The Still Unfamiliar Face of Alexandr Dolgopolov

Article first published as The Still Unfamiliar Face Of Alexandr Dolgopolov on Technorati

Alexandr Dolgopolov, a young Ukrainian tennis player, though doing better on the ATP World Tour, still remains a relatively unknown player.

Dolgopolov, nicknamed Dolgo, is only twenty-one years old, hailing from Ukraine. He turned pro back in 2006 and has slowly but surely made his way up the ATP rankings.

Back at the beginning of this year in Brisbane, Alexandr made it to the round of 16 before losing to Radek Stepanek in three hard-fought sets. After failing to make it through qualifying at the Australian Open, Dolgo dropped himself back down to the challenger tour, making it to the semifinals in Heilbronn, Germany, before falling to German native, Michael Berrer.

In mid-February, Dolgopolov made it to the finals of a challenger tournament in Tanger, Morocco. Just a week later Dolgo won an event on clay defeating Rui Machado in the finals. In mid-March, Alexandr continued his strong performances in challenger tournaments, by making it to another final, unfortunately losing to Jarkko Nieminen.

It wasn't until the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo that Alexandr Dolgopolov really popped up on my radar. Here in Monte-Carlo, Dolgo made it through qualifying, but lost a tight three set match against Julien Benneteau. It was here in Monte-Carlo that I saw glimpses of a great player, ready to make his mark on tour.

Alexandr failed to make it through qualifying in Rome a few weeks ago, but in last week's tournament in Madrid, Dolgo proved he's ready to compete on the ATP World Tour. He beat Mardy Fish in the qualifiers to make a main draw appearance. He took advantage of the opportunity, beating Andreas Seppi in the first round to set himself up against the king of clay, Rafael Nadal.

Going into this match, most people thought this would be just another routine match for Nadal, where he'd dominate a low-ranked, no-name player. To the surprise of many, Dolgo showed us why he's played so well on tour this year. Alexandr gave Nadal a run for his money, surprising him with deep, penetrating groundstrokes, soft touch, and unbelievable quickness.

Then, this week in Nice, France, Dolgopolov upset sixth seed Albert Montanes in the first round. Montanes, who successfully defended his title in Estoril, beating Roger Federer along the way, couldn't make it past Dolgopolov, as Alexandr used his lightning-fast groundstrokes to dictate points and get himself the victory. Dolgo, unfortunately, couldn't continue his streak, losing to Frenchman Richard Gasquet today.

Dolgopolov, currently ranked 57th in the world, has improved his ranking 74 spots this year alone from a lowly 131. With the French Open almost here, look out for Alexandr Dolgopolov. His heavy baseline play, full of angles and dropshots, coupled with his rabbit-like quickness, make him hard for opponents to beat (and a lot of fun to watch).