Baker’s Run Ends, One Rally Short

Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesBrian Baker ran out of comebacks on Wednesday.

Watching Brian Baker’s straight-sets win over Xavier Malisse on Monday, I sensed a moment, late in the third set, when Baker began to lose his legs. Playing eight matches in eight days has a way of wearing a person down, and Baker, despite a two-sets-to-love lead, needed to put Malisse away in the third set tiebreaker. He stepped up his aggressive play and pressured Malisse into some forced errors, and won the match to continue his magical ascendance up the rankings.

But on Wednesday, Baker faced Gilles Simon, the shrewd tactician who has made a living by out-thinking and outmaneuvering flashier, bigger-hitting opponents. His counter-punching style nearly toppled Roger Federer in a memorable five-set match in the 2011 Australian Open. Simon can change styles and tactics within a single point, going from a patient counter-puncher to all-out offense in a way that frustrates nearly every opponent. Against Ryan Harrison on Monday, Simon kept his cool when it looked as though Harrison was about to open up a two-sets-to-love lead. After saving set points by attacking Harrison (who played too cautiously on both set points), Simon never looked back, winning the match convincingly by breaking Harrison’s spirit, exposing the young American’s temper and impatience in the third and fourth sets.

Against Baker, Simon jumped out to a quick two-sets-to-love lead by serving with great accuracy, especially up the T in the ad court. Simon got a lot of free points on his serve, and kept Baker off balance with deep, heavy ground strokes that pinned Baker behind the baseline. At the start of the third set, it looked like a routine win for Simon, and the end of a brilliant run by Baker, whose astonishing comeback has captivated the tennis world.

I watched the beginning of the third set to see if Baker could turn things around. As so often happens, Simon went down an early break in the third. Recall that Federer, in his epic semifinal at the United States Open against Novak Djokovic last September, also stumbled early in the third set after winning the first two. It’s easy to do, to take the foot off of the gas for a moment to rest after the arduous work of winning the first two sets. But I noticed a change in Baker’s tactics as well.

Rather than try to hit through the baseline and overpower Simon, Baker was focusing instead on running Simon from side to side. He used topspin angles to pull Simon wide, then stepped in to wrong-foot the speedy Frenchman. Soon Simon was resorting to sliding wide and chipping returns. Rather than over-hit, Baker kept Simon on the move, trying to conserve his own energy while exacting a heavy toll on Simon. Baker’s down-the-line backhand drop shot caught Simon off guard a half dozen times. Played as he moved forward to attack a short ball, Baker’s deft touch on the backhand drop shot was so well-disguised that Simon could not even get a racket on it.

Baker held on to that early break until he served for the set at 5-4. There, his nerves surfaced momentarily, and he was broken by a rejuvenated Simon. Again, the match swayed heavily in Simon’s favor, as he held to go up, 6-5. In the next game, Baker reasserted himself, holding with authority to get himself into a tiebreaker. He surged ahead to a 5-1 lead, but Simon fought back. A huge serve wide in the ad court clipped the sideline for an ace to give Baker the set.

The fourth set was a clinic by Baker. A fatigued Simon began to look seriously worried as Baker outclassed him. The set took a scant 25 minutes, with Baker dominating every aspect of play, hitting an astonishing 13 winners to Simon’s five. After yet another stunning drop-shot winner, Simon looked angry and out of control, not unlike Harrison had on Monday when a Simon drop shot caught him off guard. Baker had done the improbable: he had evened the match while tiring and frustrating Simon.

With the momentum on Baker’s side, the American let a chance to gain a break point in the first game slip away as he over-hit a backhand down the line. Simon let out a celebratory whoop as the ball landed long. He held to win the opening game of the fifth set. In Baker’s first service game, he moved quickly to 30- love, but inexplicably, he made three unforced errors off the backhand side. The Baker backhand is pure money — technically impeccable, deceptive, and powerful — so losing his feel on this shot was a real blow to Baker’s confidence. And just as Simon let up ever so slightly to get broken to begin the third set, Baker fell prey to the same subtle but lethal mistake. He began to try and out-hit Simon rather than use spin and control to make the match more physically punishing for Simon. Now Baker’s legs looked heavy. The rhythm of his footwork slowed, and for the first time all day, he began to show frustration.

It is remarkable that Simon turned around the momentum to defeat the surging Baker. He is just outside the Top 10 with a game founded on speed, excellent decision-making, and a first-class match temperament. On Wednesday, he overcame an inspired –- and inspiring — player in Baker, whose ability to overcome years of injuries and adversity has been the feel-good story of the first week at Roland Garros. For Baker, he has proven to the world that he can compete at the top levels of the game. He has a superb game, a genius-level tennis IQ, and a huge heart.