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By Chris Oddo
Photo Credit: Martin Barreiro
Mardy Fish Falters in Houston

 

(April 12, 2012) Mardy Fish’s downward spiral continued in Houston today, and Michael Russell isn’t about to complain. While Fish, playing his first tennis since having to pull out of Davis Cup due to a mysterious health scare, continues to ride in reverse, the 33-year-old Russell kept his pedal to the medal, running roughshod over the beleaguered Fish, 6-3, 6-1 in 74 minutes.

“It was neck-and-neck,” said Russell, “but then his game deteriorated big-time.”

For Russell, who had lost his 12 previous matches against top ten players, Fish’s malaise was his good fortune. “He was playing very quick between points,” said Russell. “I’ve played Mardy a bunch and that was a little unusual.”

Russell, a fourteen-year tour veteran who is perhaps known best for holding a match point against Gustavo Kuerten in the 2001 French Open, wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away like he did that one.

“I wasn’t going to stop him,” he said afterwards of Fish’s fast pace. “I wanted to keep my momentum going.”

Fish, meanwhile, was left to ponder what exactly is wrong with him. It’s the second consecutive year he’s been unable to win a match as the first seed in Houston, but more importantly his health issues are clearly affecting his play. “What happened scared me,” he said of his recent health scare, the details of which he has yet to reveal to the media. “And obviously I’m not over it yet.”

Russell’s win propels him to the fourth ATP quarterfinal of his career. He will face 19-year-old American
Ryan Harrison tomorrow with a trip to the semis on the line.

Harrison breezed past Russian Igor Kunitsyn today, 6-4, 6-2, to reach his first career quarterfinal on clay.

Another pair of Americans was victorious today, making this year’s US Mens Clay Court Championships the first year to see four Americans reach the quarterfinals since 2006.

John Isner shook off a slow start to defeat Argentine Horacio Zeballos in three sets, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2. The big American upped his clay-court record to 5-0 on the year and booked a spot in the quarterfinals next to defending champion Ryan Sweeting. Sweeting won 32 of 34 first serve points against Bobby Reynolds to score an easy 6-3, 6-2 win.

Fourth-seeded
Juan Monaco and fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson also booked quarterfinal spots. Anderson needed a third set tiebreaker to finally take out Sam Querrey, while Monaco continued his run of fine clay-court tennis, defeating Tatsuma Ito in straight sets.

Click here for the
official draw.

 

 

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