For many players, first-round victories represent little more than a stepping stone to the next round of a tournament. Shortly after “Game, set and match” is called, it’s on to the next challenge—there’s no time to reflect on the past.
But I didn’t get that impression from Michael Russell as he walked into Interview Room 3 late Tuesday evening. The 32-year-old American had just beaten Pere Riba-Madrid in four sets to collect his first ever win at the All England Club, 10 years after his maiden Wimbledon match. He spoke of his accomplishment in jovial tone—“they had the ice bath ready for me”—and only briefly mentioned his upcoming opponent, Fabio Fognini.
“It will be a battle of the little fast guys,” Russell joked.
A regular on the Challenger circuit, Russell hasn’t qualified for Wimbledon often. He lost his three prior main-draw appearances, in 2000, 2002 and 2007, taking just one set in the process. But he made good on his latest chance, dispatching the 78th-ranked Spaniard on Court 9, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 2-6, 7-6 (1).
“At a Grand Slam, so much [of your success] is about the draw, who you play,” Russell says. “You could play Roger Federer in the first round, or Andy Murray—it could have been a lot worse. It was a good opponent to have.”
Russell knows all about curses from the draw gods. He’s played Federer in the opening round of a major before and drew the white-hot Juan Martin del Potro at this year’s Australian Open. But Russell has struggled at the Slams no matter his opponent, with a 5-17 record in main-draw play. Three of those wins came at one tournament, the 2001 French Open, where he lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the fourth round after holding match point.
“I watch old tapes of myself playing, like the Guga match in 2001, and now I play completely different,” Russell says. “I could run like a gazelle when I was 20. I played more spin, a lot more defensive. Now I’m trying to be more aggressive and play closer to the baseline. Before a lot of my results were on clay; now they’re on fast hard courts, indoors and on grass.”
The veteran’s adjustments have paid off recently. Ranked outside the Top 300 in November 2008, Russell has won three Challenger titles since and rose to No. 68 earlier this year. But like his career, the season has been up and down. He lost 10 of 11 matches coming into Wimbledon; his last ATP main-draw win was at the Miami Masters.
“It was an awful clay-court season,” Russell said. “I couldn’t wait to get to the grass, which is unheard of for me. I was a little bit injured, but at the same time, the guys are tough.”
It will probably only get tougher for Russell in his remaining years on tour. His goals are simple: Stay healthy, keep trying to improve, remain in the Top 100. And enjoy the time he has left, which he did, for the first time as a winner at Wimbledon.
“It’s still The Championships. It’s still pretty neat playing here.”
Ed McGrogan is an assistant editor for TENNIS.com. Follow him on Twitter.