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December 28, 2012

Five Things to Look Forward to in 2013

We're just a few days away from the dawn of a New Year, and there's already a lot on the docket for this coming tennis season. After all the excitement and surprises we witnessed over the last twelve months, we should know there's no telling what 2013 will bring for the favorites or the underdogs. From comebacks to breakthroughs to meltdowns to simple ole' shenanigans, there's plenty of opportunity to see some big headlines this year, and the best ones are likely to be those no one can predict.

But while nothing is certain, of course, there are a couple things high on the radar for tennis fans -- some are set in stone, others are wishful thinking, many have kept us holding our breath for months or longer. And each could have a big impact on the sport in 2013 -- good, bad or completely amazing.

So let's look at the five most anticipated events that could, would, or should transpire over the next four seasons.

#5: Monday Night Tennis


Are you ready for some racquetball?!

This year, for the first time, the U.S. Open schedulers have decided to put the men's final on a Monday night -- 5 p.m., to be exact, right during the evening rush hour. It's not that it hasn't happened before -- in fact, rain delays have forced a fifteenth day of play for the last five years -- but this time organizers are making the change at the outset, and feelings are decidedly mixed.

On the positive side, there will finally be a day of rest between the semis and championship match for both men and women -- New York had been the only Major that required back-to-back days of play. Stars like Serena Williams and Andy Murray have both applauded the decision, commending the much-maligned USTA for considering players' concerns. Combining that with the increased prize money at the event -- the total purse will be upped by over fifteen percent to a record $29.5 million -- and it looks like the tournament is making some big changes for the better.

But what's it mean for fans? Once treated to the promise of a Super Saturday, featuring two men's semis and the women's final, the last weekend of play will feature much less action than in years past. The ladies' championship, previously slotted for prime time, will now move to the gridiron, facing off against football's season-opening games on Sunday. And assuming the men's contest outlasts the evening commute -- the last five finals have lasted an average of three hours and forty five minutes -- it could cut in to CBS's Monday-night line-up in the U.S., sparking another wave of irate "How I Met Your Mother" (re-run!) fans to voice their disappointment over Twitter. Outside what it will mean for ratings in an already second-tier (to many) sport, I wonder what the shift means for ticket sales -- ardent fans may happily shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend a weekend evening at Flushing Meadows, but can and will they do it on a workday?

While I'm all for giving athletes sufficient time to recover from what are often long, grueling matches, there might be other ways to accomplish the same thing. Roland Garros, for example, kicks off its fortnight on Sunday instead of beginning first round action Monday morning, and Wimbledon -- even with its Middle Sunday of rest -- manages to space out the championship weekend, albeit with the help of a recently-added retractable roof. The USTA has said it will decide on whether to keep the new schedule in future years once the 2013 Open is over, so at least we'll get to see how much players and fans are affected before anything more permanent is decided. I just hope the changes don't result in tennis being pushed so far out of the spotlight that fans are left in the dark.

#4: The Youngsters Grow Up


Last year was a good one for teenage talent on Tour, but in 2013 we could see how much they'll bring to the table against the big boys.

Some have already done a little to show their worth -- 2010 U.S. Open Juniors champion Jack Sock won the mixed doubles title in New York a year later with fellow phenom Melanie Oudin, and this year the then-nineteen year old made the third round in singles, lasting four sets -- three tiebreaks -- before falling to eleventh seed Nicolas Almagro. Meanwhile Laura Robson, who won the 2008 girls' title at Wimbledon when she was just fourteen, beat Kim Clijsters and Na Li to make the sweet sixteen in the ladies' draw at Flushing Meadows. She's climbed a little higher up the rankings than Sock, who's still hanging out in the mid-hundreds, but both have heightened their expectations for the coming season.

