Men's Tennis: Djokovic Ominously Charges On, Fish Up Next

A crash of thunder would have appropriately summed up the day on the ATP tour today at the Miami Masters. We witnessed the unrelenting progress of a Serb hounding after, and the rise of a new American.

Well, maybe, not quite so new, Mardy Fish has been on tour a few years now, and has enjoyed his fair share of success. Including, of course, a run to the final at Indian Wells three years ago. Three years later, he is one round away from repeating a similar run at this time of the year. Today he contrived to defeat David Ferrer, that tenacious Spaniard, in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2. He was aided in some part by a strange collapse in resistance in the second set, but no doubt equally so by his booming, first-rate serve. Make no mistake, Fish's delivery would compare with Federer's or Roddick's at its best, and he boosts a fine kicker, too.

It seems American greatness goes together with a fine serve. It did for Pete Sampras, and for Andy Roddick, and now does so for Mardy Fish, who in winning today will surpass the latter as the number one American player. For the first time in a long while, then, Roddick will no longer lead US Tennis alone.

If there is anyone who is leading their country's fortunes single-handedly, however, it would have to be Novak Djokovic. Along with boasting an unbeaten record this year—now at 22-0—he can boast a sturdy un-sentimentality when he comes to playing countrymen. He fairly thrashed Victor Troicki, again, yesterday, 6-3, 6-2, only to concede just one more game today, in beating Kevin Anderson, 6-4, 6-2. The South African had stunned a weary Djokovic three years ago, but today had little chance to gain parity. If there is anything more fearsome than a big serve, it would be a big return, and Djokovic, by far the best returner on the planet, played big today.

So, Djokovic is on a 22-0 tear for 2011. Not even Federer or Nadal have ever managed so unbeaten a record for the first half of the year. They play tomorrow, in quarterfinal matches that should prove but prologues to what would be a blockbuster semifinal clash. Most likely, it would be one of these two who will face Djokovic in the final on Sunday. Fish is a great player, but one can hardly see him putting off the great Serb from a twenty-third consecutive victory.

Leelee Sobieski Teri Hatcher Lauren Bush Natalie Zea Brody Dalle