I think sometimes I sort of get into a rut of it's so much fun for me now to be able to sort of run down shots and play a little bit of defense. I do that too much, and I'm aware of it, for the most part. But he plays defense as good as anyone, and so he's better than me at it, for sure. That was the case. I tried to, you know, get to the net, tried to stay more, you know, be a little more aggressive towards the middle part of the match. I just didn't -- I had some chances. I just didn't execute, generally. He played great. He played he kicked my butt. He played great.

Q. Do you feel like you missed an opportunity with that Love 40 breakpoint in the middle of the second set?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I mean, that's a huge I think I was down a break at that point, as well.

Q. Yeah, you were.

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I mean, to get back on serve, maybe switch the momentum a little bit would have been huge. You come out of most matches and you think, Man, well, if I would have won this point or won that game, you know, things would have turned around in the match. It's really hard to say that with the scoreline being so one sided. But, you know, yeah, maybe that would have been a nice game to win and maybe switch the mode a little bit.

Q. I'm sure you're aware Patrick McEnroe announced this morning he will be stepping down as Davis Cup captain after the tie in Bogota. I'm wondering just your thoughts on his tenure as captain and what qualities you think are needed at the moment for his successor?

MARDY FISH: I had a great time playing for P Mac. It truly was an honor to play for him. I saw him when he took the job, I was, you know, sort of part of the mix in the beginning of my career. I saw him evolve from, you know, a rookie Davis Cup captain to a great Davis Cup captain, which is what he was now. I saw, you know, him handle players the way he handled players in the beginning of his captaincy and sort of the way he handles players now. He was extremely open to, not really criticism but, you know, handling players specific ways, not handling everybody the same way. I think he did an amazing job with that. It's a tough job in a sense that you've got to let a lot of people down, as well. Sometimes I was on that at that end of it. I felt like maybe sometimes I, you know, could have played certain ties or could have been that second singles guy sometimes. He always was really straightforward. You know, sometimes brutally straightforward as far as where I stood, and I also respected that, as well. So we had a great time. He was one of the guys when we were -- you know, during the weeks, and he will be missed.

Q. Patrick and José Higueras were up here before talking about American tennis and why there would be six Spaniards in the round of 16 and two Americans. Do you have any theories on that, about why Spain, what they do? You play these guys. Why do they do so well?

MARDY FISH: Just off the top of my head, I think that tennis is a huge sport in Spain. Clearly Rafa Nadal and Fernando Verdasco are Spain's best athletes. They're getting a lot of their you know, obviously soccer is their biggest sport, but tennis is right there. I mean, Rafael Nadal is arguably the biggest sporting athlete they've ever had. They've got -- they just keep coming at you with guys that can play on hard courts or clay courts. If I named all the guys, I'd forget three of them probably. (Smiling.) They're just unbelievably tough outs week in, week out, David Ferrer, guys like that. So, you know, these guys are their best athletes, I think. They've got a lot of people playing tennis over there, and they love it.

Q. Just to follow up on that, is there anything that Spanish players do in general that you see, any characteristic of theirs as their approach to the game, strategy or mental?

MARDY FISH: I think one of the things, if you look at, they're all in unbelievable shape. You won't come across a, you know, a top 50 Spaniard who isn't afraid to take his shirt off in practice, you know, and looks good doing it, you know. (Laughter.) They're in shape. They're physically fit. You know, they can play on all surfaces, you know. Having a high number next to your name means you have to be successful on a lot of surfaces, you know. These guys can play on clay, clearly can play on fast hard court that's here, and do well at Wimbledon, as well.

Q. Yesterday Sam said that too much is being made of the changes in your physique and the upgrade to your game. What are your thoughts right now about the changes in your game and your physique and what it might predict for the future?