We'll also get a look at a couple other juniors, each of whom has the potential to shine in 2013. Australian Luke Saville and Canada's Filip Peliwo have both won a pair of little Majors, but with each having his nineteenth birthday early in the New Year, expect them to spend most of their time on the adult Tour. Peliwo, champion at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year, ends outside the top five-hundred, but did manage a solid 15-12 record in ITF events, while Saville, also yet to play on the ATP, added a pair of Futures trophies to his collection, ending the season at #348 in the world. They're likely to graduate first into the Challenger events, but if they can pick up a few second-tier titles during the season, it won't be long before they're making strides against the elite.

But perhaps eyes will be most focused on Taylor Townsend, who ended 2012 as the top Junior girl in the world. The sixteen-year-old American kicked off the year with a trophy in Melbourne, but really started making headlines during the fall in New York. Though holding the #1 ranking just before the U.S. Open, she was asked by the USTA to sit out the tournament entirely, with General Manager Patrick McEnroe expressing concern over health, fitness and -- ahem -- weight. The player-development organization refused to pay Townsend's way into the event and didn't grant her wildcards into either the main draw or the qualifying rounds, forcing the young star to bare the expense herself. The ensuing outrage was loud and understandable, but Taylor handled the stress in the best possible way -- she kept on winning. She made the quarterfinals in singles and took home the championship trophy in doubles with partner Gabrielle Andrews, often playing two matches a day to do it. Officially pro as of early this month, the pressure will be on to continue to deliver. But if her performance on the WTA is anything like it's been on and off court to date, she could just take over the mantle U.S. tennis fans have been waiting so long to pass down.

#3: The Rivalries Continue...and Heat Up


Every year as the tennis world evolves and new players start to come into their games, we start seeing a couple of the same names face off time and time again, deep into tournaments, often with trophies, hefty prize money and more than a little pride on the line. We've seen great rivalries come and go -- McEnroe vs. Connors, Graf vs. Seles, Sampras vs. Agassi -- and even a few good ones emerge more recently. But this year might have given rise to a couple that transcended to new heights -- and they weren't always among the sport's elite.

Roger Federer and Andy Murray had battled fourteen times before the year began and the lower-ranked Scot actually held the 8-6 advantage. But the pair raised the stakes in 2012, with Murray getting his first set at a Slam off the recent #1 at Wimbledon and ultimately riding his confidence to Olympic Gold and a U.S. Open title. Roger still is undefeated against Murray at the Majors, though, and turned the tables on his rival with a semifinal win at the London championships. But with both players still going strong as we head into the new season, we could see even better matches in the coming months.

Victoria Azarenka certainly took her rivalry with Serena Williams to a new level this year, finally putting on the show we'd been expecting these two big-hitters to give us. But it was her clashes with one-time bestie Agnieszka Radwanska that took on a more high-intensity tone in 2012. The two, always on the outskirts of the top-tier, had been pretty close -- on the court and off -- before the year began, with the Belorussian holding a slight 5-3 advantage in their head-to-heads. Aggie, though, had won their most recent contest on her way to the Tokyo title in 2011 and took sets off her contemporary both in Sydney and at the Australian Open to start this season. It's been all Vika since then, though -- after getting just two more games in that Melbourne quarterfinal, she didn't win another set. The Pole took offense at Azarenka's apparent gamesmanship in their Doha semi and lost a total of six matches to her former friend through May -- in fact, the only person who could defeat her during the first four-plus months of the year. It's a bit of a shame that two women playing some of the best ball of their careers, reaching #1 and #2 in the world respectively, were so unevenly matched against each other this year -- but when they inevitably take the court against each other in 2013, I'm hoping we see some real fight. Knowing what these two are capable of, there's potential for some big fireworks when they meet.

