Starting on December 7—the 25th day left in 2010—TENNIS.com will countdown from the year-end No. 25 on both tours with "The Last Word," a look back at the year that was and a look ahead at the season to come. Here's who we've looked at so far.
Best of 2010
Might as well take “Hot Sauce’s” own word on it: Barcelona, a tournament he grew up watching on TV, where he beat French Open finalist Robin Soderling. “This is maybe the best moment of my career right now,” said Verdasco.
Worst of 2010
The Spanish love Davis Cup, so losing a singles rubber to France’s Michael Llodra and the doubles (with Feliciano Lopez) in the quarterfinal round of play was quite a blow.
Year in Review
Verdasco has made enormous strides in the consistency department. He charged out of the gate and made the fourth round of the Australian Open, and acquitted himself well on the U.S. hard courts before an excellent showing on the European clay. He took out Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semis, only to fall to his countryman, friend and nemesis, Rafael Nadal. But he went on to win Barcelona and made his third successive semifinal in Rome. Verdasco played exactly one match on grass (a first-round loss at Wimbledon) and tailed off during the hard court summer and fall circuits. His highlight came at the U.S. Open, where he won a five-set thriller over Davis Ferrer before losing to—who else?—Nadal, in the quarters.
See for Yourself
True to his lefty identity, Verdasco has a lethal if occasionally erratic forehand:
The Last Word
It’s hard to call a Top 10 player a “head case,” and you don’t go toe-to-toe with fellow Top 10’ers without a firm hand and strong mind. But it’s also true that Verdasco is still fighting—and more frequently, overcoming—the tendency to get a little wild under pressure. His backhand is solid, if not as threatening as his forehand. But when the pressure is on, his forehand, and at times his serve, can get shaky. His opponents know it, and he knows it. Like some of his Spanish countrymen, he’s had a tendency to slow down once the hard-court season arrives, but he’s got a game and strokes more suited to that surface than some of his peers. If he can find a way to transfer some of that confidence and focus he has in the spring to the fall, he could improve his ranking.
—Peter Bodo