Return serve

Out more than two years with back woes, Dent is ready to resurface at Wimbledon

A few months ago, getting the chance to scuff up the world’s most hallowed greensward again was a fantasy. “This was going to be a feel-out year,’’ Taylor Dent figured. “To see if I could still compete with these guys.’’

Now, thanks to a whirlwind qualifying week at nearby Roehampton, Dent finds himself back on the biggest stage in tennis, drawn with Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round at Wimbledon. “It seems like a lifetime ago that I was here playing,’’ said Dent, who is having a most unlikely competitive rebirth at 28 after missing more than two years with back miseries that might even have convinced Job to hang up his racquet.

For six consecutive summers, Dent was a fixture at the Big W, making it to the fourth round in 2005. But that was before three surgeries wiped out the better part of three seasons, sent his ranking tumbling from 41st to 879th, and assigned him to the Whatever-Happened-To? category. “I had three years taken away from me against my will,’’ Dent said by telephone from London last week. “I didn’t retire.’’

Yet even after a reassuring resumption last winter, Dent’s ranking still was so low (269) that he needed a wild-card exemption just to get into the Roehampton qualifier, where 128 men were vying for 16 spots in Wimbledon’s main draw. Then, because of a rainout, Dent had to play three matches in three days, including a best-of-five on Thursday.

Such is life in the quallies, where the triple-digit guys knock heads. Some, like Dent, are former Top 30 players who’ve been hurt or in a slump and are clawing their way back up the international ladder. Others are forever-futures types, such as 253d-ranked Michael Yani, who play the ATP Challenger circuit hoping for a big-time breakout.

“There is nothing to describe how I feel,’’ the 28-year-old former Duke star said last week, after he’d knocked off 154th-ranked Prakash Amritraj to earn a main-draw date with Germany’s Simon Greul. “The closest I got to Wimbledon was when I drove past there the other day.’’

Qualified success
Once you’re through the gate, though, anything seems possible. There’s a significant list of qualifiers who’ve had magical runs at Wimbledon. John McEnroe made it to a Centre Court semifinal against Jimmy Connors in 1977. Boris Becker reached the third round in 1984 at 16 and Pat Rafter did it in 1993. In 1999, Alexandra Stevenson made it to the semis, Jelena Dokic to the quarters, and Kim Clijsters to the fourth round. And in 2000, Vladimir Voltchkov, ranked 237th, got to the semis before losing to Pete Sampras.

The way his season has been going, Dent sees no reason he can’t do some damage on a favorable surface during the next fortnight, even though he’s the lowest-ranked player in the draw. “If I hit my first serve and my forehand well, I’ll be a nightmare to play,’’ he said.

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_spor … wimbledon/

Lubię patrzeć na jego grę która jest efektowna ale niestety nie efektywna, chociaż jego mecz z Navarro był cudowny

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

Dent Commits To 2010 Newport

NEWPORT, R.I., - Taylor Dent, a past champion who is always a popular player with the fans in Newport, has committed to competing in the 2010 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, which will be held July 5 - 11, 2010 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. Tickets and holiday gift packages for the tournament are now available on www.tennisfame.com or via phone at 401-849-6053 or 866-914-FAME (3263).

To celebrate this first player commitment to the 2010 tournament field, fans who purchase $50 or more worth of tournament tickets now will also receive an autographed Taylor Dent photograph. To receive the photograph, patrons should enter the promo code TDENT2010 online or mention it over the phone. This offer is valid through December 31, 2009. Photographs will be provided while supplies last and this offer may not be combined with any other special offers.

Currently ranked No. 75 in the world, Dent made incredible strides in 2009, having started the season at No. 865 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings after being challenged with a recurring back problem in recent years. In the first week of the 2009 season, he won his first match since 2006 when he reached the second round at Brisbane. In March, he qualified for Indian Wells and advanced to the fourth round with victories over No. 20 Nicolas Almagro and No. 16 Tommy Robredo before losing to No. 2 Roger Federer. Dent entered the US Open as a wild card and posted wins over Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Ivan Navarro in a fifth-set tie-break before losing to No. 2 Andy Murray in the third round.

