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Widom defeats rising Berankis
By JEFFREY DUNHAM
Aug 5, 11:08 pm EDT
"As long as Wegman's is still open," replied a fatigued Todd Widom in response to a news reporter's request for a few more comments. The No. 275 ranked Widom had just dispatched 18 year-old Lithuanian wildcard Ricardas Berankis, the No. 3 ranked junior in the world, with some trouble, and he had a sore knee to show for it. Widom secured his victory in straight sets over his teenaged opponent, who had raised considerable public curiosity at this year's LG&T Tennis Challenger.
The first few games of the match consisted of solid ground strokes, including many effective crosscourt and down the line combinations. Neither player appeared to be going for too many winners. Berankis maintains a good center of gravity on his shots, bending his knees and getting into position quickly. After a nearly twenty minute game at 4-4, Berankis finally held serve after facing several break points. Neither player seemed to want to win that game, producing the error just when it seemed that one would break through. The first set advanced to a tiebreak, with the players exchanging mini-breaks. Witten went up 6-5 for set point, but suddenly grabbed his left knee. Berankis then hit a forehand into the net to give the set to Widom.
After an injury timeout for Widom, Berankis had break points to go up 2-1 in the second set but failed to convert, again making the error when the point counted most. Seeming to favor the knee, Widom would later admit that it felt better after seeing the trainer and that it became mainly a mental challenge from then on. Another errant forehand by Berankis when serving at 3-4 gave Widom the break and a chance to serve for the match. Despite a blistering forehand crosscourt return from Berankis on the first point, Widom held his serve to close out the match 7-6(5), 6-3.
In the final analysis, the 5'8" Berankis did not seem to possess the necessary weapons to hurt Widom, and he made too many errors at critical times. His return of serve was inconsistent, and his extreme Western forehand grip often made it difficult for him to handle low shots. However, Widom was impressed with his young opponent and felt that experience would be the key factor in his progress. In the end, Widom made it to Wegman's in plenty of time.
