Alexandr Dogopolov’s unexpected success on the South American clay this month isn’t without it’s consequences.
The Ukrainian ended his five-year title drought last week at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires when he stunned Kei Nishikori in the final. Dolgopolov achieved the title in impressive style as he didn’t drop a set throughout the entire tournament. He has continued his winning momentum into this week’s Rio Open, winning a tough 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4, encounter against Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in the second round on Thursday.
“I’m really happy with not only the win, but the way I’m playing.” He said during an interview with atpworldtour.com. “I’ve won the (Argentina Open) tournament without losing a set and I played the tennis I like, aggressive tennis. Everything has been working (well).”
In the Rio quarter-finals the world No.50 faces a rematch against fourth seed Pablo Carreno-Busta, a player who he defeated less than seven days ago in Argentina.
“He’s really solid on the ground.” Dolgopolov said of his next opponent. “I think I played really well (against him) in the other match. I was attacking a lot, making winners and attacking his serve.”
“It’s more a less a case of who overpowers who.”
Dolgopolov’s resurgence on the tour is one that is starting to take a toll on his body. His seven-match winning streak is a sharp contrast to that of 2016 where he was troubled by injury. Last year he could only win 15 matches on the tour and only one after the Wimbledon Championships.
Unfortunately for Dolgopolov, physical issues are still troubling him. Playing Zeballos in Brazil, the 28-year-old admitted that he considered retiring during the match due to an issue with his leg.
"For a moment I thought, should I pull out or continue? But I just kept fighting". #Dolgopolov about feeling pain in his leg
— Rio Open (@RioOpenOficial) February 23, 2017
Refusing to give in to the pain, Dolgopolov is hoping his stubbornness will pay off. Weighing up his chances of winning back-to-back titles in South America, the world No.50 is hoping a ‘second power’ will help guide him to the double.
“I’m already playing the second week, I’m having troubles physically. It depends, sometime when you fight through it you open up a second power to continue. If that happens, I think I have a good chance.” He said.
Dolgopolov, who reached a ranking high of 13th in 2012, currently has three ATP titles to his name.
