Juan Martin del Potro celebrates as the Hawkeye challenge system shows that his forehand on match point indeed clipped the line. Photo via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

WASHINGTON--Juan Martin del Potro successfully defended his title at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington Sunday afternoon, holding off Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) in a sweltering final.

Roddick broke in the third game of the third set to take a 3-1 lead, a lead that looked likely to hold up with del Potro seemingly suffering more in the heat, as temperatures at court level reached more than 120°F.

But del Potro, who's resolve and effort had at time looked questionable at times this week, steeled himself impressively, winning eleven points in a row to take him from 1-3 down to a 4-3 lead.

The two held serve with relative ease the rest of the match, leaving the champion to be determined in a third set tiebreak.

A slice backhand from Roddick landed just long to give del Potro a minibreak for 2-1 in the third, giving him a minibreak advantage that he held onto until with the help of three aces in his next four points on serve. 

Facing two match points at 3-6, Roddick saved the first with an ace, and the second by forcing a del Potro backhand error.  del Potro still had a minibreak edge, however, and had one championship point remaining on his serve.  del Potro hit a strong serve that Roddick effectively blocked back into del Potro's body, reflecting the pace of the serve and leaving the Argentine handcuffed, drawing another forced error to level the tiebreak at 6-6.

"At 6-5, I did a 134 mph serve out wide, and Andy returned it unbelievably well." del Potro lamented afterwards.  "It was very tough for me."

del Potro hit an untouchable serve out wide at 6-6 to give himself a fourth match point at 7-6.  He then returned Roddick's serve well, and was able to rip a forehand cross court that landed near the line, to give himself the match.

Roddick challenged the final call, with a difference of 200 ranking points and $174,000 in prize money hanging in the balance.  The two men met at the net, and watched as the big screen showed a piece of the ball had indeed clipped the sideline.

"I didn't know, I actually thought it might've been out," Roddick said after.  "And I asked him as we were standing there, and he said he thought it might've been out."

"So I was disappointed when it wasn't," he laughed.

This wraps up The Daily Forehand's coverage of the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, I hope you've enjoyed it.  Thanks for reading, and stay with us for the rest of the US Open, and the entire year in tennis.

I leave you with reactions from both players in their post match comments.

-Juan Martin del Potro-

TDF: The first two times you faced break point in the match, you double faulted.  How frustrating was that, and how were you able to recover and not let that get too upset?

Juan Martin del Potro: It's hard, for your mind.  I did many double faults.

But I always was thinking "keep trying until the end," and if I played some good returns, then I had a chance to break his serve.  And I did, I broke for 3-2.  And we play until the tiebreak, and I did my best tennis there.

TDF: You were down 3-1 in the third set, and you won eleven points in a row to get up 4-3.  What were you doing differently there to get it so suddenly turned around?

Juan Martin del Potro: Well I did the same that I was doing--trying to return his serve, keeping it in the court to start the rallies.  But Andy missed some easy balls, and I was making many errors. 

I just kept trying to keep at it, kept trying to stay aggressive, and that was it.

-Andy Roddick-

TDF:  You were up 3-1 in the third set, and then he went on an eleven-point win streak.  What happened there? Was he playing better, or were you just not playing as well as before?

Andy Roddick: Well, no, I mean, the game I got broken, I played one bad point, and that was the double on break point.  To get to 0-40, I put in three first serves, and he was kind of just taking swings.  I don't think he--I don't know if he wanted to play long points.

And he converted.  I kind of forced him to play high-risk tennis, especially with the conditions, and he was taking big cuts, especially for the last 25-30 minutes we were out there.  And he was connecting.

TDF: Whether it's based on good judgment or not, there are people who are going to say that this is your second back-to-back time losing a final, and that maybe you're having trouble late in matches.  Are you concerned about that in the slightest?

Andy Roddick: No...I mean, I've had I-don't-know-how-many close matches I won to get to this one.

I'd say those people don't really know much about our sport.

A little late (parking issues at the tournament), but the thread is up.

And the match is live on ESPN2.

#1 Andy Roddick vs #2 seed Juan Martin del Potro in the finals.  Couldn't have hoped for better than that.

And, in case you haven't heard, it's hot.