These weren't the only rivalries that gained steam in 2012, of course -- Murray vs. Nole, Maria vs. Serena, Tomic vs. safe driving, Tipsy vs. women, they all made some headlines this season. But lesser known names caused just as much excitement too. Young Italian Camila Giorgi ends the year at a career-high of just #75 in the world, but that didn't stop her from handing losses to recently-resurgent veteran Nadia Petrova both times they met this year. Meanwhile Martin Klizan, whose breakout in St. Petersburg helped him rise to #30 in the world, nevertheless failed to make any headway against under-appreciated Marin Cilic in any of their three meetings this year. Whether these underdogs are able to keep up their runs, turn their luck around, or broaden out the swath they cut in the new year, could put them on track to really break through in 2013.

#2: Serena Reclaims #1


It's not in the bank, of course, but given her performance since the French Open, it's hard to imagine Serena Williams won't climb back to the top of the sport sometime this season.

After a long absence since winning Wimbledon in 2010, the veteran American fell briefly out of the top one hundred last year. But after some shaky results to start, she stormed back to take the title in Toronto and worked her way to the dramatic final in New York. She began the 2012 season just out of the top ten, and though she didn't win a title through the first three months of the season, once she hit the clay she was on a roll. Yes there was that bizarre outcome at Roland Garros, but Serena was nevertheless 48-2 since losing in the Miami quarters. That run included seven singles titles, two of which came at Grand Slams, Olympic Gold, and my award for "Player of the Year".

Still, even with all that success, Williams ended 2012 at just #3 in the rankings, a little more than 600 points behind long-time rival Maria Sharapova and about one Premier title from overtaking current top dog Victoria Azarenka. There's plenty of opportunity for her to recoup that ground, too -- with so many of her points safe until after the first quarter, and Vika defending so many of her own right off the bat, Serena could easily grab the #1 spot before the month is over. And, unlike with others in a similar position, it's hard to get nervous when she goes out to retain points in the back half of the year -- as long as she's healthy Williams is still the player to beat at pretty much any event she enters. And at thirty-one years of age, she's showing no sign that she's ready to pass that torch onto another player just yet.

Can she win Australia? Most definitely. Could she make a play for her only French Open title since 2002? With the prospect of a Serena Golden Slam on the line, absolutely. Might she end the year at #1? I wouldn't bet against it.

And, the way she's playing, no one else should, either.

#1: Rafa's Return


I don't know when it will happen, but sometime this year, sometime soon I hope, Rafael Nadal will be back on a competitive tennis court.

It's only been seven months since the world saw him -- shockingly, inexplicably -- leave the lawns of the All England Club in defeat, but it seems like so much longer than that. Thanks to his latest knee injury, the former #1 was forced to skip the Olympics, unable to defend the Gold he'd won in Beijing four years earlier, to pass by the entire summer hardcourt season and withdraw from the U.S. Open, where he'd played in the last two finals, and to miss the year-end championship for the first time since 2008, when he was also out of commission. We'd been given hope he'd recover in time to get in a few more shots here and there, but were thwarted over and over again, and a highly-anticipated planned comeback this week at an Abu Dhabi exhibition proved to be another red herring -- the beleaguered Spaniard pulled out on Tuesday because of a stomach bug.

Earlier today Rafa also withdrew from Doha and Melbourne, but even if he's back within a month it might be some time longer before last year's runner-up is really back in top form. Though he has certainly won during this stretch before, the Australian Open is far from his best Major, and he's only made it out of the quarters three times. More likely, he won't hit his stride until the spring when he'll defend all four titles he won in 2012 on the European clay. A couple long win streaks could be on the line, but if anyone can find a way to win on dirt even when playing at less than a hundred percent, it's this guy. And if he can pick up a couple titles during that stretch of the season, Nadal might be able to garner the momentum, confidence and match-play he needs to thrive the rest of the year. With a little less success, he's bound to see a precipitous drop in the rankings come June -- but Rafa's the kind of player that never gives up, and I'd expect him to launch quite the comeback in the second half of the year.

And once he's back, there might be no stopping him.


