“I don’t know how to pronounce his name,” said the man with the deep tan and the large beer. “But I like this guy.”
The name this fan couldn’t get straight was “Ricardas Berankis.” Compared to a lot of pros, that one really shouldn’t be so daunting, even for someone not from Berankis’s native Lithuania. But the No. 1 junior in the world in 2007 hasn’t exactly made himself a household name since turning pro. The 20-year-old Berankis is ranked No. 124 and has never cracked into double digits, but you wouldn’t have known it on Thursday, when he went deep into a fifth set—he squandered a break at 4-3—against French Open semifinalist Jurgen Melzer on a packed Court 7.
All of a sudden, it’s not so easy to find the future of men’s tennis. A high number of prodigies have been left by the roadside in recent years; it’s enough to make you admire the fact that Richard Gasquet, the ultimate tragic prodigy, who won yesterday, has gotten as far as he has. This week, 18-year-old Ryan Harrison of the U.S. stirred up a slight breeze around the Open with his win over Ivan Ljubicic in the first round. But it’s a little early to crown him the next Nadal. The question is: Is anyone around right now the next Nadal? Is there a future multiple Wimbledon winner to be found outside the Top 5?
If they are around, they’ve got a ways to go. On Thursday, if you’d looked closely, you would have found two card-carrying members of the ATP’s future laboring through the late afternoon on side-by-side back courts at Flushing. One court over from Berankis was 21-year-old Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands. De Bakker was the No. 1 junior in the world in 2006, a year before Berankis, but while he’s also had his struggles, 2010 has been a breakout year of sorts for him. He’s currently at No. 48, and with his four-set win today, he’s reached the third round at his third straight major.
True to ranking and form, de Bakker won and Berankis lost. And purely from a physical standpoint, there’s no doubt that the Dutchman has the bigger upside. Literally—he’s 6-foot-4, while the bow-legged Berankis looks even shorter than his 5-foot-9 inches. Their court personas differ accordingly. De Bakker came across as testy. Late line calls and ball boys slow to bring him his towel bugged him. He might be hard to warm to in the future. Berankis, at least against Melzer, went about his business in humble and hard-working fashion—there’s a Davydenko-esque quality to him, except that he's even smaller. (Would it be an insult to be nicknamed Pocket Kolya?) I didn't see Berankis question any line calls, but he did let out a few infectious fist pumps and roars. His lone fashion statement came late in the fifth set, right after he’d squandered his break. Berankis threw off his hat and revealed a surprising mop of dark hair—the Davydenko connection had me think he would be blond. After he lost the first point of the next game, the cap went right back on.
Both de Bakker and Berankis have their flaws. Height is the obvious one for the Lithuanian. With de Bakker it’s form. It’s still tough for him to get his beanpole body working as one smooth machine. Otherwise, both guys play classic, two-hand-backhand, power-baseline tennis. As befits someone of his stature, Berankis’s strengths are his solidity and tenacity. But he doesn’t have Davydenko’s spring, or his hands. His scattered drop shot attempts floated on him. What he does do better than anything is stand his ground at the baseline.
The most unique aspect of de Bakker’s game, or at least the game he brought to the court on Thursday, was his backhand slice. When the mood hit him, he cut under the ball with what at first looked like a jokey severity. But what seemed like a joke had its uses; the shot's bounce threw off de Bakker’s opponent numerous times. More consistently effective, though, was de Bakker’s backhand drop, which he hit with a simple, short push and disguised well.
