Fernando Verdasco’s Dream Year Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down

After a fantastic Australian Open campaign that exceeded perhaps all expectations, you could forgive Fernando Verdasco for feeling the pressure.

After all, the Spaniard has gone from "also-ran" to "genuine contender" in a matter of months. People now expect things from him.

Verdasco, however, is showing no signs of buckling under the weight of expectation. In a tight encounter, he defeated his countryman and occasional doubles partner, Feliciano Lopez, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their third-round matchup in the Sony Ericsson Open.

Fernando is now set up for a fourth-round showdown against Radek Stepanek.

Monday's match was a battle throughout, with neither player truly gaining the upper hand at any point.

It was Lopez who started stronger. An early break gave him the advantage, and he showed his mettle by saving five break points as his opponent strived to get back into the match.

The world's No. 34 player was serving strongly, firing seven aces and winning 80 percent of his first-serve points.

The second set belonged to Verdasco, however. The No. 8 seed broke his compatriot quickly and raced into a 3-0 lead; from there, he never looked back, and began to dominate from the baseline, dropping only four points in five service games.

The momentum was with Verdasco as the third set began, and after an early break and hold, a comfortable win looked like a foregone conclusion. Some sloppy tennis allowed Lopez back into the match, however, and at 2-2 in the final set, the match was evenly poised.

Both men held serve until Lopez cracked at 4-4 with a double fault that virtually gifted Verdasco the match, who held and saw the contest off.

Make no mistake about it, Monday's was a match that Verdasco could have lost a year or so ago.

Closing out matches has been a big problem for the 25-year-old; he at one time was prone to double-faults and a lack of concentration, particularly at the end of sets.

But in recent months, there’s been a mental transformation to his game.

One could argue that Verdasco’s defining moment came in the Davis Cup. Rafael Nadal’s injury gave him the chance to shine, and he delivered the winning point for Spain in the final against Argentina.

It was a win that gave Verdasco self-belief—since then, he has continued to roll on the crest of a wave.

A semifinal appearance at the Australian Open immediately followed, and he defeated the likes of Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Andy Murray on the way only to lose out to the eventual champion Nadal in a five set thriller.

That bout with Rafa was the longest match in the history of the tournament - at over five hours to be exact, and Verdasco had proved he can hang with the big hitters.

Determined to show he’s not a one-hit wonder, Verdasco now finds himself in the last 16 of the Miami Masters. And though his tennis looked disjointed at times against Lopez, he had enough to get the job done and now has a winning mentality.

And his new attitude could take him even further.