MARDY FISH: Well, I can't -- you know, I don't know where it takes me. I've always said that. I'm not sure where I'll end up as far as, you know, 12 months from now coming back here, where I'll be ranked or what I've accomplished or what, you know... But I know that I feel like a completely different person. You know, I mean, I always had the ability to beat a lot of good players, but not consistently. I feel like consistently I can do it now over the long haul. And I've got to do a better job that I didn't do today. Just sort of figure out the exact strategy that I want, and I'll hopefully try to figure that out over the course of, you know, the next few months or however long it takes me to sort of find that happy medium between staying aggressive and playing defense. I'd love to -- I feel like I can play on clay a little bit now, as well. So it's, you know, Sam has a higher metabolism than I do. He doesn't know what it feels like to, you know, be overweight and then to work as hard as I did to get back to where I am now. You know, I think he's sort of trying to stick up for me a little bit in the sense that everyone's saying, Well, I've lost this weight so now I'm a good player where maybe I wasn't before. I just wasn't consistent before. I could have a result here and result there, but never consistently. So I think that's maybe what he's trying to say.

Q. Playing Djokovic, is it kind of hard to read him sometimes as far as get a rhythm because he has that sort of a sleeping giant effect where you can't really see what he's gonna...

MARDY FISH: He puts a lot of pressure on you with his movement. He's probably -- you know, he's top, you know, 3 fastest guys as far as his movement is concerned on tour. It's very hard to wrong foot him. It's very hard to win a winner from the baseline. It's very hard to get him sort of on defense. You know, you can't really rely on much as far as a game plan against him. I mean, he returns so well. He can go through stretches where he can serve really well, too, serve as well as anyone. When he hits his spots on his serve and holds serve all the time, he's always up there as far as breaking serve. He's, you know, probably in the top 2 or 3 as far as return games won on tour. There's just not many holes there to try to figure out. Clearly, I mean, his record speaks for itself. He will I'm sure in no time he will win more Grand Slams than he's got now.

Q. What are your thoughts on Sam's game and his chances here in Week 2?

MARDY FISH: He seems like he's in a great spot right now. I think his draw has opened up pretty good for him. I think probably the toughest guy in there might be Youzhny to make the semis, and he's in a great spot. He's put himself in that spot. I think the world of Sam's game. I really think he's got a lot of upside. If he were a stock, I'd buy big time. (Laughter.) I've said that for a while. I mean, his serve alone will keep him in the top 30, easily. And then, you know, once he develops his backhand and figures out that he's 6'6" and moves like he's 6', you know, and sort of uses his movement to his advantage, the sky's the limit. I mean, he won't have very many weaknesses. He plays a lot of doubles, so he tries to, you know, figure out his short game a little bit as far as the volleys and stuff. He's got that sort of happy go lucky mentality that, you know, nothing really gets to him as far as the stage. He's played a lot of big matches and doesn't seem like that affects him all that much.

Q. If U.S. men's tennis right now were a stock, what would you do?

MARDY FISH: I'd buy high. No, I think Sam's got a great future. I'm not sure how high, you know, how high that is, but he's won a lot of tournaments this year and he's only getting better. And then, you know, I think Harrison has a lot of Roddick in him, a lot of, you know, Roddick when he was 18. He's got a big game. More importantly, he wants it. You can tell he wants it real bad. Just being around him, he is intense about tennis. We said -- we saw him after his match where he lost here and said, you know, Bad luck or whatever. He said, Oh, I shouldn't have missed that forehand in the fourth set or something like that. I was like, What are you talking I said, I knew you were doomed when you lost the first point of the match, you know. He's an intense kid. You know, these two guys are gonna be around for a long time.

Q. Mary Carrillo was joking that you might let up on the diet now and have a beer or something to relax. Is there something you are looking forward to?

MARDY FISH: Well, I still have to play doubles. I'm looking forward to getting out there on the Grandstand right now, and then after that we'll see where it takes us. We've got Davis Cup, you know, in a week. There's not really -- not too many breaks. I won't slip up, though. Tell her I won't slip up. (Laughter.)

