Janko Tipsarevic pulled the upset of the US Open so far on the men's side when he ousted ninth seeded and 2003 champ Andy Roddick in the second round. The Serb was the aggressor throughout the match stepping inside the baseline, moving the American out of position and cracking winners (60 in total) at will, in particular, his fave down the line blasts. It was A-Rod's earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament since losing to Tipsy at Wimbledon in 2008. He'll face Frenchie Gael Monfils in the third round, his best result at Flushing Meadows.
After the closing out match point the two met at the net where Tipsy was seen head-butting A-Rod's chest and excitedly grabbing at his arm. So what was that about? "I just said, 'The last time you beat me in a Grand Slam second round, you lost the last match, so don't do that,' to which he head-butted me, which was fun," said the former top baller. Nice.
It was an impressive win for Tipsy whose size belies the big-ballin' game he owns. He possesses enormous power on his groundies, throwing himself into every shot, and on his serve where he put down 16 aces, one less than the big-serving, physically imposing American.
As for A-Rod, he went out there playing as if he'd never been beaten by his opponent before, without a sense of urgency or idea of how to overcome the Serb's game. Plus his boorish behavior at getting called for a correct foot fault was just annoying. Now he gets to watch the next generation of Americans including Sam Querrey, John Isner, and now Ryan Harrison (who won his first Grand Slam match over No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic) carry the load and pressure - the symbolic torch if you will - from the sidelines. And maybe, just maybe he's a little bit relieved.
UPDATE: Here's video of the foot fault incident and A-Rod's reactions...
[Photo(s): Getty Images]
No comments:
Post a Comment