Brian Baker's great comeback!

Give this a read guys, its a touching story for someone who has suffered a lot of hardships.
Wishing him luck at RG and in the future. GO BRIAN!

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/05/18/Roland-Garros-Brian-Baker-Earns-USTA-Wild-Card.aspx

Great story. Wonderful example of triumph over adversity

Based on the very pragmatic attitude shown in his answers to the interview questions, coupled with lack of self-pity ("you try not to play that guessing game on what could have been" ...... "you can't fight the things you can't control"......), I'm not surprised by his persistence in clawing his way back after so many years away from the game. Such a long gap must be unprecedented, I would have thought ......

It is good to see him come back, but regrettably, there is no way to make up lost time. Many a career marred by injuries.

Nice find LuvSports!

the comeback continues gooo onnn brian sunny boi!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/05/21/Nice-Tuesday-Baker-Ends-Tour-Level-Win-Drought.aspx

Just beat Monfils 6-3 7-6, saving 5(?) set points in the tiebreak. Interesting at the end with the gulf between the haves and the have-nots is when a young lad came to Baker looking for a momento and Baker had to tell that he didn't have enough spare equipment to give anything away.

Just watched a bit of it. Monfils is a very strange player.

Well done to Brian Baker!

Great this guy is back on tour again...had the talent but unfortunately not the body...showing his clear potential with the win over Gael.

cheers ryan fantastic result so happy for him especially after what he has been through.
Monfils is my 2nd favorite player but my expectations for him now are just so low. He can be brilliant and then absolutely dire.

Hey LuvSports, love this story, thanks for keeping us informed!
I've just done a bit of research - his highest ranking ever apparently, according to the ATP website is 172 back in 2004.

According to the one and only website that is
http://live-tennis.eu/
he is now at 179, and could get to about 160 if he wins against Kukushkin in the next round. That would be better than he ever was.

thanks HM appreciate it

good spot and i think that is a very winnable match!
I will definitely be routing for him in the coming months and so on come on BB! sorry not bogbrush, BRIAN BAKER!

I like his attitude.

"I know that I'm not going to beat these guys standing behind the baseline, trying to out hit them in a 20-ball rally," Baker said. "I know I have to step up and be aggressive, use my drop shot and kick serve, and play to my strengths."

A disciple of the Federer school of thought.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/05/21/Nice-Wednesday-Isner-Simon-Open-Title-Bids.aspx

And the injuries he had and come back from are amazing...full reconstructive surgery on his elbow for a knee-cruciate ligament type situation. For a tennis player that must be so hard to come back from...and even want to come back from. He seems to have so much history behind him and is yet still only 27!

I have always been amazed at Muster, Dent (Taylor) and Blake. Hope Brian stays and plays for quite some time.

Brian is up a break in the third set.

ahh schweeet i saw he was ahead in the 2nd but thats great news.

B ... A......K....E...R. WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKER! WHAT YOU GOT? BAKERRRRR!!!!

i would make a pretty cheerleader and a good one at that
no homo.

Come on Brian!!! You can do it!!

ohhh bugga he's lost the break and been broken again 4-2 down

come back briannnn

Back on serve with a nice DTL BH

Yes! Well we can definitely say that he's not going to give up easily is he. Such an inspiration...

4-4 after deuce and Bps.

It would be nice to see Brian win.

laverfan wrote:It would be nice to see Brian win.

Indeed laverfan, wouldn't it be a dream if he won the tournament! (not saying that he could, but still its a nice thought)

Nice DHBH. Quick 40-0 hold. Can he put pressure on Kuku now?

Wasted BPs.

How is his playing style LF? I've only seen him play a little bit, and have to rely on the live scoreboard now.

Very good DS to get to a game point. DF. Deuce.

where are you watching this lf? my usually tried and trusted stream doesn't have it.

Aggressive. Topspin FH, nice flat DHBH. Uses DSs very well. Very good kick serve. Comes to the net often. He will play baseline, if needed, but would probably do much better on Grass and HC. His BH reminds me of the Davydenko BH where he takes it early.

TB.

fromsport.com

Mini-break for Brian.

Good slice and DTL BH. 2-0. His movement has room for improvement.

Ok thanks, sounds like an nice all rounded game.

Back to 2-2 and now 4-2. Hang on Brian. Make it 6-2.

laverfan :')

Luv, I had the same problem, thanks for the link LF

Hope he wins now!!

Argh. Nice length by Kuku. 5-3. Net volley makes it 5-4 for. Match on Brian's racquet.

6-4, two MPs. One on his own serve. Kuku dumps BH in the net. GSM Brian.

WAAHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Baker

Hope he qualifies for RG. Would love to see him play at RG.

PS: My bad, he has a WC.

Wooooo!!!

Very nice story LuvSports. As LF said, Brian cannot make up for the lost time. However, because of what he has gone through he can perhaps appreciate even more how lucky he is to be able to play at this level (as they all are). No matter how his comeback continues I hope he enjoys every minute of it. Of course, it does not hurt that he has had some success his week... :-)

Very similar styles of play, between Davy and Brian. It would be good to see a contest. Davy has some nice wins this week, before RG.

Go Brian!

On another note, Roddick lost to Go Soeda. He really dislikes clay.

Brian is winning again, its now 2 - 0 in the third.

He's done it! He's done it! On to the final now, one more Brian!

Beating Davydenko, wonderful!. (I missed the match. )

Baker has reeled off 15 straight victories, dating back to his first qualifying win at the Savannah Challenger. He went on to triumph in Savannah to earn the USTA’s wild card berth at Roland Garros, and will make his main-draw debut in Paris next week.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/05/21/Nice-Friday-Almagro-Beat-Simon-To-Reach-Final.aspx

Main Draw RG, beware, Baker on his way!

PS: Plays Malisse in R1 at RG.

WOOOWWWW i can't believe he won!
i was revising most the day but hes won haha! AWESOME!!!

laverfan if he wins he wont be far off the top 100 will he?
maybe top 150 if he loses right?

also how did he play if ya watched it.

I am watching a recording of the match now. Davy was up a set and a break and then he played $hite (like against Federer at Rotterdam). I am very impressed with Brian. He is gone up 76 places to be at 143 (according to http://live-tennis.eu).

231 points (prior to Nice) + 12 (qualification) + 150 (Finalist at Nice) 393. If he wins the final he gets another 100 points, so 493 (same as the previous link).

He will be ranked 150 if he does not win. I am hoping he does beat Almagro (but perhaps wishful thinking on my part).