With the start of the 2013 season oh-so-close there's, of course, no telling what's in store. But with a couple balls teed up for us already, we can certainly anticipate this year's going to be rife with excitement, surprises, and a whole lot of drama. Whoever comes out on top, whoever takes a bit of a stumble, whoever finds a way to completely wow us, there's going to be a lot to talk about over the next twelve months.

And I, for one, certainly can't wait for it all to start.

December 19, 2012

The 2012 Tennis Spin Awards: The Men



If you thought the ladies got things heated up in 2012, the men may have broken the thermometer. Their season was filled with breakthroughs and breakdowns, too, of course, and a couple players sadly left the game entirely. But with some of the biggest stars in the sport raising their game against each other, everyone else was forced to step up their play if they were going to make any impact at all.

And when you put all of that together, we have some very deserving winners of this year's Tennis Spin Awards.

Hottest NewcomerMost Improved
One to WatchBest Comeback
Least Follow-ThroughGreatest Letdown
Biggest SurpriseGutsiest Win
Best Non-Slam FinalBest Slam Final
Doubles Team of the YearPlayer of the Year


Hottest Newcomer

There was plenty of new blood on the men's Tour in 2012, too -- some slammed their way on the court, others fizzled out just as quickly. But a couple put together some headline grabbing wins over the season and did more than their part to make names for themselves on the circuit.

The Nominees

France's Benoit Paire first made waves in the ATP last year, winning his first two Challenger titles, beating Gilles Simon in Rotterdam and winning his first main draw match at a Major. He started this year just inside the top hundred and came out swinging -- a qualifier in Auckland, he beat Juan Carlos Ferrero and Juan Ignacio Chela to make the quarters and, a few months later, worked his way to the final in Belgrade. He started making progress at the Slams too, reaching the third round at Wimbledon and taking Philipp Kohlschreiber to five long sets in New York. He's still without that first Tour trophy, but now ranked #47 in the world and having earned a legion of fans along the way, he may have the support to climb even farther up the rankings.

Young David Goffin ended the year just slightly ahead of Paire, having pulled off some big upsets throughout the season. Just barely twenty-one at the start of the year, he was ranked #174 when he beat Xavier Malisse on his way to the quarters in Chennai and went on to win the first of his two Challenger titles a few months later in Guadeloupe. But his biggest coups came on the biggest stages -- a qualifier at Roland Garros, he survived two five set matches and even took a set off Roger Federer in the fourth round. He lost one round earlier at Wimbledon, but still, five best-of-five wins isn't bad for a man who'd never played the main draw of a Major before this year. He made the quarters in Winston-Salem too, and scored his last win of the year against John Isner in Valencia. The Belgian also won seven of eight matches that went to a decider this year, suggesting he might just have the stamina to keep fighting pushed to the limit. If he finds a way to harness that strength, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a move into the elite in 2013.

Martin Klizan certainly did what he could to get his name in the headlines this year. The twenty-three year old Slovak won a handful of Challenger events early in the season and then made his way to the semis in Kitzbühel. But he really broke through at the U.S. Open where he stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round and made his way to the sweet sixteen. Later that month he won the first Tour final he ever played in St. Petersburg, having survived a nearly four-hour slugfest against top seed Mikhail Youzhny a round earlier. He only won one more match the rest of the season, but at his career-high ranking now of #30, big things will be expected from him in the year to come.

The Winner

Jerzy Janowicz may not have won a title this season, but his jump from #221 in the world to #26 now is nothing short of breath-taking. He spent the early months of the season on the Challenger and Futures circuit, but snuck his way to the third round at the All England Club and only lost to Florian Mayer after a three hour-plus five setter. Still, he didn't break into double digits for another few weeks and didn't play another Tour-level match until October in Moscow. But when he started winning, he didn't seem to want to stop -- after qualifying for the season-ending event in Paris, the then twenty-one year old Pole was dealt a massively tough draw, but he nevertheless summarily dismissed five top-twenty players in a row, including Marin Cilic, Janko Tipsarevic and red-hot Andy Murray. He eventually lost in the final to David Ferrer, but with that string of wins and ninety aces during the tournament, it won't be long before he's bringing home some big prizes.


