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MAKING PROGRESS ON THE GRASS
Taylor Dent reappears after slump
By
Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net
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Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
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FROM WIMBLEDON – Taylor Dent
is quite an enigma. As he says, he can hit any shot in the book,
but hasn't found a way to win yet. He's 21 now, four years from
the point where he was tagged as the next great American. He has
never come close to showing that form, except in brief flashes at
the Slams, like when he threatened Lleyton Hewitt here last year
or Andre Agassi two years ago.
He's a big guy with a tremendous amount of firepower, significant
tennis genes (his father, Phil, was an Aussie Open finalist) and
little foot speed. Until he upset Max Miryni on Monday, he hadn't
won a regular tour match since February. On Wednesday, the easygoing
resident of Huntington beach, California and boyfriend of WTA player
Jennifer Hopkins of Kansas will face fellow American Jan-Michael
Gambill. Dent needs to come out motivated and firing on all cylinders,
something he hasn't done on a consistent basis since he reached
the third round of the Australian Open back in January.
"I've been struggling," Dent told tennisreporters.net.
" I'm unfortunately still trying to learn how I win matches.
I wish I was like Lleyton [Hewitt], [Andy] Roddick and [Roger] Federer
– they have one to three shots that they know is going to be
there every day, where I do everything fairly well but nothing well
every day. For me to be the player I want to be, my volleys need
to be there every day like Andy's forehand or Sampras' serve. I
need to improve my return so I can get into the games."
NEW SERVICE
MOTION
Dent recently changed his service motion in order to protect his
bad back from further damage, which appears to be a smart decision
considering that he couldn't play with the severity of his bend,
but is a bit of a risk given that his 130-mph plus first serve is
his biggest weapon. The adjustment has made life on tour even more
difficult.
"Up until recently I was getting
my first serve in about 30 percent of the time an if you have that
percentage you'll be ranked around 400,' he said. "If I can
go up to 60-65 percent, I'll be all right."
Dent recently hired former doubles specialist Paul Kildery of Australia,
saying that he needed direction. Motivation is also a factor, considering
how poorly he has performed outside of the Slams.
"I'm much tougher to beat over 5 sets than 3 sets and I'm also
more psyched about the Slams than the other tournaments – the
best players don't do that." Kilderry has already helped, encouraging
Dent to be more aware during matches and to have a deeper perspective
about his future.
"Against Miryni, I was getting a little frustrated not getting
into the his serve and I said, 'Just get happy when you a win a
point.' My total energy changed after I stumbled on to that in the
second set. … Paul said something to me the other day when I kept
saying, Pete [Sampras] does that, [Pat] Rafter does this, [Greg]
Rusedski does that.' He said, 'You may play similar to them but
you are not them. You need to find something in your game that works
for you. That's some of the best advice I've ever had."
Dent says he's had doubts about
whether he will ever achieve his dreams, which includes winning
Wimbledon, but they are not dashed just yet.
"Everybody has doubts," he said. "You cant really
control whether they come true. Paul said, 'You know where they
are, what they are and you have to work your but off to make them
happen.' They still may not happen. I'm sure there are millions
of people who dream of being billionaires."
Dent will play Gambill in the second round and both Americans could
use the victory. Taylor expects fireworks. "If I play with
the same intensity that I did against Miryni, even if I come off
the court losing 0, 0 and 0, I'll come off the court with my chin
up," he said. "But If I play with the same intensity,
I'll be tough to beat 0, 0 and 0."
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