It didn’t appear that Fernando Verdasco enjoyed playing tennis in 2011. He had finished the previous year at No. 9, and it seemed that his star might still be on the rise, a rise that had begun with his first Grand Slam semifinal appearance, at the 2009 Australian Open. Over the next two seasons, Verdasco had established himself as one of the the ATP’s solid second tier of stars, and one of the tour’s most popular players.
This year was a long slide back down the hill. Verdasco started decently, with a fourth-round appearance in Melbourne and a runner-up finish in San Jose. But by Indian Wells, where he lost to Sam Querrey, signs of implosion were surfacing. Verdasco lost in the first round at the Masters events in Key Biscayne, Monte Carlo, and Madrid. He went out early at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. By the fall, his ranking was down to No. 24, and he generally looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than on a court. Verdasco lost what may have been the ugliest match of the year, to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati. Even in his one triumph, as a member of the winning Davis Cup team, he played horribly. In the semis and final, Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez, once a reliable team, suffered badly lopsided defeats in doubles. Let’s hope his teammates’ victories put him in a better frame of mind for the new year.
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