Who is Radu Albot and why is he intimidating his opponents?
There were beads of perspiration visible upon Roger Federer's face below the pale blue headband. The saying goes "Don't let them see you sweat". But it was the entire stadium that felt the tension and saw the perspiration as Radu Albot kept stroking and speeding balls to Federer's backhand causing him to create unforced errors.
It was in the Stadium of the new Hard Rock arena that Albot created his magic again, unfortunately without getting the 'W'. The Moldovan player is the first one to win an ATP singles title after being on tour for 11 years. The place where he captured his first crown was at the Delray Beach Open last month, opposite a comeback performance from Britain's Dan Evans. "I think a lot of people were watching, that's for sure, especially my parents, my friends...it's the first time for me. I feel great. I think it's pretty difficult to explain with words how this feels," Albot explains on his first title win while everyone watched in Moldava.
It was along the way through that he would shock Nick Kyrgios, clobbering him in a three-set victory and stinging Mackenzie McDonald in three and with the two last sets being a bagel no less. But that's not the only time there was a stark performance from Albot. It was when he surprised Fabio Fognini defeating him at 6-0, 7-6 and a victory over Kyle Edmund with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the BNP Paribas Indian Wells. There were wins along the way against Philipp Kohlschreiber, Fernando Verdasco and the doubles, now reformed singles player Pierre-Hugues Herbert, too.
Anyone would think that Radu Albot had started off his tennis career in an Academy under the intense scrutiny of coaches but this wasn't the case with the rise and substance of the Moldovan. He started tennis by accident at the hands of his father Vladimir who watched tennis on TV. He wanted him to get involved and did the research on how his son Radu could participate. There was a court nearby in Moldava and his Dad went there to get the information. "I didn't know what was in his mind," Albot later admitted. After that everything was history.
But everyone remembers their first title and Albot says of it that "I was ready mentally, and body-wise, I felt good...[During] the day, I felt better and on the court, throughout the whole match, I felt very good," he'd say. Also, everyone remembers their almost matches and he's just had that in playing Roger Federer in the second round of the Miami Open. Radu Albot had snatched the first set from Federer at 6-4, leaving him looking rather glum. Albot had all the answers with down the lines, cross-court winning rallies and his wheels just go to the shots faster and more precise than his iconic opponent. The Swiss didn't know if this would be the defeat of him coming in the next set or not, but fortunately, it wasn't. Roger Federer pulled himself together mentally as he has in so many tournaments and began to play the aggressor. Albot kept the speed in his wheels but his precision had fallen off and the unforced errors popped up at the worst times. The result wasn't quite what Albot had hoped for in being defeated 6-4, 5-7, 3-6. He had thought he had it with the first set but Federer coming through in the clutches despite 41 unforced errors sealed the deal. Now the Swiss moves on to the second round hoping to remain consistent and determined to pull off another win which he almost did not with unpredictable and self-assured Radu Albot.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2UVeMJx
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