* !201101170231090917798-p2@stats_com by Pete Bodo*
NEW YORK—It didn't exactly feel like an omen for the qualifying tournament of the U.S. Open, but when fishing nut Frank Dancevic caught a couple of 10 lb. walleye in Lake Erie just a weeks ago (trolling a harnessed worm rig, if you must know) he certainly felt that luck was turning his way. And that's a luxury Dancevic hasn't always enjoyed lately.
In 2009, the 26-year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, was playing some of the best tennis of his life—he made the final of Eastbourne, beating Igor Andreev and and Fabrice Santoro, among others—and had cracked the ATP Top 100 (his career-high ranking is No. 65) only to blow a disk in his back during his first-round loss at Wimbledon to Steve Darcis. He played on, but after making the semis at Indianapolis, the pain became too much to bear; he slumped badly and by the fall he was stretched out in hospital, undergoing back surgery.
It's been a long road back. It always is.
"I lost 15 kilos of muscle, and was out for a solid year," Dancevic told me today, after he qualified for the main draw at the U.S. Open with a three-set win over promising U.S. youth, Bradley Klahn. "I lost everything—my court sense, my feeling for competition, the rhythm of playing matches. My comeback started on the grass in 2010, and since then I've been trying to regain my composure, get my points back (he returned to the tour with a ranking of No. 167). I was trying to get back my identity. And it was tough."
Trying to regain his identity. It was an interesting, revealing way to put it. Any player who has walked a mile in Dancevic's tennis shoes probably knows exactly what he means. And for a spell yesterday, it seemed that Dancevic might leave Queens ahead of hurricane Irene but asking himself, "Who am I, really? Just another walleye fisherman?"
Dancevic lost the first set to Klahn, for reasons that help illustrate why qualifying tournaments are so tricky to navigate, and why former U.S. Davis Cup captain and head of USTA player development Patrick McEnroe believes that the toughest of all matches for the typical pro is the last, critical round of qualifying. You may know very little about who you're playing, and if you fall short in the last round of qualifying you walk away with nothing to show for your effort. Zilch. Zippo. Squanto.
"Sure it's tough," Dancevic said of McEnroe's assessment. "I'd rather get a ticket into main draw. But this is the reality. I'm not No. 65 now. I'm No. 180. I have to prove myself, all over. I wasn't sure about this guy's game at all. He's kind of new on the tour. I did know that he's a lefty, but I was surprised that he was such a crafty player, pretty fast around the court, with a quick forehand. I knew pretty quickly that he was going to be trouble."
Klahn won the first set, and then appeared to make a the typical if unavoidable rookie mistake; he relaxed—and in the blink of an eye Dancevic was all over him and the second set was over, 6-1. Klahn rallied, trading holds until Dancevic broke him for a 3-2 lead in the third. Dancevic went on to win it, 6-3 in the third.
I've always enjoyed Dancevic's game. He's got a big serve and isn't timid about following it to the net. He has a solid forehand and a really smooth one-handed backhand (he's a little bit Tommy Haas, a little bit Roger Federer). Dancevic's timing and touch are superb, particuarly on the backhand side. He'll often meet the ball at exactly the same speed at which it's traveling, or slower, basically sending it back with so little spin that you can read the black lettering on the yellow nap. That's not the way the game is played by most guys these days, which makes it even more of a treat to watch.
It occured to me during the match to describe Dancevic as a poor man's Federer. That may seem like damnation by faint praise, or perhaps even an insult. Then again, 99.9 percent of the tennis players in the world should only be lucky enough to be described as a poor man's Frank Dancevic. I asked if he'd feel insulted being described that way. He grinned: "I guess I would take any part of Roger Federer, even if it's one percent. I'd take it as a compliment."
Dancevic has had a tough time trying to reclaim his place as a direct-entry player on the tour. He qualified for the Australian Open but lost to a tough first-round opponent in Richard Gasquet. He qualifed for Roland Garros, but lost to Simone Bolelli. He qualified for Wimbledon, but lost a five-set heartbreaker to No. 89 Ricardo Mello. "It's hard to start fresh," he said. "All I had when I started back out was my experience, but at least that gave me an idea of what I need to be doing, what worked for me in the past. I just have to connect with it."
It would be a good time for Dancevic to make that connection, given that Canada is suddenly producing some good tennis players. The prospect of playing Davis Cup alongside Milos Raonic, one of the most exciting players to emerge in a few years, is tantalizing—and very welcome—for a Davis Cup stalwart like Dancevic. Raonic, Rebecca Marino (on the WTA side), Stephanie Dubois (seeded No. 3 in the women's qualifying draw), veteran doubles standout Daniel Nestor and a handful of other players have created a serious buzz about tennis in maple leaf country.
"Milos has made a huge boom in Canadian tennis," Dancevic said. "He's been a real motivational factor for all of us, and the idea that we're putting out some good players is just awesome. We haven't had that in a while."
Dancevic hopes to stick around long enough to enjoy the party, should the Canadians continue to boost their standing in world tennis. At 26, he's a veteran, but he still has some good years left. Although it was lonely for him at times, he's played a small part in keeping Canadian tennis on the radar. Perhaps in some small way he's been an inspiration, so it would only be just for him to reap some of the rewards. Thanks to his performance here today, he'll have the chance to advance the narrative for Canada—as well as for Dancevic. As much as he likes to fish, he'd rather be here trolling for Ws next week than at home, trolling for walleyes.