August 17, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Playing in the second-to-last tournament of his career, American Mardy Fish turned in an outstanding performance in the Western & Southern Open first-round on Monday, beating 20th ranked Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-2.
“I was a little surprised at my level,” said Fish. “I hadn’t practiced a ton or particularly well for a little while. I was struggling with my serve. A friend of mine came in a couple days and helped, but it was still sort of a struggle even yesterday to sort of find my serve. I was obviously real happy with the level.”
Fish broke twice in each set and saved all three break points he faced for a near flawless performance. It is his first singles win since defeating Evgeny Donskoy in the first-round of the 2013 Winston-Salem Open.
In the second-round, Fish will play Andy Murray, whom he is 4-4 against in his career.
“Of the guys that have been dominate in my era, he’s the guy I’ve had the most success with…I would’ve liked to have had that 4-4 and just coasted off, but he might get me one more time,” said Fish. “You never know. I certainly played well today. He’s pretty fantastic so far. He’s won a ton of matches. He’s won more matches than anyone this year, so he’ll be tough.”
