By Jeff Agase
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
jagase@media.ucla.edu
When an unheralded underdog like Brian Vahaly racks up two set
points against a top-15 heavy hitter like Andy Roddick, the
underdog usually acts like he expected to be in the position all
along.
Not so with Vahaly, the world’s 187th-ranked player.
"I was shocked that I actually had set points against Andy
Roddick," said a still bewildered and charmingly honest Vahaly. "I
went out there this week to enjoy, to compete, and to learn, and I
just froze out there."
Roddick fought off the two set points with a pair of ferocious
serves and went on to win in the Round of 16 of the Mercedes-Benz
Cup 7-5, 6-4 at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Though he knew Vahaly reached the tournament via wild card,
Roddick expected the kind of fight that he wound up getting. Prior
to the Benz Cup, Vahaly had stormed through lower-tiered Futures
and Challenger tournaments, taking home eight titles.
"The way men’s tennis is, there are no easy matches," Roddick
said. "Winning eight tournaments at the pro level is
impressive."
If Vahaly didn’t expect to be in the position he earned, it
certainly didn’t show in his play. Less than a week removed from
his 23rd birthday, the 5-foot-11 Vahaly repeatedly forced Roddick
to put balls away by running down anything he could on the sides of
the court.
After falling behind 5-2 in the second set, he answered with a
break of Roddick’s turbo-charged serve. Vahaly seemed the most
surprised out of anyone at the feat.
"It was so (italics) fast," Vahaly said. "It was the best thing
I’ve ever faced in my life. There were times in the first set where
it was so fast I had trouble even seeing it."
Vahaly wasn’t even safe against Roddick’s second serve, either.
As he tried to inch up and get a jump on what he expected to be an
off-paced placement serve, Roddick fired the ball 135 miles per
hour past the helpless Vahaly.
"He’s very good if you let up and try to take pace off, but
luckily I have a serve that can take over a match," Roddick said.
"I can’t see that guy losing to a guy who doesn’t have a big
serve."
Roddick blasted 13 aces to Vahaly’s five, and won 34 of 42 first
serve points.
"It’s hard not to have a big weapon," Vahaly said. "I’m not the
biggest guy out there."
Through all the modesty and genuine surprise, Vahaly did manage
to let a tiny morsel of confidence slip through. When talking about
how overwhelmed he was to be in position to take a set on Roddick,
he assured himself and everyone else of one thing.
"Next time I won’t freeze," he said.