"Taylor has made a remarkable comeback this year. We've enjoyed following his progress and we are pleased that he will return to the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships to compete," said Mark Stenning, CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. "We know that our fans always enjoy seeing Taylor on the court and we look forward to welcoming him back in July."

Dent is a four-time champion on the ATP World Tour, including his 2002 victory in Newport, when he defeated James Blake. Dent made history with the victory in Newport, making himself and his father, former Top 20 Australian player Phil Dent, the first father-son duo to win ATP World Tour titles in the Open Era.

DUN I LOVE napisał:

W swojej karierze wygrał 5 turnieje ATP

a nie przypadkiem 4 ,widzę ze Taylor nie ma swojej gablotki więc warto mu ją zrobić,a może dołoży.. 5

2002

1)   NEWPORT

R1 Mario Ancic (CRO) 6-3, 6-4 
R2 Jeff Morrison (USA) 6-3, 6-4    
QF Alexander Popp (GER) 6-3, 6-2    
SF Robby Ginepri (USA)3-6, 6-3, 6-1    
F   James Blake (USA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4

2003

2)   MEMPHIS

R1 Mark Philippoussis (AUS) 7-6(15), 6-1 
R2 Jan-Michael Gambill (USA) 7-6(8), 7-6(4)
QF Vladimir Voltchkov (BLR) 7-6(1), 6-2    
SF Vincent Spadea (USA) 6-2, 6-4    
F   Andy Roddick (USA) 6-1, 6-4

3)   BANGKOK

R1 Wesley Moodie (RSA) 6-1, 6-4     
R2 Thierry Ascione (FRA)  6-1, 6-2
QF Nicolas Thomann (FRA) 6-3 RET    
SF Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 7-6(3), 6-2
F  Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 6-3, 7-6(5)

4)    MOSKWA

R1 Felix Mantilla (ESP) 6-2, 6-0     
R2 Olivier Rochus (BEL) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4    
QF Marc Rosset (SUI)     6-3, 6-4
SF Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(1)    
F   Sargis Sargsian (ARM) 7-6(5), 6-4

Taylor został wczoraj Ojcem Urodził mu się syn

Kolejny Tatuś w ATP

Gratulacje !

At 28, A New Beginning For Taylor

  After being told his career was over, Taylor Dent is making every day count as he continues a remarkable comeback.

The performance room at the IMG Academy seats about 120 athletes, and on this particular Tuesday evening, it is filled to capacity. The match on the big screen – though it featured Roger Federer – is to most observers a routine third-round contest at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. But the fact that American Taylor Dent is standing across the net from the Swiss maestro gives the match great significance.

"The room was slammed with all the up-and-coming kids cheering for him at the academy, male and female," said Trevor Moawad, the IMG Performance Institute Director. "Everyone was just so excited to watch Taylor play. Genuine happiness for him."

Though Dent would end up losing in straight sets to Federer, his third-round showing at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament was a victory in its own right, setting into motion a remarkable comeback season that saw the 28 year old surge more than 800 positions to No. 76 in the year-end South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings.

    "Everything would need to be retrained and re-hardened to tolerate the abuse again"

A return to the tennis court, let alone the Top 100, seemed unlikely for the former World No. 21 after a fractured vertebra and two resulting surgeries left him bed-ridden in a full body cast for nearly a year. Doctors had warned him to not undergo spinal fusion surgery, explaining it would essentially end his professional tennis career, but Dent was left with no other choice. "I had that surgery just for quality of life," said Dent, who fatigued easily from even menial housework.

He had accepted that his career was over but then received surprising news from the doctors in 2008. After seeing how well he had healed following his second surgery, they suggested Dent get back on the court and try playing again.