Most Improved

All these guys bounded on the scene in 2012, but a couple who'd been around for ages really brought their A-game to the court this year. Some had been near the top before and just had their breakthrough, others somehow found a way to make some big strides after years of putting up middling results. And if they keep it up, any one of them could really heat things up in the new season.

The Nominees

Philipp Kohlschreiber had been in or around the top thirty for years and had even picked up a couple titles along the way. But he really kicked off this season with a bang -- he made the fourth round of three of his first four events, beating Richard Gasquet, Juan Monaco and Nicolas Almagro in the process. He upped his game on the grass court too -- after taking out Rafael Nadal in Halle, the twenty-eight year old German made his way to the quarterfinal at Wimbledon, his best ever performance at a Slam. He picked up another crown and a runner-up trophy to boot and reached a high #16 ranking in July. He's dropped a few spots since then, but after putting together his most successful season more than a decade-plus into his career there's no reason to believe there aren't bigger things coming for him.

Andreas Seppi was another one of those also-rans before this season began. Consistently ranked in the mid-double digits, he'd only just picked up his first title last year in Eastbourne. It took a while for him to hit his stride in 2012 -- he was 9-13 through April and only scored one win over a top-thirty player. But when spring came around he seemed to find his footing -- he scored himself a trophy in Belgrade and beat both Stanislas Wawrinka and John Isner in Rome. But his real breakthrough came at Roland Garros when, after surviving two five-set matches which together lasted more than six and a half hours, he managed to put together a two-set lead over world #1 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. He did eventually lose that battle, but rebounded nicely to make another two finals before closing out the season with a win in Moscow. Now at #23 the veteran is in a solid position to break top-twenty, and might just be able to prove this is not just a sport for the youth.

The Winner

While both of these guys made big leaps in their game throughout the year, perhaps the most impressive jump came from veteran Argentine Juan Monaco, who'd reached his previous high more than four years ago. He'd struggled a bit in the interim, falling out of the top fifty and losing seven straight finals since 2007. But he pulled things together this year, finally breaking his title drought with a win in Viña del Mar and stunning Mardy Fish, Gael Monfils and Andy Roddick on his way to the Indian Wells semis. After taking a title in Hamburg he very quietly snuck his way into the top ten -- not bad for a man who'd been pro for a full decade already. He may have failed to get his country into the Davis Cup final, but with one more win in Kuala Lumpur at the end of his season -- his first off clay -- he more than doubled his trophy count in 2012 and gains the highest year-end ranking of his career. With his results spanning surfaces, he might just prove to be a real threat for all the top players in the new year.


One to Watch

Some players put up big results in 2012, others just showed us glimpses of what they might one day be capable of. And if either of these guys is able to pull their game together in the coming twelve months, they might just find themselves winning a different award next year.

The Runner-Up

The world has been watching Grigor Dimitrov for a couple years, but he really only started to make a dent in the game this season. A Junior champion at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2008, the twenty-one year old Bulgarian first cracked the top hundred early last year and kicked off his season at #76. He was a little slow to start, but eventually pulled himself together and made the fourth round in Miami, beating Tomas Berdych to do it. A couple months later he managed upsets over Gilles Muller and Kevin Anderson to make the semis at Queen's Club and climbed his way to a career-high #48 to end the year. He still hasn't made a big dent at the Majors -- he only won one match at each of the first three Slams this year -- but having notched his first top-ten victory as a pro, he could be gathering the momentum to change that soon.

