Building Momentum? - 3/30/2011

Date: 3/30/2011
Result: Miami QF, Mardy Fish def. David Ferrer 7-5 6-2
Why it matters:
- If you watched the match, you probably heard this note, but Fish has never lost at the QF stage of a Masters event before (3-0).  That's a great stat for Fish, and seems to indicate that he's in control of most of his matches. When he's having a "hot" week, he can roll through anyone - including top players like Ferrer - and make deep runs in events.  When he's having an off week, he can lose to anyone. His style of play is attacking, without being careless with his shots, and he closes at net as well as anyone else on tour.  I think Fish should be able to translate his successes on all surfaces, but he usually tries to change his style of play too much to adapt to each particular surface.  If he sticks to his guns, he should move up to the top 10 soon.
- Ferrer's year has been amazing so far, so having an off day like he had against Fish shouldn't be too disappointing.  But Ferrer was visibly angry and frustrated all match.  His successive double faults to get broken in the first set totally set Ferrer off in the wrong direction with his emotions and it carried throughout the rest of the match.  Ferrer is a tough competitor, but negativity gets in the way too often.  Some people say that you can't have the good emotions without the bad, but Ferrer always seems to run out of the good when he needs it most.  I think that's keeping him from winning Masters Series events and Grand Slams.
Honorable Mention:
- Miami QF, Victoria Azarenka def. Kim Clijsters - 63 63 - I guess I read too much into Kim's fight against Ivanovic.  She put in a really uninspired, listless performance, and Azarenka just did what was necessary to win. At this point, if Kim's motivation is purely about the majors, that's fine.  But I'm still a bit nervous that maybe Clijsters is losing all her focus, similar to how she did when she retired for the first time.  Azarenka is a former champion at Miami, so her success here isn't so shocking.  Azarenka is still needing a really big breakthrough at a major, and normally I'd say confidence would rise from winning a title like Miami.  But for some reason, Azarenka doesn't seem to go on big runs with momentum.  She just has random wins here and there.  Maybe a good result here will change that pattern.