This was a pity. After Jerzy’s incredible tournament in Paris where he came from absolutely nowhere to reach the final, the tennis world was hoping for a good start to confirm that there is a new sensation on tour. This did not happen… at least in Auckland.
Last year Janowicz couldn’t come to the Pacific swing as he didn’t have the money to finance the trip. This year the situation is rather different as with the points he gained from the 1000 ATP Master in Bercy he will now be in the main draw of all tournaments (he is ranked no.26) to be 100% sure he will get some money to finance his staying. In Auckland he was seeded no.5, but he couldn’t make it.
Baker – Janowicz 4-6, 7-5(5), 6-4
This was a match between 2 fairy tales. From one side we had the (once) penniless and unknown youngster, from the other we had the guy that came out from countless operations to get back to the tour after 7 years!
The match was played in odd conditions as there was a strong wind and a funny temperature change. The situation was even more diffult for Baker as he had to cope with an incredibly unpredictable player.
Finally it was Baker to win in over 2 hours.
“It’s definitely the toughest conditions I’ve played in an ATP match. I stayed mentally tough. I had so many chances in the match to break and get ahead and I didn’t capitalise on it. But I told myself at some point it has to go my way and then finally it did.” said Baker referring to the fact that he managed to convert only 2 break points out of 17!