Andy Roddick, via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

WASHINGTON--After the match between the #1 and #2 South Americans in men's tennis proved to be a dud, the stage was set for the #1 and #7 Americans to do battle in the second semifinal of the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, an ATP 500 tournament in Washington, DC.  The two delivered, with top-seed Andy Roddick outlasting John Isner 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5.

Isner hung with Roddick until the very end, failing to secure the very last hold he needed that would have gotten him to a third set tiebreak, the decider he is 7-0 in lifetime in Washington.  Roddick had chance after chance after chance on Isner's serve in the third set, and on his fifth break point he finally broke through.  It was an incredible match by both, and the kind of match you hate to see either lose.  Follow the roller coaster for yourself by looking through the running match comments thread we had here for this match.  We'll do another open comments thread  for tomorrow's final, so be sure to stop by at 3 pm EST for that.

There's not anything more I can say about this match, really, so I'll let the players do the rest of the talking. Well, I asked the questions, but they're the ones with the insights from here on...

Andy Roddick:

TDF: This seemed to me like the best match you've played so far this week.  Do you agree?

Andy Roddick: Um, I played well.  I didn't serve well against Querrey, but I think I hit the ball really well against Querrey.  I think John made me play my best tennis tonight, made me play well. Anything less than that wasn't going to get it done.

TDF: You've hit an uncharacteristically--not by normal standards, but for you--an uncharacteristically low number of aces this week.  Are you at all worried that your serve isn't doing enough for you?

Andy Roddick: Nope! (laughs)

TDF: You played del Potro last year in the finals of Los Angeles, and he beat you pretty soundly. 

Andy Roddick: Yup.

TDF: What do you have to do, and how do you like your chances against him tomorrow?

Andy Roddick: He was just playing a lot better than me last year at this time, there's no way around it.  I was struggling to find form, and I was coming off injuries.  And he was on a four-tournament win streak.  So I certainly didn't go into that match thinking I was favored by any means.  And he showed me why I thought that.

It'll be tough tomorrow.  You know what you're going to get from him.  He plays a high level every day--that's why he's up at #6 in the world, and that's why he's been in the top five for the majority of the past year.  He hits the ball well through the court.  I'm gonna have to hit the ball pretty well from the baseline and make the adjustment from night tennis to day tennis--it always reacts a little bit differently. 

I'll have to get a grip on that in warm-ups.

John Isner:

TDF: How would you compare your play against him today to your play against him in the 2007 final here?

John Isner: I feel like I'm a better player now.  I was just kind of riding a wave of momentum in '07, and now I feel like I truly belong at this level.

In 2007 I really didn't think I could win that match.  But I thought all along I was going to win today.  But, it didn't happen.

TDF: Speaking of "belonging at this level," by reaching the semifinal here you earned a "special exempt" to Montreal, which is your first time playing a Masters/1000 event outside the US.  Is that a big milestone for you?

John Isner: Yeah, I guess.  I didn't even know I could do that, I just found out this morning that I was in the draw.  My plan was to go down to Florida after this.

And my coach, who didn't bring his passport, he has to fly to Florida and then fly to Montreal.  Luckily for me, I always just keep my passport in my bookbag.

TDF: You beat two top twenty players this week, in Berdych and Tsonga.  Do you think this is the best tournament you've ever played?

John Isner: Yeah, I think you can say that.  I beat two quality players.

I've played now twelve matches in the last three tournaments, so I have a lot of matches under my belt.  I came into here--I wasn't that fresh, but once I got through my first match I felt pretty good out there.

And I just enjoy playing here as well.

Fernando Gonzalez, via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

WASHINGTON--With the type of tennis displayed by the two top ranked South Americans in the ATP today, it's not only Argentina that should be cried for--it's Chile as well.

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro defeated Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 7-6(2), 6-3 in the semifinal of the ATP 500 level Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC.  The match started with some excellent shot-making on both sides, but dissolved into a lackadaisical, sloppy display in the second.

Almost the entire first set was made up of some real nice tennis, with the two players riding strong serves and massive forehands to some brilliant shot making.  The preference for the forehand both players displayed was almost ridiculous at points, with Gonzalez running around his backhand on every possible opportunity.  Gonzalez even managed to run around his backhand to return an out wide serve with his forehand, hitting an inside-out winner while standing outside the doubles alley.

