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by Prip On paper, top seed Janco Tipsarevic would have an easy match against Sasa Tuksar, # 30 in the junior rankings. In reality, the match was a struggle all the way. Sasa started out playing a very smart match against the top seed, attacking Janco's weaker wing, the backhand, and putting enough topspin on the ball to make the Belgrade-born Yugoslavian play it above shoulder height. Sasa managed to get some good returns in to get an early break, but couldn't get started on his own serve, and promptly lost serve to even the match up. Both players held on fiercely to their service games, and the first set went into a tie-breaker. Here, Sasa had several chances to take the first set, but couldn't capitalize, and had to struggle before finally losing it 8-6 with 2 untimely unforced errors. Janco had arrived in the tournament days before, and the youngster was easy to spot in the corridors with his loud group of cronies and bleach-blond hair with dark roots clearly showing. Carrying a swagger and an attitude that would make Yevgeny Kafelnikov's pale in comparison, he acted like he was the top player in the world. On court, he was no better, throwing his towel at the ballboy, casually hitting the balls around and making life difficult for the kids. When Sasa took the second set 6-4, Janco very characteristically slammed a ball high over the back fence, and the ball flew beyond the back fence of even the next court which was quite a distance away. His opponent was the direct opposite. Calm and collected, Sasa looked determined to take the top seed out. However, the Yugoslavian is not ranked number one in singles and number four in doubles for nothing, and came up with a number of impressive passing shots and winners. Janco eventually took the match 7-6(6) 4-6 6-1. Janco displayed a rather straightforward game, not really putting much thought into things, but able to come up with the shots. With a decent serve and powerful groundstrokes, his real weakness is in his movement, which is very choppy, and at times, can look downright hilarious, especially when he is moving to his backhand. Holding his racquet at an awkward backswing position perhaps a little too early before moving, he will have to figure out how to organize his limbs if he is to make an impression on the big boys. Sasa Tuksar may have an awkward-looking service motion, but he certainly gets the job done. Giving a quiet first impression, he is actually very ready to receive a boost from the crowd, and will soon learn to use the crowd support to his advantage. He doesn't have too much power on his groundstrokes, certainly nowhere near the power of Janco's shots, but plays a smart game, and is not intimidated at the thought of coming to the net. The 17-year-old would definitely do good to hit the gym and do some extensive strength training, and work on his footspeed. Nevertheless, the youngster has left a big impression, with strong determination and the ability to keep his head together at tough times, as well as very smart shot selection. Facing match point in his singles match, he actually hit two first serves instead of a second serve, and it paid off well for him. As for his personality, the youngster is very friendly and has so far shown a pleasant character. Sasa's parting words: "Don't worry. I'll beat him in Roland Garros." Playing in a doubles match with compatriot Ivan Stelko against Dusan Mihailovic and Igor Racic, the Croatian pair were down in the second set when who should show up but Janco Tipsarevic. Sasa was ready to serve at that point, and Janco casually walked right along the courtside, with absolutely no regard for the fact that tennis was actually being played on court. He was successful at aggravating the Croat, but not for long, and will have to come up against the team in the next round of the boy's doubles draw. |