Every month there are many factors and players that are put into the mix when deciding which player deserves player of the month status. This month again saw a toss up between a few players. Mardy Fish did end up winning, but he had to compete with South African Kevin Anderson, who made the finals of Las Vegas as a qualifier and beat Novak Djokovic in the 1st round of the Miami Masters. Not bad for guy ranked 122 in the world. Andy Roddick was also in the mix for player of the month as he posted wins in Dubai and San Jose and finally took out Roger Federer on his way to the semi-finals in Miami.

All-in-all, Mardy was our choice for player of the month as he posted an outstanding week in making the finals in Indian Wells, California. On his way to the final, Fish took out 81st ranked Florian Mayer, 4th seed and Miami champ Nikolay Davydenko, 24 ranked Lleyton Hewitt, 7th ranked David Nalbandian and top seed Roger Federer. He also pushed 3rd ranked Novak Djokovic to 3 sets in the championship match and saw his ranking go from 98 in the world to the current 41st spot. Perhaps the most impressive part of Mardy’s California dream was the way he battled and stayed focused in his wins over Hewitt and Nalbandian, with both matches going 7-6 in the 3rd sets. Especially since Hewitt and Nalbandian are know for being two of the fiercest competitors on tour.

Mardy has always been know for his big serve, which regularly is in the high 120’s and low 130 mph range. But his ability to focus and fight through tough matches was something that he had never been good at. The center piece of his week in California was his win over Roger Federer in the semi-finals which he won 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes. Handing the Swiss his worst loss in the last 4 seasons, which is an outstanding feat. Mardy was very sharp and took everything off the rise in his match with Roger, as he paralyzed R-Fed from the back court and looked confident and poised throughout the match.

Mardy has never been a stranger to hard court success. He made the quarter-finals of the 2007 Australian Open and the finals of the 2003 masters series in Cincinnati. His strong serve and good return game are key components to his game. He has also improved his weak forehand wing as well as his movement.

I remember reading an article about Fish when he was a junior player. He described how he did not take his tennis as seriously as he should have as a junior and it wasn’t until he started to take his fitness seriously that he excelled into a world class player. The right handed Minnesota native, is a big sports fan and he follows the Tampa Bay lightning and loves to watch pro baseball. He is currently dating Deal or no Deal model Stacey and she was at Indian Wells all week in support since she is from California. He also lives and trains at the Saddle Brook resort in Tampa, Florida year round.

Mardy will be looking to have strong results at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open later this year and try and overtake his career best ranking of 17 in the world, which he attained on March 17, 2004. He is an excellent grass court player and a 4th round or quarter-final result will certainly be a goal for him this year in London. He has made the finals of a few grass court tournaments and in 2003 he was the only player to take a set from Roger Federer on his way to his 1st Wimbledon crown. The claycourt season will be a bust for Mardy as he has never progressed deep in any European claycourt event. Although he did win Houston is 2006 as a qualifier the tournament has never provided a strong clay court draw and with all due respect to the Houston tournament, its made for American players to get a few wins on clay.

The summer hard court season will bring expectations for Mardy as the U.S. Open comes up and fans will be looking for him to duplicate some the success that he had in Indian Wells this year. Finally, Fish is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and it would be quite an achievement with the strong field that will be there this year if Mardy would be able to duplicate his Athens heroics and walk away with some hardware in Beijing. Congratulation’s goes out to Mardy Fish and his current success on tour.

Technorati Tags: Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Florian Mayer, Kevin Anderson, Lleyton Hewitt, Mardy Fish, Nick Massu, Nikolay Davydenko, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer

Popularity: 19% [?]