"How many people get second chances to pursue something they love, and something they're relatively good at? I jumped on," said Dent. "That was kind of the best day and the toughest day for me because I got back out on the court, and I saw how far I had come – backwards – with my year in bed, and the years away from tennis."

Graeme Lauriston, a therapist at IMG, said, "When I first saw him I was sceptical on how far we were actually going to get him, or how high a level we were going to get him on the court, but we kind of took it one day at a time and little step by little step."

They worked on manual therapy – hands-on soft tissue work, stretching and mobilisation – and on functional rehab, going through certain exercises that would wear out Dent. During the first month, Dent could handle no more than 10 minutes on the court. He endured frustrating spells when he felt he was making improvement, only to be set back by pain in his knees and arms, in addition to other niggling injuries caused by his long injury layoff. "Everything would need to be retrained and re-hardened to tolerate the abuse again," said Dent.

But armed with his characteristic optimism and determination, Dent began making steady progress, with time regaining the strength in his muscles and his endurance. When he graduated to practice matches on consecutive days, it proved a milestone. "I think that's when Taylor realised that his body could actually handle this," said Lauriston.

Dent tested his form in a handful of tournaments in 2008 before making his full comeback the following season. He got the year off on the right foot, winning his first tour-level match since 2006 at the circuit opener in Brisbane. But the two performances signaling his return came on home soil, at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and the US Open. He strung together five straight wins in Miami – qualifying into the main draw, and then upsetting Top 20 players Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo before falling to Federer. Six months later, that effort would be eclipsed by his pulsating second-round match against Spaniard Ivan Navarro at Flushing Meadows.

    "I still feel like I’m barely tapped into my potential. I feel like it's just the beginning for me"

For Dent, his performance at the US Open proved the highlight of the year. "It was almost a five-hour match, and I'd been working really hard on my fitness and it showed. I was hopping around to the bitter end on the court. I think it also highlighted my new-found mental toughness out on the court. I had chances to win that match in straight sets... But down two sets to one, and I was able to hang in there. That match brought about a lot of positives. It was something for me to build on for the rest of the year when I did well in the Challengers, and for next year in 2010."

The following week, the inspired Dent won the Challenger title in Tulsa without the loss of a set. He used further successes on the Challenger circuit to continue his rankings climb in the final month of the season, re-entering the Top 100 after winning in Knoxville and following that up with a runner-up effort in Champaign.

Reflecting on his season, Dent said: "It was filled with some ups and downs, but overall looking back at it, it was phenomenal. I'm out here competing with the best players in the world, and I still feel like I've barely tapped into my potential. I feel like it's just the beginning for me and I'm as motivated as I ever have been and I'm working as hard as I ever have… I think my consistency isn't quite there yet, but on my better days now I'm a much more well-rounded player than I was when I was [ranked] 21 in the world.”

Dent is intent on ranking inside the Top 50 as soon as possible to guarantee himself a spot in the main draws of ATP World Tour events, and has set goals within his own game to help him achieve that end, including improving the accuracy of his serve and his attacking forehand shots.

But above all, he has prioritised what he calls his "perspective and mental goals" for 2010. "My biggest goal is to keep looking at my game as a work in progress and make sure that the weakest parts of my game are improving, and I keep the strength up there," he said. "I feel like in the past, I've gotten in trouble with not improving because I've gotten too emotional with my game and made a couple excuses of why it didn't work that day. I really want to avoid that and stay as fact based as possible in this next year."

    "I've gotten too emotional with my game and made excuses why it didn’t work that day. I really want to avoid that and stay as fact based as possible"

One factor sure to play in Dent's favour in 2010 is the belief in himself. While others may not have predicted his rapid ascent in the course of a season, Dent asserted, "I didn't think it was out of the realm of possibility at all. I knew exactly what needed to be done, and I was very disciplined in my training and my eating. It's always vindicating to see your plan pan out."