On serve at 5-5 in the first, the quality of play really picked up.  Each of the two needed six deuces to hold serve for the tiebreak, with del Potro saving three Gonzalez set points to level the set at 6-6.

Perhaps demoralized by the blown set points, Gonzalez's forehand disappeared in the tiebreak, and took Gonzalez's fighting spirit with it.  Gonzalez dropped three of the five points on his serve in the breaker, the last two with some very careless forehand errors to give del Potro the set, 7-6(2).

The same way Serena Williams' forehand went on vacation "in Hawaii"during Wimbledon, Gonzalez's seemed to desert him for Vina del Mar.  The rest of his game went south as well, and he seemed almost amused by how horribly he was playing, at once falling to the ground and lying there prone for almost a minute, smiling.  He seemed to want to get off the court as soon as possible, dropping the first five games of the second set.  del Potro wasn't doing much special to win the games, just sort of winning them by default.

"I didn't play good tennis," Gonzalez agreed after the match, blaming the heat and humidity for the low quality of tennis on both sides, a diagnosis with which del Potro agreed.

Gonzalez started to play more loosely by the end, and was able to make shots he had missed before to real off five straight games, making proceedings slightly more interesting.  "I was completely loose. I had nothing else to lose," he admitted.

The late surge awoke del Potro, however, and the big Argentine was able to close out the set 6-3 to advance to his second straight final in Washington.  He made a sign of the cross as he walked to the net after match point, a wise decision considering how many unholy forces were at work in this match.

del Potro won four straight tournaments last summer (Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles, and Washington), but only attempted to defend Washington, letting the other points and titles fall without a fight.  After the match I asked del Potro how it felt to defend a title for the first time, and to see his name in the row of previous champions that circle the stadium, a question that seemed to hit a heartstring for the normally non-emotive del Potro.

"Now I have the chance to defend here in Washington, tomorrow, in the final.  To see my name on the stadium, it's unbelievable.  It's like a dream.  When I was younger, I played here three years ago and I saw the names of the very good players.  And now I am there.  It's a very good feeling for me."

Aww.

Andy Roddick and John Isner meet at the net at the end of their only previous encounter, the 2007 finals in Washington. Roddick won that match 6-4, 7-6.

View full size photo »

After the garbage that was the del Potro-Gonzalez semifinal, the Washington crowd will hopefully have the day salvaged by the night session, in which top seed Andy Roddick takes on unseed John Isner in a battle of ace-happy Americans.  It's also a rematch of their 2007 final here in Washington, which is the only time the two have played one another before tonight.

Feel free to awe at the big serving or bemoan the lack of any point lasting longer than four shots.  All opinions and sides are welcome.  I'll especially like you if you say something about how terrible that first semifinal was too, because...yeesh.

The match starts at 7 PM EST, and is airing on ESPN2 in the US.

See y'all here.

John Isner, via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

WASHINGTON--John Isner recovered remarkably from a second set meltdown that would have left many players mentally pulverized.

The unseeded Isner defeated #8 seed Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-2 to advance to his second semifinal of the US Open series, and his second semifinal at Washington as well.  The win was Isner's second  victory over a top twenty player this week (he beat #9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round), doubling his previous total number of top twenty scalps for his entire career to four.

But Berdych fought admirably to delay Isner's victory.  The ATP #18 and Czech #1 saved an incredible three match points with Isner serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, and another one in the tiebreak to win the second set 7-6 (12-10), and seemingly grabbing all possible momentum as well.

But Isner, after throwing a well-deserved tantrum between sets, stayed focused, remaining tough as Berdych expected him to fold.  Isner put pressure on Berdych's serve immediately in the third, and was able to break in Berdych's second service game in the decider, and again in the last game of the match for a 6-2 victory in the decider.

I've seen Isner play in person an absurd amount of times, probably close to twelve or so.  There's only been one match of his in his years in Washington that I didn't see.  And having seen all those twelve, I can safely say that this was his most impressive match yet.  Against an opponent with a lot more experience in big matches, he shook off a second set choke that would have left the vast majority of the ATP in the fetal position.

