FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — Janko Tipsarevic has always been an enigmatic presence. The goggled-bearded-and-tattooed Serb who reads Nietzsche and Dostoyevsky in his spare time, is a well-armed power player who is capable of putting up big results. But because of his history of inconsistent results, he’s never really been more than a dangerous floater.
But the 20th-ranked baseliner has been showing signs that he’s ready to get serious. On Saturday, the sometimes-prickly 27-year-old secured a spot in the fourth round when No. 9 seed Tomas Berdych pulled out of his match with a shoulder injury trailing 6-4, 5-0. And you get the feeling he believes he can reach the Final Four at a Slam, an accomplishment he has yet to accomplish (he’s twice reached the fourth round at Wimbledon).
“I know that I can perform well under pressure,” he said. “It’s not that I’m a choker or I lose important matches. Of course, I win and I lose, but I feel a big regret why I didn’t set this goal before. Or maybe just at the time I didn’t want to sacrifice my free time in my life.”
Tipsarevic first cracked the top 50 in 2008, the same year he pushed Roger Federer in a 10-8-in-the-fifth barnburner at the Australian Open. But aside from some Davis Cup heroics, he always seems to come up short in big matches.
“I’m doing things differently this year,” said Tipsarevic. “I’m completely dedicated to tennis, which was not the situation a couple years back. I was choosing to do some other things before going to bed on time or doing stretching after every practice or hitting the gym every time that I need to. But this is not the case this year, and I feel so happy that it’s paying off.”
Some of the credit should go to countryman Novak Djokovic. In the midst of one of the greatest seasons in tennis history, he’s surely setting a shining example of how to get it done.
“I’m extremely grateful for having Novak as a part of my life, because I have a chance to look from a front-row seat what the world’s best tennis player is doing, and enjoying life,” he said. “It’s not that he’s sacrificing his private life and all the fun stuff to do what he’s doing and being the best at it. I learned a lot from him. Even though he’s three years younger than me, I learn a lot how can you also enjoy life, but putting this really, really short road that we have, the tennis career, it’s really, really short. You have 10, 12, 13 years at the top and that’s it. Putting that thing as the No. 1 priority without having to sacrifice, I mean, anything…I’m really happy that he’s a small part of my life, and I feel I learn a lot from him.”
“I noticed the difference in his mental approach,” said Djokovic. ” He always had the game. I just think now he believes he can win against top guys, that he can go far in the tournaments, in the Grand Slams. Now he has a big chance…to reach quarters. He’s fit. He was struggling a lot with injuries…It was a process for him, learning. And now I think he’s playing best tennis of his life.”
Tipsarevic looks forward to his fourth-round faceoff with ’03 U.S. Open runner-up J.C. Ferrero, who also advanced via retirement when No. 31 seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers backed out with an abdominal complaint trailing 6-1, 4-3. Beyond that could be a match against his friend Nole.
YOU’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE: Jack Sock confided, “When you play on Arthur Ashe [Stadium] at the U.S. Open, it feels a lot different than playing at Blue Valley North in May at the high school state championship.”
ANDY’S NOSEY NEIGHBORS: Andy Roddick recalled practicing with Andre Agassi in Florida back in 2000, the year he turned pro. “He was my hero. It was surreal. I felt like I was in a daze. It was really cool because my dad put this court together in our yard. He would come over there and hit. So the neighbors who would complain that we were out there hitting balls at 6 o’clock in the morning all of a sudden would look through the bushes and they didn’t complain anymore.”
QADDAFI’S COURT: When Libyan rebels stormed Muammar Qaddafi‘s military compound, they discovered, in addition to the embattled leader’s home, military barracks and a German-designed bunker designed by to withstand attacks, two tennis courts next to a Bedouin-style tent where he entertained guests. Authors David Blundy and Andrew Lycett once described the compound as “a pleasant place, with the security of a prison but the facilities of a country club.”
SAMBERG AS A ‘GAY THOR’: SNL funnyman Andy Samberg, who dressed up like McEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, Connors and Borg for a New York Times Magazine photo shoot, said, “If you’re into comedy, there’s no one funnier on a court than McEnroe. He’s a bit of a man-child.” Samberg also noted Agassi’s “wounded,” “puppy dog” eyes, and said his Borg makeup made him look like “a gay Thor.”
UNDERAPPRECIATED: Jimmy Connors told Tennis magazine, “The people —the establishment and maybe a lot of fans — really didn’t know what to make of us because we were so different. Our attitudes were different; our games were all different; nobody played the same. Everybody plays the same now. We had variety and we had charisma. I hate to say it, but we had it all, and they didn’t appreciate it.”
QUESTIONS: Nick Bollettieri was inducted into the Tennis Industry Hall of Fame on Aug. 27. Is the International Tennis Hall of Fame next?…Jim Courier said Americans have become fat, dumb and happy. Have U.S. juniors lost their work ethic?