With the same fire that took him from a bed-ridden state a mere two years ago back to the Top 100 on the ATP World Tour, Dent's opponents can expect the 28-year-old American to be a dangerous force in the years to come.

"There's nobody he's competing against or very few people that have been to the places he's had to go through personally to come back from this injury," said Moawad. "I think that that's something that's going to bode well for him... What he's gone through and the structure he has in place right now, in my mind, makes him very tough to beat."

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

US Open 2010 - wywiad po zwycięstwie w 1 rundzie

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. He had a big first round at Wimbledon.

TAYLOR DENT: Yeah.

Q. Happy to make sure he didn't have a big first round here.

TAYLOR DENT: Yeah, actually after I got up two sets, I was thinking, It would be ironic if I lost from two sets to love up on this guy and then you get one back. I actually thought, that, you know, for a while I was scratching my head. I was putting in some of my best serves and they were getting rifled back a foot from the baseline coming just as fast. I'm like, What am I doing here? I feel like I'm hitting good serves, and I'm not getting any reward from it whatsoever. But after I was able to hang in there, battle through, just be a little bit more picky with how I was serving, I felt like he lost a little bit of enthusiasm in that third set.

Q. Do you not want to get involved in baseline rallies? I know it's difficult to get in now with these balls and all of rest of it. What is your philosophy, get in as soon as you can?

TAYLOR DENT: For me, I talk with Jenny and my dad about this all the time. I would never coach anybody the way I feel like I should play. You know what I mean? Like I feel like I'm breaking all the rules out here. But my basic philosophy is this: you can't just come in on a whim these days. Guys are too good. So you have to come in off of something, off of something good to great. And I just feel like there's a couple of things, you know, that factor into that situation. One is the longer I stay at the baseline, you know, probably the percentages, my win percentage is going to go down. So That leaves me with, Okay, now I've got to be aggressive. You know, it just boils down to I'll play defense, I'm fine playing defense. But as soon as I get half a chance to take the offense, I'm going to give it a rip. I'm going to hit the back fence sometimes. That's fine. Over the course of my career, over the course of a match, I'd rather be grabbing opportunities to take offense than being neutral. Because ideally, I want to be finishing points with a high volley or coming in. I don't want to be playing low volleys or hitting inside out forehands from, you know, outside the alley. I weigh 40 to 50 more pounds than these guys out here. They're all like 160, you know. So it's just I don't want to do the moving. I want to do the attacking. I want to come in. I want to knock off volleys. That's it.

Q. How many times did you serve volley today, would you say?

TAYLOR DENT: Well, I always intend to serve volley a fair bit, especially off my first serve. But like I said, he was returning phenomenally. So I'm like, well, you know, I'd rather at least just give myself a chance to play the point here, because he was just hitting winners left and right. So I didn't end up serve volleying at all.

Q. I didn't see it at all.

TAYLOR DENT: Yeah. I did a few, but not a whole lot. I mean, my game plan changed after I saw how well he was returning to go heavy first serve, hopefully get a short ball, hit that, and come in. That was the game plan after I saw how well he was returning.

Q. Is that something you thought coming in you would have to do?

TAYLOR DENT: Every match. Every match.

Q. We were reminiscing about last year's epic. What is your health situation now?

TAYLOR DENT: As far as injuries go, 100%. You know, I don't feel anything that's worth talking about. As far as my fitness goes, God, I just wish I was over the hump. I feel like tennis doesn't give us as tennis players, we don't have an off season. So if you want to improve your game, get fitter, you have to do it while you're playing matches. And that's kind of what I'm doing now. I feel like I'm always on a tightrope of doing too much, doing too little. I just you know, that is what I'm struggling with right now more than anything.

