Zack Fleishman wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip through his hands.
After upsetting Fernando Gonzalez, the No. 1 seed in the Countrywide Classic, in the first round, Fleishman maintained his fire, proving that the win was no fluke. The former Bruin and wild-card entry defeated fellow American Robert Kendrick 7-6(4), 6-3 in the second round on Thursday afternoon.
“I just feel like I went out and played great against Gonzalez, and there’s no reason I can’t come out and play great again,” Fleishman said after clinching his first-ever quarterfinal appearance on the ATP Tour. “I think I proved that this is an official level that I can play at, instead of just one good outing.”
The 27-year-old, who lives in Hermosa Beach, won the first set against Kendrick in a tiebreaker, just as he had done against Gonzalez, after saving two break points earlier in the set.
Meanwhile, Kendrick had very little trouble holding his serve, as Fleishman struggled to see a break opportunity until the second set of Thursday’s meeting between the two.
“You have to go into the match knowing you’re going to get about one or two chances (to break) the entire time,” Fleishman said. “I knew if I just stayed in there and played my service games and my service points as well as I could, I’d get an opportunity.”
And when that opportunity came in the first game of the second set, Fleishman capitalized by capturing the early break and continuing to hold his service games throughout the rest of the match.
With the second-round meeting being the 10th between the two players, who both turned pro in 2000, Fleishman knew what to expect from the hard-hitting Kendrick and corrected himself where he felt he had faltered in the past.
“During the match I was remembering how I got so negative and so down on myself in the other matches we’ve played in, and I made certain that that would not happen today,” Fleishman said.
The crowd made sure of it too, as they kept Fleishman motivated with constant cheers throughout the match.
It was the fans ““ including 80 of his family and friends ““ on Tuesday night that made him feel right at home in the first round. And though Fleishman was only given 20 tickets for his second-round match, the Los Angeles Tennis Center crowd was clearly behind the hometown favorite.
“Overall I think that I had some crowd in each spot, and they really helped when I got just a little tired or I get a little bit negative on myself, I hear a few cheers in the crowd and it just gives me that little bit of energy,” he said.
Perhaps the biggest struggle for Fleishman on the court against Kendrick was mental. He wanted so badly to look past the match and into the third round ““something he would not let happen.
“I was trying to do some breathing exercises during the changeovers and telling myself to stay in the moment,” Fleishman said. “All my mind wants to do is jump to the future and think of what could be if I could get through this match. It’s like a constant battle with myself the whole match.”
It wasn’t until the ball began to roll after he had just clinched the match’s final point that Fleishman let his emotions get the best of him, as he looked up with joy and took two steps back from the net to absorb the moment ““ perhaps the greatest of his career.
“I couldn’t picture a better story so far for me,” Fleishman said. “A person with my ranking doesn’t get a chance like this everyday, so I’m trying to capitalize on every chance I get.”
FOUR PLAYERS ALREADY ADVANCED: In other second-round matches played, No. 3-seed Marat Safin, No. 7 Hyung-Taik Lee, unseeded Michael Berrer, and wild card Nicolas Kiefer all advanced to the quarterfinals, setting up matches between Kiefer and Berrer as well as Lee and Safin.
Safin was forced into another three-set match against George Bastl of Sweden after defeating Chris Guccione in a three-set first round match that involved the final two sets coming down to tiebreakers.
“Today was surprising ““ how well Bastl played in the second set,” Safin said on Wednesday night following his 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win. “I had some lucky shots and some good coaching.”