Unleashing his unique brand of tennis mischief, Alexandr Dolgopolov sent Juan Martin del Potro careening into the corners during the best exchange of the match — a 26-shot slug fest — that ended with del Potro flattening a forehand into net in the ninth point of the tie breaker.
Contesting his fifth match in the past seven days, the 6'6" del Potro wasn't exactly huffing and puffing after that arduous test. The big man blew on his right hand to dry the sweat then put the hammer down to close out a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory that sent him into the Dubai second round.
It was del Potro's ninth victory in his last 10 matches. Though he stumbled near the finish line in failing to serve out the match at 5-4, the 2009 U.S. Open champion is regaining his confidence and range — he's surrendered just two sets in his last nine wins — and imposing his mammoth game on opponents.
The 20th-ranked Dolgopolov is a quirky character whose pony tail, fast hands and explosive racquet head speed make him look a little like a knight ready for the joust at a Renaissance festival. Dolgopolov's shot making runs the gamut from magical to maddening; he can hit sensational running forehands only to brain cramp and go for low-percentage drop shots that might make trick shot artist Mansour Bahrami cringe in horror. The Ukrainian broke to open the match only to dump three double faults to hand the break back. Dolgopolov's exceedingly fast forehand swing misfired in the sixth game as he framed three forehands to donate the break. Del Potro held at love to consolidate for 5-2. Dolgopolov saved a set point in the six-minute game that followed, employing a surprise serve-and-volley effectively and earned double break point to get back on serve. But del Potro, who served 71 percent in the first set, used a forehand volley, a jamming body serve and a 134 MPH ace to dig out of trouble and take the first set in 34 minutes.
The devious Dologopolov slice backhand sometimes came with severe sidespin that bewildered the big man and forced him to bend low for awkward replies. Del Potro's ability to punish his opponent's second serve — he won 25 of 41 points played on Dolgo's second serve — combined with Dolgopolov's unorthodox and sometimes low-percentage flights of whimsy (Dolgo is one who chips his forehand return at times) proved pivotal. When Dolgopolov dumped a drop shot into the middle of the net, del Potro had the break for a 4-3 second-set lead, but he gave it back with successive forehand errors as Dolgo broke back for 5-5.
Del Potro, who beat Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra back to back to win his 10th title in Marseille on Sunday, slammed a service winner for double match point, ending the one hour, 33-minute match on a Dolgopolov error. In his Dubai debut, del Potro is one win from a potential rematch with Tsonga in the quarterfinals.
—Richard Pagliaro