Q. What is the difference between getting in shape playing matches and being in the gym?

TAYLOR DENT: Well, during matches, I mean, if I had it my way or, you know, if I was at the position that Federer was, it's all about feeling fresh, it's all about just making sure you're recovering well, and maintaining as best you can. But I have analyzed where I am. Maintaining's just not good enough for me. I need to jump up a level. So if I was in an off season, I wouldn't have to worry about feeling flat for Alejandro Falla. You know, I mean, who cares? I'm going out to play practice. I would just break my body down, break it down until I can't move, and then I'd recover. But out here it's like, Okay, I need to feel fresh for Falla, but I also need to get to that next level in fitness. That's where the balancing act begins.

Q. This is not in any way an accusation. Just curious. Mardy Fish drops that weight; does anything go through your mind? Is that not even an option?

TAYLOR DENT: I've tried -- because that's been -- I've heard that my whole career. You know, Taylor is too heavy. I have tried desperately to drop weight. I mean, it's just I'm a big guy. You know, the trainers that I've worked with, they all say my ideal playing weight, my ideal fitness level is 217 to 220 pounds. I mean, you know, I was 215 pounds right before -- you know, in 2005 before I was done, 215 pounds, and I was 6% body fat, just over 6% body fat. I mean, where am I going to lose more weight? When I was hurt and recovering from surgery, Jenny didn't want me to blow up, so she made me do those precooked meals. I'm eating a thousand calories a day. I did that for almost a year and I did no exercise, so I've lost all my muscle tone. I'm eating a thousand calories a day. I have no fat on me, and I weigh 195 pounds. So I've kind of given up in a sense to say, Okay, I'm not going to weigh 180 pounds; I'm not going to weigh 175 pounds; I'm not going to be like these guys. So I just have to be stronger, I have to be more physical on the court, and I have to bully them around, you know.

Q. What was the most desperate measure you've ever taken to lose weight?

TAYLOR DENT: The most desperate measure (laughter)? There's a nutritionist I work with down at Bollettieri's, and it's always an experiment. We're always trying to do the balancing act. The bottom line is, if you cut out too many calories, you can't work out. You need to get fitter by working out, and you need to improve my game by working out. So if I'm eating a thousand calories a day, who cares? My forehand's going to suck, my serve is going to suck, so who cares? But the most desperate measure, I said any carb I get is going to be from a vegetable. I lasted three days. I was like this on the court. I couldn't do anything. I walked into the lady, and she said, What are you doing? I said, I'm not having any carbs. I'm trying to do it through broccoli. She just started laughing. She's like, There's no energy in those things.

Q. You have Soderling next. What is your head to head?

TAYLOR DENT: Head to head? The way he beat me at the French could have counted for two, but I think he's got one on me. I think that's all we've played. But I don't know. I'm horrible at that stuff.

Q. When you're going against Soderling, you really made some advances. What is your thought about him? Do you scout him? Do you do anything? Do you just do your thing?

TAYLOR DENT: My thought about him is he's a great player. He's solid. There's not really a lot of holes in his game right now. There used to be the errant ball two or three times in the back fence. That doesn't happen anymore. He's solid. It's something I always tell Jenny and my dad when we're talking about scouting guys. The reality of the matter is I'm not good enough to worry about the other guy. That's the reality of the matter. I don't feel like I'm reliable enough in my game to sacrifice just thinking about my execution out there, what I have to do to play and impose my game. I'm fortunate, because if I do execute my game, there's not a whole lot guys can do in the first place. But, you know, as soon as I get better, more reliable out on the court to where I feel very confident with what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, then I'll start to maybe pick apart guy's games. To be honest, I'm just not at that level right now.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interv … 51926.html

Słuszna decyzja. Tenisowo nie wyglądał najlepiej ostatnimi czasy. Miejmy nadzieję, że jego życie poza tenisowe będzie dla niego bardziej szczęśliwe.

No szkoda wielka, zawsze bardzo go lubiłem.

Przynajmniej nie pobije rekordu Roda...

http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=173391

Kariera Denta w liczbach.