Ricardas Berankis: Cincinnati Day 1, Qualies Match Pics (HD)

I told you on Day 1 of Cincy we’d have more Ricardas Berankis pics, and here we are. The young Lithuanian player didn’t have the best luck in qualies, drawing Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round, and then having a day where very little seemed to go right in his game. He stuck around the tourney after his loss, however, booking more practice sessions–including one with Novak Djokovic. The day with Nole may have inspired Berankis, for he’s currently into the QFs in Winston-Salem.

At 5’9, Ricky is definitely on the short side for a tennis player, but as you can see from the pics below, he’s got a sturdy build to help him absorb the power from the bigger guys on court. He has a nice amount of variety in his game, and can do some damage at the net and with drop shots when he’s firing on all cylinders. He reached a career-high of #67 earlier this year, and though he’s dropped down since, a few good tourneys like this week’s WS can bring him back into that range–and hopefully higher.

Enjoy the Pretty Ricky picspam, and *click* the pics to get the super big versions!

We always begin with the Anatomy of a Serve:

Now Ricky on the return…

Scrambling for a shot…

A little victory fistpump…

Challenging a line call…although there’s no HawkEye on the Court Behind the Loo…

Poised for action…

Tough return…

Lining up the backhand…

The backhand follow-through… (and beautiful behind, I’m sorry, I held out this long, I just couldn’t NOT mention it at this point!)

Trying to order his thoughts before the next point…

Staring right at me and…well…*ahem* I’m flattered, Ricky. 😉

In case you missed it, check out the Day One highlights from Cincy!

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PHOTOS: c2013 Valerie David, for TennisInsideOut.com