The Winner

Grega Zemlja has been a bit further under the radar during his career, but he made a nice move to raise his profile in 2012. He had to qualify for most of the ATP level events he played and didn't always make it through to the main draws, but he did eke out a handful of Challenger titles and took a set off Fernando Verdasco in the Wimbledon second round. The Slovenian hit his stride a few months later, though -- after battling through the qualifying rounds in New York, he snuck through to the third round of the U.S. Open, eventually losing in straight sets to Janko Tipsarevic. He got revenge quickly though -- again a qualifier in Vienna, this time he came back from a set down against the Serb in the semis and made the first Tour final of his career. With wins over Xavier Malisse and Tommy Haas already that week, his achievement certainly made people take notice, and now ranked a stone's throw from the top fifty, he might be poised to really break through. If he can pull off a couple more wins like this in 2013, there's no telling how much higher he can go.


Best Comeback

Everybody loves a great comeback story, and this year the men's Tour was full of them. Some came after injury stalled a burgeoning career, others at a time when we might have written off their actors entirely, and one very special one came from a man who not only overcame multiple surgeries, but parlayed his rise to heights he'd never seen before.

The Nominees

Tommy Haas had been as high as #2 in the world nearly a decade back, but over the years he fell and rose, fell and rose, dropping into triple digits -- quadruple digits -- for some time before eventually bouncing back. Still, when he began this year at #205, fresh off of hip surgery, thirty-three years of age, and titleless for two-and-a-half years, you had to think he had little juice left in him. But the gorgeous German -- and new father -- showed he was not ready for retirement quite yet when he made the semis in Munich, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the way, and reached the third round in Paris as a qualifier. A week later he stunned Roger Federer in the Halle final, his first win over the soon-to-be #1 in over ten years. Haas didn't stop there -- he made back-to-back finals over the summer and reached the quarters at both the Toronto and Shanghai Masters. In total he notched four wins over top ten players and ends the year at #21 in the world, and having shown he has no intention of going anywhere just yet, there's no reason he won't climb higher still.

Unlike Haas Sam Querrey was only just beginning to make strides in the sport when shoulder injury took him out of the game in the middle of last year. After dropping points from his successful 2010 season, he saw his ranking fall from #17 in the world to triple digits by last September. It took a while for him to gain any traction this year too -- he won just one match in his first five events of the year -- but he started to get his groove back in the spring. After taking a Challenger title in Sarasota, the young American made the semis at Queen's Club, shot down big-serving Milos Raonic -- and almost did the same to Marin Cilic -- at Wimbledon and went on to capture his third crown in LA. His biggest feat, though, came at the very end of the season -- back in the top twenty-five by the time he reached Paris, he somehow came back from losing a bagel set to Novak Djokovic to notch his first top-ten victory of the season. Still a shade off his career high ranking -- and still, sadly, without any title bigger than a 250-level -- he has plenty of room to improve further, and as long as he stays healthy I'd expect him to get right to that task when the season starts in a few weeks.

The Winner

While both of these guys spent 2012 putting themselves back on the radar, one man -- a full six years after playing his last Tour-level match -- stormed back on court like he never had before. Brian Baker turned pro in 2003, but spent most of his time on the Futures and Challengers circuit. He did manage one match win at a Slam, beating one-time Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio in the first round of the 2005 U.S. Open, but never really broke through. His high rank during the first part of his career was an ultra-low #173, and a series of surgeries -- including a rare-for-tennis Tommy John procedure in 2008 -- kept him from making a dent in his early twenties. Now twenty-seven, he spent the first few months of the year qualifying for the lower-tier events. But then he went to France -- straight off a win in Savannah, Baker made his first main draw of a Tour event in seven year...and beat Nikolay Davydenko and Gael Monfils on his way to the final. It didn't stop there -- he defeated Xavier Malisse in Paris, incidentally the man who'd defeated him in New York in '05, made the fourth round at Wimbledon and in July finally broke into the top hundred. He didn't win much during the hardcourt season, but with his comeback taking him to unprecedented heights, I don't think we've seen the last of him quite yet.