Q. Speaking of Harrison, what's your explanation for the lack of teens in the top 100 or 200?

MARDY FISH: I don't know. Something that Andy said to me, he asked me what the average age in the top 100 was or what I thought I was. I said, I don't know, 23, 24. He said 27 years old. I was surprised at it. I think it's one of those things where you it's a really physical game now. And by that, I mean it's a long year, year after year after year, and, you know, the young guys in these -- they're just fragile, I feel like. You know, you look at Rafa and some of these guys, even Andy. I mean, these are big guys. Soderling, he's a big guy, you know. Just over the course of a season. Maybe they can Harrison can beat a player here or a player there, but he's got to grow into his body. He'll get physically stronger and fitter. Gosh, it's a long year. Once you finish that year then you have to do it all over next year and then do it ten years in a row.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interv … 46973.html

Odejmowanie i dodawanie punktów za 2 wielkie turnieje jednoczesnie (Paryż, Londyn) zazwyczaj oznacza spore przesunięcia rankingowe. Brawo Mardy, Top-15 w zasięgu.

The Last Word: ATP No. 16, Mardy Fish


Fish nearly single-handedly won a Davis Cup
tie for the United States in Colombia.

Best of 2010
Fish, newly trim, built stamina and confidence through the second half of the year. That new form and fitness peaked with a heroic five-set win over Santiago Giraldo (3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6) to clinch a relegation Davis Cup tie for the U.S. in the altitude of Colombia.

Worst of 2010
Losing to Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the U.S. Open is nothing to be ashamed of, but through the summer Fish had begun to make us believe he could win a match like that. Instead he went quietly, 3, 4, and 1.

Year in Review
At 29, Fish may have had his finest year. He finished a career-high No. 16, won two tournaments and reached two finals, the latter of which was a close, three-set loss to Roger Federer. All of it came after he lost 30 pounds and, for the first time in his career, completely dedicated himself to the sport.

See for Yourself
Fish challenges Federer in Cincy:



The Last Word
Fish has had his up years, months, and matches before and has had trouble following them up. He finished the year injured, so he’ll have to create his summer momentum again from scratch. But if he stays as fit as he was this season, Australia should be a good place for him to begin.

—Steve Tignor

http://www.tennis.com/articles/template … 3&zoneid=9

THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
DEUCE


Mardy Fish is currently No. 16 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings.

Last year, Mardy Fish resurrected his career; realising that athletic ability was not enough to survive on the ATP World Tour. By maturing into a true professional, the American was able to regain his Top 20 ranking.

Mardy Fish tried his best to put on a brave face. Still he could not stop the tears from streaming down. The red, white and blue flag being raised for the gold medal winner on the podium at the Athens Olympics was not the Stars and Stripes. And the national anthem that was playing was definitely not the Star Spangled Banner. Rather the Himno Nacional de Chile. It all seemed like a bad dream to the young American. Less than an hour earlier, he was on the verge of making it a dream come true. A sharp pain seared through his body. It was greater than any injury he had ever experienced. It was the nasty, brutal kind. The Tennis Gods had played a cruel joke on the talented Mr. Fish.

"The Olympics were very painful. It was one of my greatest highs, but it also became one of my greatest lows."

“He came so close to winning being up two sets to one,” says Tom Fish, Mardy’s father. “It was heartbreaking to watch. Though, for me he did fantastic. When he left for Athens, he said, ‘I am going to come back with a medal.’ And I am thinking, wow, good attitude son.”

It was a lofty goal for someone who was ranked in the 30s at the time.

“The Olympics were very painful,” confesses Mardy Fish. “It was one of my greatest highs, but it also became one of my greatest lows. When it came time for Beijing, I did not want to go through that pain again. I think that I have matured since then, and I just hope that I am in good form and fortunate enough to be selected for London [2012].”

