—If you weren’t ready for the Aussie Open already, this clip might get you there. The first thing I noticed watching it is the sound. The clarity of each shot and sneaker squeak is a Melbourne Park trademark; whoever mikes Rod Laver Arena is a master. It might even help explain the tournament’s appeal to wee-hour watchers in the Western hemisphere—those crisp sounds keep us from nodding off.
—This is how I described the match at the time, from Oz:
“Tennis aficionados had been waiting for this battle of the ball carvers, and for once a highly anticipated match went beyond its billing. Bernard Tomic and Alexandr Dolgopolov carved the ball every which way, and often the same way, for dozens of shots at a time. Much of the match saw the two of them in a position you don’t see too many players in these days: Hunched over, in the middle of the court, just inside the baseline, sending wide-arcing, side-spinning, one-handed backhands back and forth to each other.
The fun began when one of them decided to break loose from that pattern. Then they were sent careening all over the court, into the doubles alleys and beyond to make full-stretch gets; up to the net for drop shots and right back to the baseline to track down lobs. As Tomic said afterward, it was like looking into a mirror. It’s hard to imagine there have been many matches that have put together as much collective touch and feel on a tennis court at one time as this one. With each rally, each shot, cat became mouse, mouse became cat.”
—Each player won 174 points that evening. The crucial moment for Tomic was his gutty, big-serving comeback from 3-5 down in the third-set tiebreaker to win 8-6—coming into the match, he was 19-7 in breakers, while Dolgo was 23-23. At the time, many of us thought that Dolgopolov would go away after that, but this was not a match where momentum was sustained for long. Instead, he flew through the fourth set.
Watching now, I realize how much I love Dolgopolov's forehand drive, when he makes a little jerking leap into the ball, and makes it leap off his racquet with more pace than you think is possible. Grace and explosiveness: Dolgopolov has them both. He may even have too much. This man with all the shots often chooses the wrong one. In this match, he moved Tomic forward with drop shots effectively, only to blow the point with a weak lob on the next ball.
—The one off-note is Tomic’s half-challenge of a non-call early in the fifth set. Someone in the crowd called a Dolgopolov shot long. When there was no call from the line judge, Tomic lifted his racquet hand to challenge. Before he could say anything, though, Dolgopolov, thrown off by his opponent’s motion and the call from the stands, missed his next shot. When Dolgopolov complained, Tomic gave a “Who me?” look to chair umpire Carlos Ramos and claimed, “I didn’t say anything,” which was technically true. In a perfect sporting world, Tomic should have offered to play the point over. But a fifth set on Rod Laver Arena is not a perfect sporting world. Bernie, as the Aussie commentator says here, really did use every trick in the book in this one.
—Dolgopolov, after a choice word for Ramos, was motivated by the moment; over the next few games, he let out his first “Come on!”s of the match. But Tomic was up to the challenge. He forced himself out of his passive comfort zone and began, after more than three and a half hours on court, to hit harder and with more conviction than he had all night. He was, on this evening, the tougher competitor.
Two nights later, Tomic was beaten badly by Roger Federer on the same court. His win over Dolgopolov would be his last over a higher-ranked player all season.
—Still, as I wrote that night:
Steve Tignor's Top 10 Matches of 2012:
No. 1:The Miracle on Grass: Lukas Rosol d. Rafael Nadal
No. 2: <em>The Struggle Down Under:</em> Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal
No. 3: <em>Olympian Efforts:</em> Roger Federer d. Juan Martin del Potro
No. 4: <em>Wooing Them:</em> Victoria Azarenka d. Sam Stosur
No. 5: <em>Tightrope Walk Across Paris:</em> Novak Djokovic d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
No. 6: <em>Winning Like It's 1999:</em> Serena Williams d. Victoria Azarenka
No. 7: <em>Fireworks:</em> Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer
No. 8: <em>Sturm and Drang:</em> Angelique Kerber d. Sabine Lisicki
No. 9: <em>Sculpting a Strange Masterpiece:</em> Bernard Tomic d. Alexandr Dolgopolov<em>*
No. 10: Stunner in Paris:* Virginie Razzano d. Serena Williams
