Not so fast. Kendrick, tall, wide shouldered, baseball cap turned backward, hangs in. He hits a passing shot and a big serve and the stands begin to vibrate from all the claps and cheers.
Now it's 6-4, Djokovic. He beat Federer at the Australian Open last January, Rafael Nadal last month. He'll win this next point, you're sure. But almost unbelievably, he drops the next point. Kendrick clenches a fist. Bring it on, he seems to be saying. Bring it on.
A moment passes, the next point begins. It's a long one, with both players hitting from their heels. Kendrick nails the line once, twice. He hits a ball that looks sure to sail out. It dips in. Finally, Djokovic misses. "Go man, go!" some shout. A lady asks: "Who the hell is this kid?"
At Pepperdine, Kendrick was one of the top college players in the nation. He turned pro in 2000 and though he lives a good life traveling the world, making money with sunscreen on, his dreams haven't quite been fulfilled. His kinda-sorta limelight moment was a near miss: Two years ago he was up big on Nadal at Wimbledon only to lose.
Can he learn from that match? It's tied up now, six points apiece, and good God, Kendrick looks like Boris Becker. When he uncorks another winning shot, suddenly he owns a set point. Capitalize here and he has major momentum.
Djokovic, like Nadal, is known for having the guts to stand up to the imperious Federer. After the Serb did this in last year's U.S. Open final, cracks began to show in the Swiss master.
When the set point comes, it's that kind of gumption that allows him to shove a passing shot down Kendrick's throat.
It's tied up. Soon, it's set point, Djokovic.
You knew how it had to end, right?
Djokovic took a knuckleball that didn't knuckle, and knocked it for a winner, and the set belonged to him.
The second also belonged to the Serb, 6-4. Then the third, same score. A 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-4 Djokovic victory.
Later, Robert Kendrick was asked whether on this warm day he'd been energized by standing up for the journeymen, the forgotten ones, the unseen pros who never get respect.
"A little bit, yeah, sure," he said. "It sure felt good out there today, all those people standing up and the big stage. I feel like I had my chances."
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Kurt Streeter can be reached at kurt.streeter@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Streeter, go to latimes.com/streeter.