Trace Mardy Fish’s career and you would have a sketch that looks a bit like the Rocky Mountains of Colorado; high rising peaks mixed with sheer drop-offs. In the fall of 2009, a severe knee injury backed Fish into a corner. There was no way out. He would have to commit or quit. Fish chose to commit.

The results speak for themselves, a career-high ranking of No. 16. And with wins over Andy Murray (Miami, Queen’s Club and Cincinnati), Andy Roddick (Atlanta and Cincinnati), John Isner (Atlanta); and titles at Newport and Atlanta. Oh yes, there was the matter of his Davis Cup heroics in Colombia. Just exactly when Mardy Fish started putting in the hard yards and stopped Super-Sizing his meals is not known. But most figure it came about somewhere between marriage and the knee surgery.

“Resurrection and commitment are the words that first spring to mind when I think of Mardy's career,” says Jim Courier. “Mardy has really blossomed and matured in the past couple of years, which is a credit both to him and surely to the influence of his wife. He experienced the serious knee surgery that threatened his career and then firmly committed himself to getting fit for the first time in his career. It was a career resurrection.”

“There was not an exact moment where I said, ‘this is it’,” admits Fish. “It kind of built up and with the knee surgery and not being able to work out at all with the stitches, it just hit me. I had a lot of questions. I had been fooling myself. I thought I was in shape, but I really was not. Basically, I was too heavy to be running around a tennis court.

"Outside of his talent, his greatest attribute was his belief."

“I wasn't surprised at all about his commitment,” says good friend and Davis Cup teammate James Blake.

“I thought that maybe ten pounds would be good for him," says Tom Fish. “When he lost that he said he felt good, and decided to drop another ten. And then another ten.”

After it was all said and done, Fish had shed 30 pounds. His problem had never been hitting the ball, it was getting to it. Now that was solved, he could get on with the business of winning tennis matches.

You can say a lot of things about Mardy Fish, but lack of ability is not one of them. Tennis coaches on the ATP World Tour rarely agree on anything, but one thing that anybody who has ever fed a ball to Mardy Fish consent on is his natural born talent.
 
“He has always been an incredible athlete,” says Tom Fish. “He did not really choose tennis until he was 15 years old. I knew he was special but did not know what sport he would choose. He was good at all of them, baseball, golf, basketball and tennis.”

“His talent was very obvious in all sports,” says Mardy’s former coach, Stanford Boster. “He is almost a scratch golfer and sometimes joked that he has chosen the wrong sport. Mardy always knew he was going to be a tennis professional. It also helped that Tom and Sally (Mardy’s parents) encouraged a professional career and his Dad was instrumental in putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”

“Outside of his talent, his greatest attribute was his belief,” continues Boster. “He could have been playing the worst tennis against a great player and somehow still believed he should win.”

Coach Kelly Jones was by Mardy’s side when he got his breakthrough on the ATP World Tour. Jones backs up Boster’s claim.

“Well the first thing is that he (Fish) believes he can beat anybody,” explains Jones. “That there is absolutely nobody he cannot beat on a given day. This is one thing that he said to me and then he went out and backed it up. And he is an exceptional athlete.”

Scott McCain was the United States Tennis Association’s men’s pro development coach when Mardy was coming through the ranks.

"Mardy was like any other teenager. He enjoyed all sports, cars, music and girls."

“I think obviously he used his talent to make his breakthrough,” says McCain. “His talent was good enough to get him to Top 20. But, today, we see a different Mardy Fish. I don’t think he is as much worried about style as he is about how he can win this particular match.”

Mardy’s father agrees.

“He has definitely grown up a ton,” says Tom Fish. “He used to try to beat players with just his sheer athletic talents and ball striking ability.”

Talk about Mardy Fish long enough and you will learn that there is Mardy Fish the tennis player, and Mardy Fish the person. The player might have had his struggles, but the person was always very popular with the boys. And the girls.

“Mardy was like any other teenager,” says Boster. “He enjoyed all sports, cars, music and girls.”

