Ray McNulty: Time is right for Fish to win U.S. Open - TCPalm
Will there be another real opportunity for him to win a Grand Slam singles title?
Maybe.
Will there be a better one?
Probably not.
So this is it for Mardy Fish, three months shy of his 30th birthday, in the best physical condition of his life, playing tennis at a top-10-in-the-world level that has surprised even those who watched him grow up in this picturesque, seaside community on Florida's Treasure Coast.
This is his time.
This is his chance — probably his last, best chance — to reach for his dream, deliver a performance beyond his abilities and author a feel-good story for the ages.
This can be his U.S. Open.
Finally.
"I've never gone into the Open like this before," said Fish, who earned the U.S. Open Series bonus by winning in Atlanta, reaching the finals in Los Angeles and Montreal, and getting to the semifinals in Cincinnati. "I've never been a top-10 player in the world going into the biggest tournament of the year."
This Open is, in every way, the biggest tournament of his career.
And he can win it.
He's the Open's No. 8 seed, same as his world ranking. He's on his home turf — on what should be his best surface — and, as America's highest-ranked man, he's sure to have the home crowd in his corner. He's playing his best tennis at the perfect time.
"I'll certainly feel like I can beat anyone," Fish said, "especially on that surface, at that tournament."
He should.
After getting to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Fish has put together a special summer on the U.S. hard courts, compiling a 14-3 record that includes a three-set triumph over countryman John Isner in the Atlanta final and a run of straight-sets victories over Nickolay Davydenko, Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati, where he lost a tough semifinal to eventual champion Andy Murray.
He also pushed top-ranked Novak Djokovic to three sets in Montreal, losing 6-4 in the third to a player who has lost only twice in 59 matches this year.
So he's not just fitter and quicker and hitting the ball more crisply, particularly with his forehand.
He's more confident, too.
It was after knocking off Nadal earlier this month — his first win in seven tries against the No. 2-ranked Spaniard — that Fish talked about playing with a growing belief in his game, even when one of the world's best is standing across the net.
"Not that I 'wanted' to win," Fish said. "I really felt like I could and maybe should win."
He'll need that take-no-prisoners mentality at Flushing Meadows, where he has never gotten past the quarterfinals. In fact, he's never gotten to the Final Four at any of the four majors.
But he has beaten all of the Big Four — Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Murray — at least once.
And since undergoing an inspiring metamorphosis after the 2009 season, drastically changing his eating and workout habits and shedding 30 pounds from his 6-foot-2 frame, he has closed the gap between himself and the elite.
He has produced a scintillating second act to a career that, previously, had been defined by injury, inconsistency and inexcusable underachievement.
At age 29, he has given himself a shot.
"I wish I was 24, but I'm not," Fish said. "Everyone has regrets. ... I'm glad I figured it out."
Just in time, too.
The right time.
Djokovic retired from the Cincinnati final because of a sore shoulder and, as the year's final Grand Slam event begins, might not be in peak form. Nadal and Federer have looked vulnerable at times this summer. Murray hasn't won a major.
It's an open Open.
There are as many as eight different men who have a believable chance to take home the trophy. And Fish, who goes in playing as well as anyone, is one of them.
"It's the best I've felt," he said, "going into a Grand Slam."Could Fish become the first American man since Andy Roddick eight years ago to win a major? Will he finally put together two magical weeks of tennis? Can this be his Open?
He's got a chance.
A real chance.
Probably his best chance.
Maybe his last chance.
29 Aug, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFzRtqgk1cJcRY_dclOTmj_-vRR9w&url=http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/aug/29/time-is-right-for-fish/
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