I caught up with Isner after the match to get his thoughts on the win, facing Andy Roddick in the semifinal for what will be a rematch of their 2007 Washington final, and just how well he thought he performed out there tonight.

TDF: Impressive, coming back from having set points in the second, but still recovering to get the win?

John Isner:  They were match points, yeah.  AND they were on my serve. So that's--I like my chances there 99 times out of 100.  He played well on those points.  I got locked in, maybe, with my "T" serve on the deuce and out wide on the Ad too much, probably should have mixed it up more.

But I didn't panic, didn't get frustrated.  I knew there was a whole 'nother set to play.  And if I just kept on imposing my will maybe I could get it done.

TDF: And now you play Andy Roddick here again, tomorrow in the semifinals...

John Isner: Yeah, it's gonna be fun.  I'm the underdog, may be a little tired.  But it's gonna--gosh, it's gonna be a packed house out there, seven o'clock Saturday night.  Gonna be a lot of fun.

TDF: Do you think this is one of the best matches you've ever played tonight?

John Isner: Um, quality-wise, no.  The first set was sloppy on both ends, and a lot of the second set was sloppy.  I think towards the end of the match he picked up his game, and then I had to pick up my game in the third.

We both were kind of sluggish, for whatever reason.  Both making a lot of errors in the first set.  It's kind of difficult coming out there and playing at night--I don't know what it is.

But I felt like I competed.  This is one of the best matches I've ever competed through.

::

I'm not sure he's giving himself enough credit.  All the same--with how he played today, and how vulnerable Andy Roddick has looked on serve this week, I still think Isner's got a great shot of making it to the final.

Andy Roddick, via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

WASHINGTON--Andy Roddick made his fifth semifinal at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, beating Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,500 on Friday night. 

Tiebreaks are the order of business in any Roddick-Karlovic match, but the two took  more roundabout paths to the end of each set tonight.  Karlovic broke at 2-1 in the first and in the first game of the second set.  Roddick broke back a few games later each time, making it four breaks total on the match.

To put into perspective just how bizarre that was, in the previous five matches the two had played, there were only three total breaks.  All of those belonged to Roddick.

The difference for Roddick on return seemed to be his ability to take relative advantage of Karlovic's second serve.  The Croat made only 59% of his first serves, and Roddick was able to win 53% of those points, including two in the first set tiebreak and one in the second, the only three minibreaks in either match.

"You're at his mercy on his first serve," Roddick said after the match.  "You're just reacting.  The second serve is definitely the opportunity to win the point."

"I think we were both getting a better hit on returns than we normally do against each other."

There was a strange dust-up midway through the first set, with Roddick upset at how much time chair umpire Norm Chryst was allowing Ivo Karlovic to deliberate before challenging a call.  However, instead of complaining to Chryst,

"I don't know what he was doing," Karlovic said about the incident.  "I don't know.  I don't know what's wrong with him.  It was a surprise."

"Ivo and I were laughing about it just now," Roddick said in his press conference, which followed Karlovic's.  "He's well within his rights to do whatever the ref is gonna let him do."

I'm at the first quarterfinal of the night session on Friday at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the ATP tour's 500 level tournament in Washington, DC.

This match is on ESPN2 (and various internet livestreams), so since some of you are probably watching, I thought I'd try to do an open thread for the first time on here.  Leave any running thoughts or comments below...

Juan Martin del Potro celebrates his second round win over Lleyton Hewitt (Photo by Ben Rothenberg for The Daily Forehand)

View full size photo »

WASHINGTON--I was all set to write up the most thorough, blow-by-blow recap of the del Potro-Soderling quarterfinal throwdown possible.

So here I go:

It didn't happen.  The end.

Robin Soderling pulled out before the start of the match with a right elbow injury.  He is not sure if he will play Montreal, and is undergoing an MRI later today to find out just how bad the damage is.

Bad news for Soderling is good news for #2 seed and defending champion Juan Martin del Potro, who instead of facing a player who is 20-1 against everybody not named Federer since Madrid, gets a day off before his semifinal.  In that semifinal he will play #4 seed Fernando Gonzalez, who took care of #10 Tommy Haas 7-5, 6-4.  Though both sets were long it was a quick match, with only two games even going to deuce.

Should be a good semifinal between the two highest ranked players in not only South America, but in the Southern Hemisphere.