GOLF VS. TENNIS: Caroline Wozniacki, who’s dating golfer Rory McIlroy, says there are real similarities between her sport and his. And some real differences. “Golf is such a mental game. You’re playing against the course. You’re playing with yourself and trying to do a good score,” said the world No. 1. “Sometimes we can get into that spiral where you just think, ‘Okay, I just can’t hit it right,’ or ‘I just need to put it in the hole but it just keeps missing.’ It’s so mental. If you stay positive and believe in yourself, it makes the game so much easier. So it’s the same, similar in tennis, but you have an opponent as well.”
NICE GIRLS DON’T KNOCK OUT JOURNALISTS: She’s sure taken a few punches from the media. But when part-time boxer Wozniacki was asked, “If you could have a knockout punch, would you prefer to give it to a tennis opponent or from us probing guys in the media?” the Dane said, “I prefer not to knock out anyone. I’m a nice girl, so…or I like to think so.”
WHO SAYS AMERICANS DON’T LIKE CLAY?: Many were surprised to hear that American Vania King trains primarily on a clay court. “To be honest, the academy I train at only has clay courts, so I have no option. [But] it’s really, really helped me improve my game on clay. I made the third round at French Open this year, and I feel very comfortable on clay now, whereas, two or three years ago, I would have said I hate clay. Because I did hate clay. It was awful…It’s good for injuries. You don’t get as much pounding. You don’t get injured as much. It’s easier to transition from clay to hard; whereas it’s more difficult to transition from hard to clay.”
ANOTHER BRUTAL ATTACK IN GERMANY: Dutch player Elise Tamaela suffered severe injuries after being attacked by her Danish foe Karen Babat‘s father during a $25,000 Challenger in Germany. The scene prompted ugly memories of Monica Seles‘ attack in Hamburg in April 1993.
CAMERON’S BREACH OF TENNIS ETIQUETTE: British Prime Minister David Cameron was reportedly chided for breaking the all-whites rule on the courts of London’s Queens Club when he wore black shorts.
FED’S PRESIDENTIAL VIEWPOINT: Roger Federer says he watched the 2008 U.S. Presidential race “quite closely…I couldn’t believe the length of it and the brutality of it. [I] felt like every president should be extremely tired becoming the president, and this is actually when the job starts.”
SHORT AND SIMPLE: After beating Vania King, Caroline Wozniacki was asked, “Let’s start with the positive. What went right out there?” The Dane succinctly replied, “I won.”
NOW HERE’S SOME IDEAS THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN: Reflecting on all the multisyllabic names in women’s tennis, Dick Enberg said, “I think there should be a limit to three syllables in tennis.”…Caroline Wozniacki has won three times in New Haven, so some of her fans would like the entire WTA Tour to be played in that Connecticut city.
GO FIGURE: There are no top-50 teenagers on the WTA Tour.
JUST WONDERING: Which American, Venus Williams or James Blake, will retire first?
MAKES SENSE TO US: Federer is known for his feathery touch and his name means “trader in feathers.”
TWEETS TO REMEMBER
“It’s been a lot of blood, sweat and Waffle House.” — Andy Roddick on his stay in Cincinnati
“I just texted the word ‘badass’ to someone and it autocorrected it to Nagasaki.” —Andy Roddick
“I meant to send ‘xoxoxo’ to my wife and it autocorrected it to Codfish!” — Bob Bryan
HEADLINES
It’s See Ya, Maria
Young & Resilient
THE NUMBERS
1: Active player with a winning record against Rafael Nadal — Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko — who’s 6-4 lifetime against the Spaniard.
QUOTEBOOK
“I am gluten tolerant.” — Janko Tipsarevic
“I’m trying my nuts off, man. I just feel awful.”— Andy Murray to a fan during his five-set struggle against journeyman Robin Haase
“John has been a dream crusher for me.” — Alex Bogomolov, Jr. on John Isner
“It was the best tennis experience of my life…Growing up as an American tennis player, that’s probably the dream court, dream stage that you want to play on. To play against another American who I grew up watching was a pretty surreal moment.” — Jack Sock on playing Andy Roddick in an Ashe Stadium night match
“I didn’t think I’d ever play another guy from Nebraska in my career.” — Andy Roddick
“You don’t get credit for being [in the Top 10]. You only the get credit for not being there.” — Andy Roddick
“He’s got big cajones. He’s got swagger. You’ve got to have it.” — Jim Courier on Ryan Harrison
“If that was me, I’d be out for a year…life.” — John McEnroe on Serena Williams‘ acrobatic splits against Victoria Azarenka
“For the first couple of rounds, it seems like Serena is playing a different sport than anyone else.” – CBS