Least Follow-Through

For each of those who raised their profile during the year, there was one (or two) who took a bit of a tumble. Some were big, some barely noticeably, but with the high expectations they'd set for themselves -- and all the news they made -- it's a little disappointing they didn't have a better year.

The Nominees

Carlos Berlocq came into the year on a roll -- the veteran Argentine may have been nearly triple-bagelled at last year's U.S. Open, but he ended 2011 winning three Challenger events in a row. He began this season strong, too, reaching the final at Viña del Mar and making the quarters at three events during the Golden Swing, twice beating top-fifteen player Gilles Simon in the process. He rose to a career high just inside the top forty in time for the French Open where, given his recent performance on clay, he could have been a contender. Unfortunately he lost in the first round in Paris -- in fact, he lost in the first round of thirteen tournaments through the end of the year. Yes, he was playing a higher level of opponent than he had in years past, but unable to make any dent against the top players in the back half, he hasn't yet proven he belongs among them.

Bernard Tomic had been just on the verge of breaking into the elite when the year started. He'd won both the Australian and U.S. Opens as a Junior, but really made a push last season when, as a qualifier, he beat Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling and took a set off Novak Djokovic through the Wimbledon quarterfinals to finally break into double-digit rankings. He seemed to keep that momentum up in 2012 too, reaching the semis in Brisbane and the fourth round in Melbourne, and by June he was squarely in the top thirty. Unfortunately for the volatile Australian, that's as far as he'd go this year -- he lost his opener at the All England Club, one of seven straight losses he notched over the summer, and against a retiring Andy Roddick in the second round of the U.S. Open he drew wide criticism for his largely disengaged performance. He ended the year with three more first-round losses and outside the top fifty again, but if he can get his game together during the off season, he might just be able to do some damage again in his homeland.

The Winner

Unlike these guys who only peaked this year, Fabio Fognini actually hit his high watermark in 2011 on the heels of a semifinal showing in Santiago and a quarterfinal at Roland Garros. Often strongest during the clay court season, he put up some nice numbers this year too, making his first career final in Bucharest and getting back to the third round of the French Open. But he kept going after that -- 4-7 on grass before this year, he made the quarters in Eastbourne and put together some nice wins on the hard courts. But he really raised his profile in New York when he could have delivered the final blow to homegrown hero Andy Roddick. He did manage to take a set off his American friend, and even parlayed his strength in to another final in Metz. But he went radio silent after that, losing six matches in a row, even if he ends the season with his highest year-end ranking. At twenty-five the spunky Italian still has plenty of time left to make a move, but it would've been nice to see it come after he'd won so many fans this fall.


Greatest Letdown

Some players certainly lost momentum during the year, but a couple disappointed on a much more broad scale in 2012. And it wasn't always on the court.

The Nominees

Janko Tipsarevic finished the season at #9 in the world for the second straight year, but he wasn't nearly as impressive as he was in 2011. Coming off of two titles last fall, he kicked off this year with a final run in Chennai and made the quarters in Dubai and Miami. He even notched a win over world #1 Novak Djokovic in Madrid before winning a title again in Stuttgart. Still, it was one of only two wins against top-ten players he scored this year -- not the kind of results you want to have when you're supposed to be one of the elite. And Tipsy actually saved his most disappointing behavior for off the courts when, back in September, he sparked Twitter outrage after posting a few controversial comments regarding women's pay. He seemed to lose a legion of fans after that and, unlike during his runs at the U.S. Open in previous years, crowds were clearly rooting against him in all subsequent matches. When he displayed more than a little histrionics during his quarterfinal drop-from-in-front loss to Jerzy Janowicz in the Paris quarters, it was kind of karmic. He only won one set in the London championships, too -- injured or not, his attitude throughout the year attracted the wrong kind of headlines, and they may have been reflected in some less-than-stellar results when it really mattered.

