I've been waiting for a match like this from Viktor Troicki. I'm not sure when I first saw him play; it might have been against Nadal at the Aussie Open four years ago or so? Does that sound right? Anyway, at that time I was impressed with his hitting ability; he could take a belt-high ball on the rise on either side and hit it past his opponent. But in the intervening years, I'd been disappointed with what he got out of that ability. He didn't seem to use what he had; I particularly remember him looking awful against Andy Murray at Wimbledon two or three years ago.
But all of his skills and then some were on display yesterday in Tokyo against Nadal. He should have won the match. He fought back from 3-5 down in the fifth, served for it at 6-5, and was ahead in the third-set tiebreaker. But it all went for nought, as he got tight at exactly the wrong moments. Still, it was a pleasure to watch Troicki, not just for his hitting, but for his fluidity, both as a mover and a ball-striker. His service motion looks funky and disjointed, but it gets him up and threw the ball with an easy momentum—he nearly aced Nadal off the court. He creates nice crosscourt angles with his forehand, without going for broke, and for a guy with a two-handed backhand, he has good instincts at net.
For a tennis fan in America, the only frustrating thing about watching Troicki is wondering where this country's version of him is. He has a smoothness and facility to his game that just seem in the European blood these days. Here's hoping we see more of this version of him.
—Steve Tignor