It seems to be something of a general rule in the sport of
tennis ““ once players reach the age of 30, their years are
numbered. Injuries take longer to rehabilitate; it’s more
difficult to work into shape; the drive and desire start to
wane.
Unfortunately, many start to be forgotten.
Greg Rusedski, who was once situated near the top of the tennis
world in the late “˜90s, doesn’t want to be forgotten.
And if his play of late is any indication, no one will be
forgetting the 30-year old Briton any time soon.
The big-serving Rusedski, who has 14 career singles titles to
his name, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mercedes-Benz Cup
with an impressive come-from-behind victory over Karol Beck on
Wednesday, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2).
With the win, Rusedski has won seven straight matches, and the
momentum that began with a tournament title at Newport, R. I. last
week continues to push forward.
“It’s nice to win these matches and work myself back
to where I want to be,” Rusedski said. “It’s a
positive step forward for me.” Positive indeed.
A finalist at the U.S. Open in 1997, Rusedski’s last
couple of years have been plagued by injuries. He underwent surgery
on his left foot in Oct. 2002, and followed that with surgery on
his knee in March 2003.
With so many health problems, Rusedski’s tennis
undoubtedly suffered. He took his lumps, trying to play himself
into shape, dropping first round matches to guys he probably never
would have lost to in his prime. But still, Rusedski endured all of
it.
He persevered through a doping charge that was eventually
dropped, the numerous injuries, and the obvious drop in confidence.
But now, as he tries to raise his world ranking in hopes of being
competitive at this summer’s U.S. Open, things finally seem
to be falling into place.
The confidence is back, that’s for sure.
“I know I’m good enough if I’m fit and
I’m healthy to work my way up to a reasonable level,”
Rusedski said.
A good indicator of confidence, the Canadian native explained
after Wednesday’s victory, is one’s performance in
tiebreakers. It’s no surprise that Rusedski has won the last
eight tiebreakers he has played, including six en route to the
Newport title, the very same tournament he won as a 20-year old for
his first career title on the pro tour.
Early on in Wednesday’s match, however, it didn’t
look like any tiebreakers would be necessary. Beck jumped on
Rusedski’s early serving difficulties, breaking the
Englishman and cruising to a first-set win.
But as one would expect from most wily veterans, Rusedski
answered back, taking the second set with little difficulty.
The third set tested both players. It was on serve early, and
Beck got the first break, to go up 4-2. Rusedski said he knew he
needed to break right back, and that’s exactly what he did to
get the match back on serve. Beck battled, forcing Rusedski to
fight off four more break points in his subsequent service game,
but Rusedski held on, and cruised in the tiebreaker.
The third set was full of action, impressive drop shots and
lobs, but it will probably best be remembered for Rusedski’s
minor outburst following Beck’s break of serve.
A fan that was cheering for the Slovak got a little too loud and
vocal, and Rusedski yelled for him to shut up. It must have worked,
because he went on to win the match. “You just got to get it
out of your system once in a while,” Rusedski said. Rusedski
has the day off Thursday, and he will be back on the court Friday
to face Nicolas Kiefer, a straight-set winner Wednesday over
qualifier Glenn Weiner, in the quarterfinals.
Rusedski certainly hasn’t been forgotten yet, and he knows
one thing better than most. Being on the court is a whole lot
better than sitting at home with an injury.
“You can practice all you want, but you have to play
matches,” Rusedski said. “There’s a process of
taking the losses to get to the wins.”