Fit-Again Dent Powers Through
By Alex Kennison
MEMPHIS (February 18) - In a clash between two of America's brightest prospects, Taylor Dent reached the second round of the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis with a straight sets victory over Robby Ginepri.
Despite suffering with an upset stomach, Dent came through 7-6(5), 6-4 and now will play the winner of another all-American clash between 1997 champion Michael Chang and No. 8 seed James Blake.
"It was a close match, just a few points here and there," said the 20-year-old Dent. "He played a great match. I was having some trouble with my stomach, but I hit the ball well today."
It was a welcome return to the ATP circuit for Dent, who took two weeks off after reaching the third round of the Australian Open to relieve pressure on a niggling back injury.
"I went to see some sports doctors in Vale, Colorado, who are some of the best doctors in the world," said Dent. "It has allowed me to fiddle with my serve, mainly work on my footwork, and put less stress on my back."
But if any of Dent's opponent's are hoping it might slow down his 140mph-plus deliveries, they should think again. "It hasn't really affected my velocity - I'm still hitting around 139 miles an hour - but I'm struggling with my accuracy," said Dent. "I'm just going to have to persist with it."
Breakthrough
Dent, who had a breakthrough season in 2001 after winning a career-high 10 matches on the ATP circuit and claiming his first Challenger title on grass in Surbiton, began the new season in style in Melbourne.
After disposing of Michal Tabara in straight sets in the first round, Dent swept past the highly-rated Andreas Vinciguerra before losing a tough five-set battle against Adrian Voinea.
"It gave me a lot of confidence," said Dent of his first Australian Open experience. "I didn't have too many back-to-back wins last year, so to put two good matches together against Tabara - who had a great year last year - and Vinciguerra, was really pleasing. Now I have to take it to the next level and put three, four, five matches together, and that's just going to take time."
Publicity
But Dent, whose Australian father Phil reached the final of the Australian Open in 1974, was the subject of much publicity as the media wondered which team Dent would represent in the Davis Cup.
"The attention was really nice, but it would have been better if it had been based on my results," said Dent. "As for the Davis Cup, I'm 99.99 percent certain I'd like to represent the US, but with the way I'm playing right now, I don't think either one will want me."
It's not uncommon for the offspring of famous sports stars to follow in their family's footsteps, but Phil lets Taylor's tennis do all the talking. "My dad just says: 'Go out and do your thing, and if it's not this week, then do it next week," says Dent. And as he powers on in Memphis, there's no time like the present to capture his first ATP title. "I love this surface and it really suits my game. Hopefully you guys will be sick of seeing me by the end of the week."
MEMPHIS (February 18) - In a clash between two of America's brightest prospects, Taylor Dent reached the second round of the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis with a straight sets victory over Robby Ginepri.
Despite suffering with an upset stomach, Dent came through 7-6(5), 6-4 and now will play the winner of another all-American clash between 1997 champion Michael Chang and No. 8 seed James Blake.
"It was a close match, just a few points here and there," said the 20-year-old Dent. "He played a great match. I was having some trouble with my stomach, but I hit the ball well today."
It was a welcome return to the ATP circuit for Dent, who took two weeks off after reaching the third round of the Australian Open to relieve pressure on a niggling back injury.
"I went to see some sports doctors in Vale, Colorado, who are some of the best doctors in the world," said Dent. "It has allowed me to fiddle with my serve, mainly work on my footwork, and put less stress on my back."
But if any of Dent's opponent's are hoping it might slow down his 140mph-plus deliveries, they should think again. "It hasn't really affected my velocity - I'm still hitting around 139 miles an hour - but I'm struggling with my accuracy," said Dent. "I'm just going to have to persist with it."
Breakthrough
Dent, who had a breakthrough season in 2001 after winning a career-high 10 matches on the ATP circuit and claiming his first Challenger title on grass in Surbiton, began the new season in style in Melbourne.
After disposing of Michal Tabara in straight sets in the first round, Dent swept past the highly-rated Andreas Vinciguerra before losing a tough five-set battle against Adrian Voinea.
"It gave me a lot of confidence," said Dent of his first Australian Open experience. "I didn't have too many back-to-back wins last year, so to put two good matches together against Tabara - who had a great year last year - and Vinciguerra, was really pleasing. Now I have to take it to the next level and put three, four, five matches together, and that's just going to take time."
Publicity
But Dent, whose Australian father Phil reached the final of the Australian Open in 1974, was the subject of much publicity as the media wondered which team Dent would represent in the Davis Cup.
"The attention was really nice, but it would have been better if it had been based on my results," said Dent. "As for the Davis Cup, I'm 99.99 percent certain I'd like to represent the US, but with the way I'm playing right now, I don't think either one will want me."
It's not uncommon for the offspring of famous sports stars to follow in their family's footsteps, but Phil lets Taylor's tennis do all the talking. "My dad just says: 'Go out and do your thing, and if it's not this week, then do it next week," says Dent. And as he powers on in Memphis, there's no time like the present to capture his first ATP title. "I love this surface and it really suits my game. Hopefully you guys will be sick of seeing me by the end of the week."
