McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Tomas Berdych
This is a tough call. Albert Montanes pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the Estoril final, saving two match points against James Blake before winning the title in three sets (taking the final set 6-0, no less). But Tomas Berdych, hardly known for his mental prowess, managed to win three final-set tiebreakers at the BMW Open in Munich, the third of which came in the final against Mikhail Youzhny. And there's more to the story than that.
But first, let's look back at Berdych's road to the final. After beating qualifier Sascha Kloer in the opening round, Berdych played wild card Andreas Beck, a surprise quarterfinalist in Monte Carlo. The match went the distance, but Berdych avoided the upset by winning the ensuing tiebreaker 7-4.
In the next round, Berdych faced veteran baseliner Lleyton Hewitt. I expected Berdych to simply push Hewitt around with his booming serve and groundstrokes. That didn’t happen, though nothing involving the erratic Czech should surprise me anymore. The match was decided in another third-set tiebreaker, which, to his credit, Berdych won 7-4.
After getting by Jeremy Chardy in the semifinals, Berdych squared off against Youzhny in Sunday's final. Berdych looked to have this one in the bag, leading 4-1 in the third set. Three match points later (when serving at 6-5), Berdych found himself in familiar territory -- a final-set tiebreaker. There, it was Youzhny who took control, leading 4-0 and 5-1. But the Russian crumbled under pressure, dropping the next six points, and the match.
The 2008 Wimbledon final it was not. But Berdych's recovery in the Munich final, along with his play earlier in the tournament, earns him this week's award.
WTA - Dinara Safina
Newly-crowned world No. 1 Dinara Safina faced two equally challenging types of pressure last week in Rome. The first kind dealt with her ability to handle the spotlight that comes with her top ranking. The previous week in the Stuttgart final, Safina lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets, precisely the thing world No. 1's shouldn't be doing. Then Serena Williams, the WTA player most observers call the "real No. 1," sent a barb Safina's way which echoed these popular sentiments. Throughout Safina's recent press conferences, she's also vocally expressed these same doubts. From my perspective, Safina's chances for success in Rome didn't look good -- she wasn't confident, but more importantly, she didn't seem to even be enjoying herself.
While watching the first set of Safina's Rome semifinal against Venus Williams, it appeared that all these suspicions would be confirmed. Safina had struggled to reach this point of the tournament, needing three sets in each of her previous two matches against Jie Zheng and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez -- not exactly a pair of world-beaters. Now came a much greater threat in Venus, as good a representation as any of the second kind of pressure the Russian faced at the Foro Italico.
Though Safina was hanging around in the onset, it was Venus who dictated play, especially with her forehand, which was potent and accurate. And indeed, Venus struck first, winning the opening set in a tiebreaker. Yet Safina went on to win the match, without too much trouble, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4. A good mix of power, speed and smarts helped Safina weather the storm and then turn the tide in her favor. The next day, a straight-set win in the final against Svetlana Kuznetsova earned Safina a much-needed title and mental boost. It couldn't have come at a better time, just weeks before Roland Garros begins.
Next Week's Tournaments
