DENT MOLDS GAME FOR BIG SLAM SHOWING

Will Taylor put a dent in Agassi's plans?

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

© Mark Lyons

FROM THE US OPEN – Five years ago when the brawny Aussie-American Taylor Dent made his debut at the US Open, tongues were wagging about his Top-five potential.

The son of a 1974 Australian Open finalist, Phil and a former top-30 American women’s player, Betty Anne Stuart, Dent had A-1 genes, a huge serve, good volley, classic slice approach shot and a rolling forehand.
It was all set up for the good-natured Taylor, who was brought up in Southern California, had the best coaches in the world available to him and had the body type of a fleet linebacker.

Yet Taylor developed slowly, as he rarely worked out enough and, subsequently, fell prey to a series of injuries. He didn’t think his way through points and was often wild from the backcourt, a combination of not committing enough to his more natural style of play – serve and volley – and because he was out of shape and too tired to go for the extra ball. Consequently, he would try to slap winners out of sheer exhaustion.

MORE CONFIDENCE SPARKS SUCCESS
"That’s been a big change in my game; I'm just trying to let guys beat themselves on their service games because I got confidence that I can hold for six games in a row and get to a tiebreaker," he said. "Once I get to a tiebreaker, I've got a bit of an advantage because of my serve."

After hiring a new coach during the off-season – Brad Stine (Jim Courier's former tutor) – the 22-year-old Dent is finally realizing his potential. He won his first significant title earlier this year in Memphis and on Saturday night, scored the biggest win of his career when he shocked 15th-seed Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (9), 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. It was the strong-legged Chilean who was gasping for air in the fifth set while Dent kept charging.

"I felt fine out there," said Dent, who weighs in at 195 pounds and was well over 205 toward the end of last year. "I was just trying to stay calm. But physical-wise, I felt like I could have gone another few sets. It was a good confidence booster for me physically."

Dent fought off a match point in the fourth set serving at 4-5 by crushing a service winner down the tee. On match point, Gonzalez erred on an inside-out forehand and Dent mule kicked to the sky in celebration.

"It's nice," he said. "I'm not going to lie. I'm very happy. But in the same thing, I'm getting ready [for Andre Agassi]."

Dent is not only playing smarter, but he has directed his training to better suite his straight-ahead style. When you are coming into the net 170 times like he did against Gonzalez, you have better be in sprinter's shape. Dent hadn’t played a summer hard court tournament coming into the Open due to an injury, but during that time, hit the beach with his fitness trainer Nick Anthony, and not to improve his suntan.

"We were constantly doing twice-a-day sessions: grinding, doing sprints, whole bunch of agility stuff," Dent said. "It's something I've never done before and it's really paying off. Nick said, ‘It's not your style of game for me to have you run for like 30 or 40, 50 seconds at a time. We don't want to build repetitive endurance muscle. We want to get you explosive and really agile, that's your game.’ "

FATHER LETS GO
Phil Dent warned his son that if he became a good player, that the expectations on him would be tremendous. His father is a serious sort but not overbearing to the point that he didn’t’ know when to cut the umbilical cord. When Taylor was 17, Phil told him it was time for him to get his own coach.

"He came up to me and there was tension," Dent said. "But around that age with every father and son, there’s a little tension. He said, ‘I want you to be the best tennis player you can be and I don’t think I’m the answer for you right now. Maybe we can both mature down the road and get back together. But right now, it’s best for your tennis if I step aside.’ I was a little scared the first couple months but it was really great that he did that."

With Andy Roddick’s remarkable summer, and the rise of James Blake and Mardy Fish, few Americans talk about Dent anymore It’s as if he’s a has-been at age 22. Dent himself thought that he would have already cracked the second week of a Slam before the Open, but also realizes you can’t merely hope to be a big-time player.

"I am a little surprised," he said. "But I'm not really, because my game wasn't there. I lacked the consistency. To win matches in a Slam especially, it's three out of five sets, you have to be consistent every match. You can't just play a good set here and a good set there. But I think I'm heading in the right direction."

Dent had never reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam before and he now has a chance to play an American legend and arguably the most popular player of all time on Arthur Ashe Stadium. He’s played Agassi tough once at Wimbledon, but now he’s on his home soil after winning three matches and isn’t considered just a service bomber with a wide smile. He’s expected to show up and seriously compete.

"Andre’s unbelievable," he said. "I’m going to have to serve very well and execute my volleys. I’m going to have to rip and few more balls from the back so I don’t get run around from the baseline side to side, him wearing me down. I’m going to have to take advantage of as many short balls as I can, give them a ride."

Not only will Dent have to play lights out against Agassi, he’ll have to be calm and collected in his first appearance on Ashe Stadium. But he loves the limelight and says that nerves won’t overcome him.
"I’ve had my share of big stage matches," he said. "I’m not too worried about that. I’m just hoping to execute. If I do that, I believe I have a good enough chance to beat anybody."