The four quarterfinalists yet to play today are all from the upper half of the planet, and occupy upper parts of the atmosphere as well.  6'2'' Andy Roddick is the munchkin of the group, with Tomas Berdych (6'5''), John Isner (6'9'') and Ivo Karlovic (6'10'') all towering over the Texan.  Not everything is bigger there.

Tommy Haas (Photo by Ben Rothenberg for The Daily Forehand)

View full size photo »

Germany's Tommy Haas is known in tennis circles as somewhat of a forlorn, star-crossed miser.  His career has been peppered with freak injuries (tripping over a stray ball during warm ups) and suspicious illnesses (sickness at a Davis Cup semifinal in Moscow led Haas to suspect he had been poisoned).  Of course his career hasn't been all bad, reaching a career high ranking of #2 and winning a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics.

But balls seem to be bouncing his way this week in Washington, where he has made the quarterfinals on the back of two three set wins.  He toughed out a second round win over the always dangerous Frank Dancevic 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, then defeated the hot-playing Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

I asked him about both these matches and some of the issues that have followed him over his career.  He doesn't hold a lot in (pun intended).

TDF: In the third set against Dancevic, at 1-2 when he was about to have a break point, you smashed your racquet and really took your time walking to get another racquet.   Did you do that intentionally to try to slow his momentum d, because he was playing really well at that point?

Tommy Haas: Not really.  I would never do anything to slow down a match, or to interrupt my opponent. I was just really, really frustrated at that point. I would have liked to have broken every single one of my racquets and walk off the court in disgust.  I really wasn’t happy with the situation.

It just needed to come out.  You know, it’s hard.  You’re out there by yourself, most of the time.  It’s not like you can just talk to somebody or have somebody cheer you up when you are not feeling that great.  In many other sports, you can have a little timeout or you can talk to your coach, or talk to a buddy of yours, and get your frustration out, or whatever.

And then any time you do say something that has, maybe, a little bit of bad language, or you want to throw something, you get a warning, and you have to worry about getting huge fines.

It’s annoying in this game.  It’s a great sport, but sometimes it just drives you insane.

TDF: You did not play for Germany in Davis Cup, and they wound up losing to Spain with Ferrero winning the deciding match over Andreas Beck, who is ranked a ways below you.  What made you decide not to play Davis Cup, and do you think there will be any talk saying that you could’ve beaten Ferrero, and could have won the tie for Germany if you had played?

Tommy Haas: I’d played Davis Cup now for a long time, nine or ten years.  I was very successful, I had a good Davis Cup record.  I just felt like, since we lost the semifinals against Russia that year, it’s time for me to take a break for a while.

The Germans really didn’t want me there.   A couple of phone calls from my team colleagues maybe would have changed my mind, but those phone calls never came.  When those phone calls come I might feel like they need me, I’ll feel like I’m ready to play, I didn’t totally black it out yet.

TDF: So you just didn’t play because they didn’t invite you?

Tommy Haas: Yeah, I just feel like it’s a team effort, and lot of guys don’t understand that in Germany.  Until they understand that, and until they’re ready to go far again—with me, with my help, I’ll be there.

At the same time, my clock is ticking, so I feel like I’ve done everything I could

TDF: And your last tie was the one in Russia where you thought you were poisoned?

Tommy Haas: Yeah, that was frustrating, having a chance to go out there and maybe taking the team to the final, but being very sick, and not sleeping the whole night.  Just sitting on the toilet throwing up and…you know…doing the other thing. 

It wasn’t the right opportunity for me to go out there and play tennis, so I gave the opportunity to somebody else.

TDF: You mentioned your "clock ticking"—you’ve had a lot of injuries in your career, and therefore a lot of time off.  Do you think that could have helped you last longer in terms of your age?

Tommy Haas: In tennis years, maybe I’ve had a year and a half off.  But at the same time, doing rehab, having surgery probably makes you older.  That’s not the way you want to go if you don’t have to, that’s for sure.

But at the same time, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so…

TDF: With all that, would you say generally you’ve had good luck or bad luck in your career?

Tommy Haas: Good luck, for sure.  I’ve been out doing the sport that I love for quite some time now, and I’m still continuing, so it’s nice.