ALEX PUTS UP BRAVE EFFORT by Craig Gabriel

ALEX PUTS UP BRAVE EFFORT
 
MELBOURNE: There is absolutely no doubt that Alexandr Dolgopolov is disappointed but once the dust settles he will admire the achievement he put in when he played the Australian Bernard Tomic.
 
Alex is not in the last 16 of the Australian Open after losing a cliff hanger of a match to the Tomic. The clash on the famed Rod Laver Arena lasted three hours 49 minutes and ended 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 and was arguably the best match of the new tennis season so far.
 
“It was a tennis match and that’s how it goes,” said Alex who has played 15 sets of tennis in three days. “It was a tough match and I was not playing at my top. I was struggling a bit with my legs and my footwork was not perfect, but still I could enjoy the match because there were more pluses than minuses.”
 
When the two players left the court they were given a standing ovation, such was the quality of the tennis and the entertainment value.
 
What fans saw from Alex and Tomic was like tennis from a past era with the spins and dinks, the angles and the power. It was glorious tennis and such a pleasure to watch as these two young athletes and future major stars of the sport gave it all they had.
 
Both men used every centimetre of the court with every stroke of the ball producing a surprise. It was like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never knew what you were going to get and that only added to the excitement level.
 
Alex got off to a good start with the first set but then narrowly lost the two tiebreaks that followed. The third set was particularly close. Then in the fourth set after an early service break Alex needed to call for the trainer. He was getting a pain going down his back and down his right leg. After a bit of treatment that seemed to correct the issue he stepped on the gas pedal and powered through the set to level the match.
 
It was such thrilling stuff and the standard of returns and the movement by both players continued to leave fans cheering for more. However the early part of the fifth set was a bit controversial.
 
Alex had four break points but was not able to convert them but then on another point a ball had landed very close to the line and Alex though Tomic was going to challenge it. It seemed like he had put his arm up but the chair umpire did not agree. It was a moment that was frustrating and a shame because that was the only negative part of the match.
 
Tomic then managed to break serve and maintained the advantage to clinch the match.
 
Now it’s time to look ahead. This result may stay in the mind for a brief time but Alex is a positive kind of guy and soon he will look ahead to the events coming and use this event as valuable experience for what lies ahead.