Indian Wells, Calif. – He should really be called Jack. Just like a Jack Russell terrier, Michael Russell chased around the Stadium Court here at Indian Wells, snapping at Andy Murray's heels and making the tall Scot battle for all sorts of balls he didn't expect to have thrown back at him.
Murray, who eventually moved into the last sixteen of the BNP Paribas Open here with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over the veteran American, admitted that it was always tough playing someone for the first time. "I had not really seen him play," Murray said. "But for someone with his game style and stuff, he played very, very close to the baseline which I wasn't expecting."
Partially as a result of that, Murray missed more balls than usual and was occasionally outplayed by his nippy little (5-foot- 8) opponent who, on one memorable point, raced in to retrieve a Murray drop shot; doubled back to reach the lob and then swung through a forehand on the turn.
So the No. 4 seed had his work cut out before finally subduing his spirited opponent, a thirtysomething so imbued with competitive drive and self-belief that he still sees his best days ahead of him.
Now ranked 68 (he reached a career high of 60 on the ATP computer in August, 2007) he is aiming for the top fifty. "It's a goal I think I can achieve, especially the way I have been playing this year," said Russell, 31. "My wife, Lilian, is a bit of a fitness fanatic and we work out together. That has helped me get back in top shape after my shoulder problems in 2008, which sent my ranking down into the 400s."
Understandably, Russell has not forgotten his singular moment, at Roland Garros in 1998, when he reached match point against Gustavo Kuerten, the great Brazilian who would go on to win three French Open crowns.
Does he remember what happened on match point? Silly question. "I lost a rally of 22 strokes," Russell smiled. "I was just a kid (age 20). I didn't really know what was going on except I was having a lot of fun out there in front of that huge crowd. It's the noise of the crowd in the big stadiums playing big players that keeps you going. That's what you play for."
Unlike many Americans, Russell has never been afraid of red European clay -- his game is ideally suited to it. So he will be off to Europe again next month after playing the American clay court event in his home town of Houston.
"I'll play Barcelona and then see if I can get into Rome and Madrid," he says. "I'm feeling healthy right now and clay is great for the body. More Americans should play on it."
It would certainly lengthen their careers -- and improve their games -- if they did.
Robin Soderling proved that it is never too late to adapt when he pulled off the shock win of the year in 2009 by beating Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. The Swede had always been known as an indoor specialist, but is now feared on all surfaces. Soderling's heavy serve and massive ground strokes proved too much for the left-handed Spaniard Feliciano Lopez today and enabled him to carve out a hard-fought 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory.
Soderling will now play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the big Frenchman who fought back impressively to defeat Albert Montanes of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Andy Roddick had little problem advancing to the fourth round when he outserved and generally outplayed Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-3, 6-4. De Bakker, who won the Wimbledon junior title in 2006, was, at 21, the youngest player left in the men's draw. In the end it was not just power but experience that told.