And the girls must have enjoyed Mardy. His wife, the lovely actress Stacey Gardner gets more stares from the Centre Court crowd than Hawkeye.

“The first thing that comes to my mind with Mardy is a good time,” says James Blake. “He is someone that is always making people laugh. When we were younger and playing a lot of doubles together, I remember that some of the other doubles players thought we weren't taking it seriously. Yet we played great and were trying, but we just had so much fun that we were laughing the whole time we were on the court.”

It was billed as the Battle of Bogota. A Davis Cup World Group play-off tie between Colombia and the United States of America. The warm sunny days that Bogota enjoyed all week, came to end on the final day of the tie. It was a damp, grey Sunday morning when play started in the Plaza de Toros. The bullring was draped in the tricolour of the Colombian flag; yellow, red and blue. As the Colombian crowd entered the Plaza de Toros wearing sombreros, tight fitting blue jeans and leather cowboy boots, Mardy Fish entered the bullring with his ball cap pulled down low and dressed like a Ralf Lauren poster boy. However, image was the last thing on this quiet American’s mind. He might as well have entered with a hard hat and tool box for it was obvious by his demeanour and five-set win on the first day and four-set doubles win on the previous, that he was not leaving Colombia until it was 'Mission Accomplished'.

"Mardy has great variety in his game. He can adapt to the situation."

The scoreboard indicated the Americans were leading, but if synergy could talk it would say that this would be death in the afternoon for Team USA. It would not be pretty tennis, but at an altitude of 8,000-feet, it never promised to be. In addition to Santiago Giraldo and Alejandro Falla of Team Colombia, Fish was facing a clear and present danger to his mission; pressure-less tennis balls. With a forehand that looks more like a slingshot than a stroke taught from a ‘How To Play Tennis Manual’, Mardy would have to adapt to the tricky conditions. Fish went old school mixing up quick and delayed pressure so much that not even Captain Patrick McEnroe knew what he would do next.

“Mardy has great variety in his game,” quipped McEnroe wisely. “He can adapt to the situation as needed.”

Early in the fourth set, there was a bit of a scare for Team USA when Fish, on a coast to coast scramble, tumbled to the court plowing his racquet hand into the clay. The flesh on three knuckles was ripped off. With blood on his hands, and the momentum swinging towards Colombia, Fish toughened up.

“It looked worse than it was,” says Doug Spreen, Team USA trainer. “Basically, we washed it out. Mardy gritted his teeth, and went back to the front lines.”

He would need a little more than toughness to take down Santiago Giraldo who was now scrambling around the court like a terrier in heat. The match was level at two sets all.

When Giraldo broke the Fish serve at five games each, it looked like Mardy was done and dusted. With Giraldo now serving at 30-all, somebody from Team Colombia did not do their homework because Giraldo served to Fish’s backhand. Hell, even on the ATP Player Profile it says clear as day that the backhand return is Mardy’s favourite shot. Fish blistered the return for a forcing error. Break point converted proved to be Brokeback Mountain for Colombia.

This Davis Cup tie will forever be remembered as the Mardy Fish Show, and for rescuing the Americans from relegation. Team USA Coach Jay Berger adds.

"I watched every last point of Mardy's matches in Bogota and he was inspirational."

“It came down to Mardy getting the ball in the court more than anyone else,” says Berger. “Mardy brought a lot of commitment to the team without any ego. Before we had our first practice, he told us that he did not care if he does not play at all, or if he plays every match. He is here to do whatever it takes to the get the win and get back to the World Group.”

“Mardy leads by example,” says Davis Cup teammate Ryan Harrison. “You see the way he goes about preparing. Every day same routines, he gets out before everyone else. First one at breakfast, etcetera. I have learned a lot from him.”

“I watched every last point of Mardy's matches in Bogota and he was inspirational,” says new Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier. “Winning all three points in a tie puts him in rare company in US team records.”

