He Won, He Won (And Lost, But That’s OK).
Posted by gauloises1 on February 13, 2011
So while I was mooching around in Palace at novel-writing bootcamp with intermittent internet, Delpo continued to be winny, beating Lukas Lacko and then Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of San Jose. Where he lost. To Fernando Verdasco. But that’s OK.
Soul-burningly, blood-boilingly, teeth-grindingly, buttock-clenchingly OK.
No, really. I don’t know if it’s because I’m trying to keep my expectations very low, but I was really pleased with the way Delpo played this week. Admittedly it wasn’t the best tennis I’ve seen from Lacko or Hewitt, but their opportunities were limited because Delpo was hitting the ball well – and most importantly, serving solidly and well. If he can keep that up, he’ll get through a lot of matches while his confidence behind the ball comes back. Last night, he dropped his first service game against Verdasco and never got the initiative back, as the defending champion was just too good and even the customary second-set wobble was only momentary. But it’s totally OK.
Even in an orange tent, it’s OK.
Delpo will be heading on to Memphis next, where he’s drawn John Isner in the first round.
Meanwhile, Verdasco will face Milos Raonic in the final after the wee curly-topped Canadian was given a walkover by Gael Monfils, who withdrew suffering from a wrist injury that’s apparently been bothering him for some time. That’s Milos’ first ATP final, and he beat Xavier Malisse, James Blake and Ricardas Berankis to get there, so we’ll say he earned it, shall we? Good. I rather think Verdasco on this form may be quite a large step too far, but it’s still been another great week for Mr. Momentum.
New Balls, Please 
AmyLu said
I am also pleased with how DelPo’s week went. He showed flashes and glimpses of his top level ability last night so I really think it will come, once he has more rhythm and confidence. I’m just hoping he’s not playing too much tennis before IW/Miami. If he has a deep run in Memphis, I would probably advise pulling out of Delray Beach, but I’ll trust him and his team to know what’s best for him at this point.
Verdasco played one of the most composed matches I’ve seen from him in a long time. I’m admittedly not much a fan of his, but he made some very nice comments about DelPo in his on-court interview, which was much appreciated by me and very classy of him.
Katrina said
^^ I too ‘awwww’ed’ at Verdasco’s comments after the match – very sweet.
Anyway, I’ve been really impressed with Delpo this week as well. Its funny how after the fact, Gabashvili, Lacko, and Hewitt all seemed like pretty easy (or at least do-able) matches…but when that draw first came out, I was worried. I mean, before this week I really couldn’t conceive of a top-200 guy who I wouldn’t be worried about, you know. So, the fact that he beat them, and played pretty well is really a testament to him and the work that he’s been doing and his mental strength. Above all, I’m just so happy to see him play again!
His singles draw in Memphis seems tough as well, so not sure what to expect next week, but supposedly he’s also playing doubles with Steps lol.
harini said
Really happy that Delpo had a great tournament. Of course, I wish he’d won (and deliberately stayed away from blogs and Twitter — apart from not having time to do all that stuff — just so I wouldn’t jinx him), but this is a nice result for him after the previous year.
Hope he continues to have a good tournament this week too!