Match report

Fernando Verdasco © Tennistalk.com
Wimbledon
4th round
6/30/08 1 2 3 4 5 Tot
es  Fernando Verdasco 6 6 3 4 11 2
hr  Mario Ancic 3 4 6 6 13 3
Mario Ancic © Tennistalk.com

  • Ancic Still Alive After Instant Classic

    7/1/08 7:31 AM | Ricky Dimon
    Mario Ancic survives a grueling five-set battle against Fernando Verdasco in the Wimbledon fourth round on Monday. His reward is a quarterfinal date with Roger Federer.

    It seemed unlikely for a while, but the last man to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon will get a chance to duplicate that feat on Wednesday.

    Mario Ancic stormed back from the brink of defeat to outlast Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11 in a Monday afternoon epic at the All-England Club. It took three hours and 49 minutes for Ancic to book his spot in the quarterfinals, where Federer awaits. The 6'5'' Croat beat Federer in the first round of the 2002 event and the world No. 1 has not lost a match since then during his run of five straight Wimbledon titles.

    It could have easily been Verdasco getting a shot at Federer. The No. 22 seed dominated sets one and two by yielding absolutely nothing on his own serve to Ancic. Verdasco never faced a single break point in the opening two sets and he lost just twelve total points on serve in that span.

    One of the great fighters on the ATP Tour, Ancic battled back to take the third set despite a continued struggle against the Spaniard's serve. One crucial return game, however, gave Ancic a much-needed break and that was enough for him to win the third and get back in the match.

    A back-and-forth affair saw Verdasco regain the momentum in set four. He broke Ancic in the second game to take a 2-0 lead, but Verdasco squandered the advantage by dropping serve at 4-2. Having once again rose from a most grim position, Ancic broke in Verdasco's next service game as well and he went on close out the set.

    A classic 95-minute final set proved to be a fitting end to the thrilling encounter. Both players took care of their own serve until 6-6, when Verdasco tossed in two double-faults to help Ancic gain a critical break and seemingly seal the deal. Caving in under the immense pressure just as his opponent had done in the previous set, Ancic promptly lost his own serve at love to keep Verdasco alive. Finally Ancic seized another break to go up 12-11 and this time he came up with his trademark huge serves to close out the match.

    “It is for me like for a footballer to play on Wembley,” said Ancic of Wimbledon. “It's Yankee Stadium for baseball, Madison Square Garden in basketball.… I mean, it's almost like a holy place.”

  • Thumbs up

    Ancic imposed his aggressive play on Verdasco by coming into net 66 times (he won 40 of those points).

  • Thumbs down

    Verdasco played a great match, but letting that lead slip away will take a while to get over.

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