After listening to any and all who have ever known Mardy Fish, it sounds as if all of his career he has been auditioning for a role in a Batman movie. Only he was not sure if he wanted to play the hero or the Joker. After the stunt he pulled in Bogota, how about Ironman? These days he has an entire cast of coaches singing his praises.

“Mardy has started buying shares in himself,” claims Stanford Boster.

“The maturing Mardy Fish is what we are seeing today,” says Kelly Jones.

On 28 December 2010, Mardy Fish cut his holiday short and arrived in Brisbane, Australia a week early.

“I did not want to leave anything in the bag for the start of the year,” said Fish. “I wanted to make sure that I did everything right preparation wise.”

Mardy’s coach, David Nainken, believes that he is on the right track.

“Mardy is a true professional,” says Nainken. “A lot of good years in him.”

If we have learned anything about Mardy Fish, it is that he is a multi-talented athlete who is a lot of fun to be around and who saves his best stuff for the biggest stage. Now that he has added substance to the style, it is most likely that we will be seeing a whole lot more of the talented Mr. Fish in 2011.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/DEUCE- … -Fish.aspx

Fish Earns SF Berth, Top Dog Status



Mardy Fish produced another quality performance at the Sony Ericsson Open, defeating No. 6 seed David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami.

The conditions were tough for both players, but Fish handled the circumstances better, continuing to pressure his opponent when the Spaniard became frustrated.  "You know you're not going to play well going out there… the ball is not exactly where you want it to be with the wind like that,” said Fish.

“I know that in the back of my mind… [I did not play] nearly as well as I played yesterday, because the ball is not going to be in the position I want it to be in, the wind might take the ball longer or shorter than yesterday, and you're not going to be as dialed in. I knew that. I tried to use it to my advantage.”

Fish, the lone American left in either singles draw, kept alive the possibility of a player from the United States winning the men's event for a second consecutive season. Andy Roddick took home the trophy in 2010 but was bounced in the second round last week. With the win, Fish will become the highest-ranked American for the first time on Monday, overtaking Roddick.

Tennis analyst and Fish’s former Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe is thrilled about the landmark Fish will acquire next week.

“It’s a testament to Mardy’s commitment in the last couple years to become the best player he can be, so I couldn’t be happier for him and prouder of what he’s done. I think it is a milestone,” McEnroe told www.sonyericssonopen.com after the match concluded.

“I know Mardy’s big goal is to get to the Top 10 and he’s very close to doing that now, so I think it sets him up (hopefully knock on wood), he can stay healthy the rest of the year and has a great shot to finish in Top 10 and even higher.” 

Fish evened his record against Ferrer to three wins and three losses, and is seeded to meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. The World No. 2 tonight plays Kevin Anderson, the South African who shocked the Serb in their only meeting, in Miami three years ago, when Djokovic was defending champion.

Djokovic and the No. 14-seeded Fish have met five times, and the 2007 Miami champion is yet to lose to the Floridian. Their most notable match came at the final of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells in 2008, when Djokovic edged Fish in a close three-set match. The Serbian is riding a 23-match winning streak dating back to last December’s Davis Cup Final and Fish isn’t taken aback by Djokovic’s results.

“It's really not that surprising when you watch him play that he hasn't lost yet, because he's playing so well,” commented Fish about Djokovic’s undefeated record this season.
“He's not going to win every single match this year. Whether it be this week or in July, he's not going to win every one. It's just not possible. So hopefully it can be me.”

Though Djokovic will be the heavy favorite against Fish should he get past Anderson, McEnroe isn’t ready to write off Fish’s chances. “Mardy’s got to serve well like he did today against Ferrer. He’s got to be aggressive when he can, but also has to be consistent, so it’s a fine line,” said McEnroe.

“Djokovic has been unbelievable this year… but Mardy is playing with a lot of confidence and he’s had three great wins in a row here, so he should be primed.”

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … tatus.aspx

Mardy w najbliższy poniedziałek zawita do Top-10.

Graty !