TENNIS/US OPEN:A YEAR ago, Brian Baker's comeback trail was still winding through the outer regions of professional tennis. His ranking was in the 500s, his memories of playing in the US Open replaced by memories of five surgeries. His was a new existence, and the minor tournaments he played in made a return to the big stage unlikely.
Somewhere in all the pain and frustration, Baker summoned the stuff of a remarkable turnaround. Since January, he has lifted his ranking to 70th from 458th, earning his way into the Open main draw, which is why he was so nervous taking the court yesterday. He had not played here since 2005, an absence even deeper than it was long.
He replaced nerves with joy after a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, an advance to the second round that seemed like a dream as recently as last year.
“It means everything,” Baker said. “Everybody knows I’ve gone through a hard time. I was probably a little more nervous today than I’d like to have been. But seven years is a long time.”
Baker, 27, was given the small stage of Court 11 to start his journey. He got more good news after his victory when he discovered his next opponent, eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, needed five sets to win his first-round match against Guillaume Rufin of France.
Still, Baker has no illusions that his journey will suddenly be easy. “I haven’t really played him,” Baker said. “I think I played him in junior Wimbledon when I was 15. He doesn’t have to win in straight sets. He can win in five sets because he’s in great shape. When I get opportunities I’m going to have to be aggressive and step up. I’m going to have to serve better than I did today.”
Earlier in the day, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus continued the trend of top-seeded players having little trouble in early matches at the Open, storming through her afternoon match against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the first action of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It gave Azarenka the distinction of being through to the third round before a good chunk of the men’s draw had even played the first.
Azarenka, ranked number one, needed all of 65 minutes for her 6-2, 6-2 victory, which finished before most people had settled in comfortably. She happily collected the easy victory, getting a little more used to the wind that buffets the stadium court, knowing her hard work is still ahead. As the top seed for the first time, she knows this year will be different for her.
“The expectations are higher for sure,” she said. “There is a lot more attention. People expect you to play better.”
Men’s number four David Ferrer of Spain, not known for short matches, got through his first-round match relatively quickly with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Nadia Petrova of Russia, the 19th seed, got into the quick-work trend, winning her second-round match over Simona Halep of Romania, 6-1, 6-1, in 57 minutes.
New York Times Service
