The morning after his good friend and former Boca Raton Prep basketball teammate Andy Roddick was bounced out of Miami, Mardy Fish employed his brand of the full-court press to dismiss Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-3, and reach the round of 16. The 29-year-old won the battle of coach’s kids who possess brilliant backhands and a fondness for baseball caps, and now awaits the winner of what should be a bruising battle between fourth-seeded Robin Soderling and 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Only three seeding spots separated the 14th-seeded Fish from Gasquet, but the American’s ability to create openings on critical points proved to be a difference in the match. Conjuring a kick serve that deviously danced off the court, Fish overcame a hideous 37 percent first-serve percentage by pressing the attack when it mattered most—often with his bold backhand. Born in Edina, Minn., Fish is a hockey fan whose compact two-hander recalls a slap shot, whereas Gasquet needs more time to uncoil his exquisite one-hander that can be hit with assorted spins and angles.
Both men have won titles on every surface and possess sharp but sometimes under-utilized volleying skills. Fish tried to employ a surprise serve-and-volley play but bumped a routine backhand volley into the net to fall into a love-40 hole in the ninth game of the match. After a ripping return, Gasquet broke for 4-5 (to get back on serve) when Fish hooked a forehand wide. But in serving to extend the set, Gasquet's forehand failed him when it floated long; Fish closed the set with a clenched fist while an annoyed Gasquet belted a ball into the stands in frustration.
Recoiling in horror after netting a forehand to face break point at 3-all in the second set, Fish played a smart, smooth point in attacking behind a slice backhand and scooping a slick forehand volley for deuce. But Fish would face a second break point after knocking a double-fault off the top of the tape. A corkscrew kicker of a second serve proceeded to handcuff Gasquet into a return error. Following this second escape, Fish unleashed a 74 mph kicker slathered with topspin to seal a near 12-minute game, the longest of the match, and hold for 4-3. It would be Gasquet’s best chance at snagging a game the rest of the way.
“He has a brilliant one-handed backhand; certainly one of the best in the world,” Fish told Tennis Channel after the match. “He loves to control the cross-court wing on that side and I was able to neutralize it at the very least. I certainly would have liked to have served better but that’s something to work on.”
Prior to his straight-set sweep of then third-ranked Andy Murray in the second round here last year, Fish failed to surpass the second round in seven of his prior eight Key Biscayne appearances. Fish is playing for more than a quarterfinal spot this week: if he reaches the semifinals he is projected to surpass Roddick to become the highest-ranked American man.
—Richard Pagliaro