!Picby Pete Bodo
Alex Bogomolov Jr. has lived mostly in or around Miami, Fla. since his family moved there in 1992. But he recently—and unexpectedly—declared that he'd prefer to compete for his native land, Russia.
Coming soon to an arena near you: "Bogie" and the Russkies v. "A-Rod" and the Yanks.
Bogomolov's decision struck some as ungrateful, given the degree to which he and his family prospered in the U.S. But "opportunistic" may be a better word. Who can resist the chance to be the big dog on any porch, particularly one as large as Russia?
Bogomolov the only Russian male left in the Australian Open draw (he plays Michael Llodra to open the program on Court 18 today), he's also the highest ranked Russian on the tour.
How'd that happen, you may wonder?
Weren't the Russians threatening to become a dynasty, what with players like former No. 1 Marat Safin, former No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko. . . a Mikhail Youzhny here, an Igor Andreev there, and a Dmitry Tursunov blogging and whacking forehands somewhere yonder? The Russians won the Davis Cup twice in the first half of the first decade of the new millenium, and lost in the final in 2007. At one point, the only group getting more attention than the Russian men was the . . . Russian women.
And it isn't like the Russian women have been lighting it up lately, either. No Russian woman has won a major since Svetlana Kuznetsova throttled fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the 2009 Roland Garros final. Kuznetsova is presently languishing at No. 19.
If you're from the U.S., the recent fate of Russian men's tennis is almost enough to make you feel better about the situation on the home front. In fact, it's not all that dissimilar to the situation in the States, right down to the fact that, with all due respect to Bogomolov, one player in each nation is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to maintaining national pride. And it's not a he.
For Russia, it's No. 4 Maria Sharapova. For the U.S., it's No. 12 Serena Williams. Both are women (duh!) and huge international stars, even though Williams has four times more Grand Slam titles (12) than Sharapova.
The fall-off among the Russian men is much more dramatic than among the women, who are in pretty good shape. So let's look at Russia's current contribution to the ATP Top 100:
No. 38 Bogomolov Jr.: At 28, Bogomolov has been crafting one of the great tales of frustrated journeyman turned successful pro. He sallied forth in 2011 ranked a lowly No. 166 and over time won over the skeptics who thought he was destined to slide back out of the picture. He's having the time of his life, even if the career clock is ticking.
No. 39 Mikhail Youzhny: He was ranked as high as No. 8 (Jan., 2008), the year he got to the fourth round at Roland Garros (l. to Federer) and Wimbledon (l. to Nadal). He's also been an Australian Open quarterfinalist (2008, l. to Tsonga), and a U.S. Open semifinalist (2010, l. to Nadal). His game is smooth, easy on the eyes, and really versatile. But somehow he's never managed that big win that would put him right up among the elites.
No. 43 Dmitry Tursunov: He's a gifted, mercurial player who once cracked the Top 20 (his career high is No. 20). But when he's not feeling it, which is often, he can stink the joint out. He's also been plagued by injury.
No. 52 Nikolay Davydenko: Fleet-footed, game (but moody), his tennis is (or was) like a shell game. He hits flat and relatively hard, taking the ball on the rise, and compensates for his lack of power with great anticipation and counter-punching ability. Watching him, you could be fooled into thinking he was playing ice hockey, not tennis.
Davydenko is 30 now, increasingly prone to injury, and probably finished as a contender. But Kolya was a Grand Slam semifinalist multiple times, and he won an impressive 21 singles titles—three times as many as Youzhny. And he's the only active Russian player to win a Masters event. In fact, he's won three, as well as the "fifth Slam," the ATP World Tour Finals. But he's never reached a Grand Slam final.
No. 74 Igor Kunitsyn: Another 30-year old whose best days are behind him, he climbed to No. 35 in mid-2009. But unlike his more celebrated countrymen, he had a talent for making the most of his opportunities—he is 1-0 in ATP finals, bringing home the bacon in Moscow. And we all know how tough it is to win before the home crowd.