A Tennis Player Learns to Be Aggressive for Health's Sake

MONTE CARLO - Having a game that combines unconventional shotmaking and graceful, almost balletic, footwork, Alexandr Dolgopolov is one of the most watchable players on the ATP Tour and the best Ukrainian player in a generation.

His breakthrough came with a run to the 2011 Australian Open quarterfinals. He reached No. 13 in the world the next year, and this year has beaten Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka and is ranked No. 22. His accomplishments seem even more impressive given that Dolgopolov suffers from the genetic disorder Gilbert's syndrome.

"You can't really manage it," he said of Gilbert's, in which the liver does not properly process bilirubin, a substance produced by the breakdown of red blood cells. "Now and then, it just hits me and I have to go to the hospital for a week or two. It's something I've had to live with."

Gilbert's varies in severity and many sufferers, estimated as 5 percent of the population, do not even realize they have it. At its worst, it can result in extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite and weight loss.



"You feel weak, you sleep too much, and even then, you still feel constantly exhausted," said Dolgopolov, 25, who lost to Guillermo García-López in the second round Wednesday of the Monte Carlo Open. "The whole time, all you want to do is sleep. And then on the court, after a few rallies, you're really tired, so it's tough to play. You can play just one or two points and then you need to relax to get your energy back. It's nothing deadly and it occurs just a few times a year, but it's tough to play at a high level with that going on."

Dolgopolov first learned he had the condition when he was 12. He was already one of the brightest talents in his country, but initially, it looked as if Gilbert's would curtail his career before it had begun.

"Some of the doctors were saying, 'Oh, you can't do sports with this,' " he said. "I didn't want to even hear it. The first time they told me I needed to go to the hospital, I had a national tournament coming up, quite an important one, and I said, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to play."

The condition would flare up without warning, and Dolgopolov struggled to manage it until he linked up with the veteran Australian coach Jack Reader in 2010.

"When we started together, it was a scary situation for him," Reader said, noting that he first saw Dolgopolov's struggles in Australia, where they practiced at 7 a.m. to avoid afternoon temperatures that approached 110 degrees. "He suddenly said, 'I feel really bad Jack,' and we went to a doctor, got a blood test, and he flew straight home."

Reader soon realized that the condition was aggravated by stress, long flights and extreme heat, all of which can contribute to dehydration. He began to carefully plan Dolgopolov's schedule. He also overhauled his diet.

Dolgopolov has always been known for the repertory of shots he uses at crucial moments. Andy Roddick once described him as "aggressive to the point of psychosis," but his approach was as much a result of managing his health as obeying his natural instincts.

"We worked out this method where he'd just try to play and he didn't really put out till it was an important point at the end of a set or something," Reader said. "If Alex tried to play a regular solid game of just rallying and wearing someone down, he wouldn't get too far. But in a silly kind of way, it almost helped his tennis career because he played freely, which is how he should be playing. The talent he has, he can pull off some crazy stuff."

WAWRINKA TO FACE FEDERER IN FINAL Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka will play in the first all-Swiss final in 14 years as both won straightforward semifinals at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monte Carlo on Saturday.

Federer, who has never won the title in Monte Carlo, beat the defending champion Novak Djokovic, 7-5, 6-2, as Djokovic played with a right wrist injury. "I just rest now," Djokovic said. "I cannot play tennis for some time. How long, I don't know. It's really not in my hands anymore."

Federer, who has lost three finals in Monte Carlo to Rafael Nadal, will be making his first title bid here since 2008.

Wawrinka, the Australian Open winner, defeated David Ferrer, 6-1, 7-6 (3), a day after Ferrer had stunned Nadal, an eight-time champion.

The last all-Swiss ATP final was in Marseille in 2000, when Marc Rosset beat Federer. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

ITALY ON THE ROPES The Czech Republic took a commanding 2-0 lead over the defending champion Italy in their Fed Cup semifinal in Ostrava, Czech Republic, as Lucie Safarova and Petra Kvitova won the opening singles matches in straight sets. The Czech Republic is one win away from the final against Australia or Germany. The reverse singles and doubles are planned for Sunday. (AP)

GERMANY LEADS AUSTRALIA Germany took hold of its Fed Cup semifinal, winning both the opening day singles to lead Australia, 2-0, in Brisbane, Australia.

Germany needs only one more victory from Sunday's two reverse singles and the doubles to reach its first Fed Cup final since 1992. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

SPAIN AND POLAND TIED Agnieszka Radwanska beat Silvia Soler-Espinosa to give Poland the first point of its Fed Cup World Group playoff against Spain. But Radwanska's sister, Urszula, lost to Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor. With the series at 1-1, the return singles and doubles match will decide the tie Sunday. (AP)

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