The Finals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships;
Without the draw of a name like Roddick or Blake, the crowd is sparse for the final match. But it's the biggest match of Frank's life, he beat America's best player less than 24 hours ago, and he was the last player to make the tournament roster. The scattered audience is here to see these two underdogs scrap it out in the match of their careers, rather than see Roddick take his shirt off and cry to the umpire. I wouldn't want it any other way, and for the first time since the Sampras days I am genuinely excited for a tennis match.
The story lines are infinitely more intriguing than Roddick and Blake having a repeat match of last year like everyone expected. Tursunov, the third seed, is looking for his second career win and some momentum to get out of a funk he's been in all year. He's still on the rebound from an injury and a championship could get him playing with the confidence his game demands.
I can't help but root for Dancevic, who after beating Roddick came into the interview room looking like a little kid that just hit his first home-run. He's happy just to be here, and he goes hard after every ball. I hate the term "Cinderella Story" in sports, but really...the guy busted his ass just to get a chance to compete, showed up at the last minute, and played his heart out to win four straight matches and play for a title. Before this week his biggest winning streak was all of one game. He's playing the best tennis of his life.
Frank's family packed up the mini-van and drove from Niagra Falls this morning at 4 am to see him play. Before the match he practiced with his little sister because he didn't have anyone else to practice with.
The Match
So they're underway, and Tursunov's taken the first set 6-4, while Dancevic flies all over the court just to hang in there.
Dancevic led consistently through the second set, but Tursunov fought back from behind to take the match 6-4, 7-5.
So eight days later we have our winner--- Dmitry Tursunov, the California Resident/Russian native with an unidentifiable accent is the 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships champion.
While he was obviously disappointed, Dancevic was still in good spirits after the match and is excited to get out there and compete with the best, as he did all week.
Tursunov is, well, hilarious. He called out the organizers on handing him an empty envelope when presenting the tournament check in front of the audience as he made his speech. The announcer opened the envelope and showed Tursunov that there is, in fact, a real check inside the envelope in question--- an event to witch Dmitry responded-- on the microphone, live in front of the fans (possibly on NBC?)... "Oh, Shit!"
What does "shit" mean in Russian?
At the press conference he ended a long sentence about developing his game through experience, and said "that's what makes me a bigger man." I laughed audibly like a seventh grader, and he then realized he meant to say "better player," and gave me a good thirty seconds of his attention discussing how the girls on the tournament know he's a "bigger man." I thought to myself; what a great opportunity--exchanging banter with the champion! It'll be like Ali and Cosell! The door's wide open! Say something witty, say something clever, say anything, you idiot! I sat there with a stupid grin on my face. Well played, Andrew.
