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Shrinking Mardy Fish Isn't Downsizing Delray Dreams
By Richard Pagliaro
(February 25, 2010) It was shortly after creating the biggest loss of his career that Mardy Fish found himself fighting a strikingly sagging feeling.
Adhering to a high-protein, low carb diet that eliminated sugar, soda and cheese from his daily nutritional plan, Fish shed 25 pounds in the offseason and started this season confronting an immediate issue: losing nearly six inches off his waist left Fish's pants sagging down near his knees.
"I definitely had to change my wardrobe for sure," Fish told the media today. "My jeans and golf pants simply did not fit anymore. That was fun to get a new set of clothes and stuff. I had some jeans that were 38 (inch waist). I had to throw those away and now wear 32 sometimes."
The shrinking Fish stretched his Delray Beach winning streak to seven matches with today's 6-2, 6-4 victory over German lefthander Mischa Zverev. Fish's familiarity with south Florida conditions — he grew up in Vero Beach and was runner-up to Jan-Michael Gambill in the 2003 Delray Beach final — helped him tame Zverev on a cool, windy day.
"I think the conditions played a big part of today's match," Fish said. "Being accustomed to the wind and that court, I think that was a huge part of it. I don't think either one of us hit the ball particularly well. I sort of got in my own way in the second set losing some breaks, but got 'em back right away. Whenever he broke, I broke back. It was sort of ugly tennis at some points. I'll take it."
The defending tournament champion will face flashy fourth-seeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy for a semifinal spot. That match is a rematch of the 2009 semifinals, which Fish won 6-4, 6-1. Chardy overcame 11 double faults in denying Santiago Giraldo, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours, 24 minutes.
Chardy is a shotmaker prone to periods of schizophrenic play. He hit 20 aces against two double faults over Xavier Malisse, but with the wind whipping his ball toss around today Chardy committed 11 double faults against Giraldo.
"He's a great player. I played a great match against him last year — one of my better matches of the year, I thought," Fish said. "He beat me in the next tournament 7-6, 7-6 in Indian Wells so there is a potential for both of us to win for sure. I'll feel like I have a little bit of an edge out here for (winning) seven matches. I don't think he exactly blows you away (on serve). He serves a high mph but who doesn't these days? But he can serve well for sure."
Fish's good friend and occasional practice partner, James Blake, blasted past Robin Haase, 6-3, 6-1, to power into the quarters for the third time in the past four years.
"It's as good as I've played all year," said Blake, who has had his share of difficult draws in falling to US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro at the Australian Open and losing to Andy Roddick in Memphis last week.
The seventh-seeded Blake will meet lethal-serving Ivo Karlovic for a spot in the final four. The second-seeded tower of power edged 6-foot-5 Daniel Brands, 7-6(8), 7-6(6) in tonight's second-round singles match. The two players combined for 38 aces with Karlovic cracking his 26th ace out wide on match point. The 6-foot-10 Karlovic has won nine of the 13 tie break sets he's played this season.
"I just try to relax and to play normal to play as hard as I can," Karlovic said. "Actually, last year I lost more tie breaks than I won. It is not easy because one mistake in can cost you."
The 33rd-ranked Karlovic is 4-3 lifetime vs. Blake, including rallying from a two-set deficit to post a 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-5 triumph on red clay in last summer's Davis Cup quarterfinals.
"It was my first victory in a five-set match (coming back from two sets down)," Karlovic said. "I was watching him today and he was playing really well all around. So it's not going to be easy. My tactics, I will not reveal, because I am sure he will also read it so I don't want to give it away."
Benjamin Becker reached the quarterfinals without striking a shot as American Wayne Odesnik, Becker's scheduled second-round opponent, conceded a walkover with a sprained ankle. The third-seeded Becker will play Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals.
The left-handed Nieminen continued his comeback from right wrist surgery that sidelined him for more than three months last season, masterfully mixing his spins and speeds to befuddle 2009 runner-up Evgeny Korolev, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0.
The 28-year-old Fish underwent knee surgery on his left knee last September 28th and used the ensuing rehab and recovery period to hire a chef who cooked Fish and wife Stacey Gardner (an attorney and former "Deal Or No Deal" model) meals that served as the foundation for his dramatic weight loss. He typically ices his knee after most matches now and though he felt some knee discomfort after returning from Australia, where he reached the Sydney semis and lost in the opening round of the Australian Open, Fish said his knee has not bothered him this week in Delray Beach.
"It feels great this week," Fish said. "I struggled since I came back from Australia in cold weather. However today I felt really good the sun is shining and that helps sweating and keeping it warm."
Fish's streamlined new physique does not come equipped with an owner's manual. He looks and feels faster on court and says he's now reaching balls that used to whistle past his racket. While the weight loss has helped him improve his court coverage, it's forced Fish to confront a new challenge. Now that he gets to more balls than he did before, Fish has to resist the temptation to play more defensive tennis and strike a balance between the all-court aggression he's displayed throughout his career and the his new ability to defend.
In short, the downsized Fish is figuring out how to best apply his enhanced mobility.
"I feel completely different. I feel like I can move way better than I did before," Fish said. "I feel like I can get myself defensively out of some holes. I don't think I have quite figured out how I want to use it. Maybe I am playing too defensive, too passive (at times). I need to sort of use my movement in aggressive spots. Maybe at net I can use my quickness more aggressively. I haven't quite figured that out because I haven't quite played enough matches healthy wise."
Calculating the right balance between offense and defense isn't Fish's only challenge. Fish, who grew up in Vero Beach and attended nearby Boca Raton Prep in his senior year of high school, will have to figure out how to accommodate all the ticket requests coming from family and friends.
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