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Written by DCist contributor Joe Parilla
Defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro defeated #1 seed Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic final on Sunday. In a scintillating match between the tournament's top seeds, Del Potro overcame a solid performance by Roddick to become the first back-to-back winner at the Washington ATP event since Andre Agassi in 1999. Del Potro, the #6 ranked player in the world, displayed an extraordinarily calm demeanor while relying on five timely aces and well-placed baseline winners to outlast Roddick in the tense third set tiebreaker.
The 20-year old Argentinian battled heat exhaustion and a loud, sweaty pro-Roddick crowd to earn his second win on tour in 2009. Del Potro took more chances and hit winners down the stretch, presumably to avoid long points in the heat, and possibly to avail the 7,500 spectators from roasting on the Fitzgerald Tennis Center bleachers. In describing his opponent's strategy, Roddick chose a classic metaphor.
"He rolled the dice and it came up Yahtzee," said the American.
Yahtzee, indeed: luck certainly came into play during the match, especially on the final point of the tournament, when Del Potro's shot barely squeaked in bounds to deliver him the trophy.
Despite the loss, Roddick played well in his first final since the epic five-setter against Roger Federer at Wimbledon, converting nearly 70 percent of his first serves and nailing 21 aces.
Prior to the singles final, Martin Damm (Czech Republic) and Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) defeated top-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland in straight sets to claim the doubles title. With that, the Legg Mason came to a close; the tournament in its new expanded importance was a measured success, bringing over 75,000 DMVers to Rock Creek Park over the course of the week.
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You use this word, "arid," in your caption. I do not think it means what you think it means.
You wouldn't characterize the recent weather as "excessively dry"? It sure feels like a desert out there to me, but then again, I like it chilly.
No I wouldn't. It's not Sumatra humid out there, but it's closer to that than it is to Phoenix dryness. Simply because it hasn't rained much doesn't make it arid.
And poor Andy. That guy just can't get a break this year...