Ryan Harrison's on-court results were also overshadowed in 2012 by his behavior. Coming off a more-than-solid season, he had a couple of nice wins during the season, reaching the semis in Eastbourne and Newport, and reached a career high ranking near the top forty in the middle of the summer. But, despite taking a set here and there off the top ten, he's still 0-15 against the elite. And the often-volatile American was best-known this year for his outburst -- and the awkward post-match "apology" -- at the Olympics this year. With just two wins since mid-July, he ends the year back in the sixties and without the momentum of last year's strong season. He's certainly shown signs he has the game that could make an impact, but unless he regroups before hitting the court again -- with his feet, this time, not his racquet -- it might take some time before we see it.

Alex Bogomolov's fall in 2012 is particularly upsetting given his rise back up the rankings last year. Besides stunning Andy Murray in Miami and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Cincinnati, he made the third round at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. After a semifinal appearance in St. Petersburg the then-twenty-eight year old rose to a career high ranking at #33 and seemed poised to make a late-stage push for a title. But he started dropping points almost immediately this season -- he won just one match at a Major all year, and only notched four victories over top fifty players. He didn't do much better at the Challenger level either -- a winner of eight second-tier titles before, he barely broke even in 2012, going 6-4 at these events. He dropped back into the triple digits in late October and ends the year nearly a hundred spots below where he started it. And this late in his career you have to wonder if he has any more comebacks left in him.

The Winner

Disappointment took on a whole new mien in Donald Young this year. After stellar performances last year in DC and the U.S. Open, he reached the final in Bangkok and earned a career high ranking at #38 by February. Then, after making the second round in Memphis, he put together a rarely-seen string of seventeen straight losses. He finally managed a win in Winston-Salem, but the "luck" didn't last long -- he finished the year 5-24, even resorting to a Challenger even at the end of the season. He lost that match too, falling in three sets to world #286 Michael Lammer in Charlottesville. He might have had some justification last year for his expletive-filled rant against the USTA -- and the USTA has given itself plenty of reasons to be criticized recently -- but his performance in 2012 suggests maybe he doesn't have much to back up his big talk. And near a two hundred himself ranking now, it's going to be difficult for him to prove otherwise.


Biggest Surprise

Upsets abound on a tennis court, of course -- it would be the second most boring sport in the world without them -- and this year was no exception. And while a couple players tried to use a big win to springboard into a new level, one proved he still has his best game, even if we won't be able to see it any more.

The Nominees

Lukas Rosol wasn't exactly a household name in the early part of the year. The unrecognizable veteran had actually hit a career high ranking in the mid-sixties last year, just after winning his fifth Challenger event in Braunschweig, but he was still a virtual unknown in 2012. He scored a win or two in the spring, making the third round in Miami and beating veteran Marcos Baghdatis at Queen's Club. But nothing compares to the feat he pulled off at the All England Club a few weeks later -- ranked #100 in the world in his first Wimbledon main draw, he'd just eked out a win against fastly fading Ivan Dodig to score only his fourth Major match victory. He was a heavy underdog against two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the second round, but after a hard-fought tiebreak for the first set it looked like he was in better shape. Rosol took a two-set-to-one lead over the former #1 and, after more than two hours of play, Rafa was shockingly dealt his earliest loss at a Slam since 2005. It was, of course, Rafa's last match of the season, and Rosol didn't manage another win so big the rest of the year. But by pulling off the biggest upset of 2012, by far, the Czech might have earned himself a place in the history books.

Rafa's loss at Wimbledon was clearly unexpected, but one that came a few weeks earlier might have been more so. The undisputed King of Clay had won a full ninety-two percent of his matches on the surface throughout his career, and every time he loses on dirt it becomes the shock of the season. He'd put himself back on track in 2012, finally ending a recent streak of losses to his new nemesis, and had already won two titles during the stretch this year. But on the strange blue clay of Madrid he would endure his second big surprise of the year. In the second round against compatriot Fernando Verdasco -- a man he'd just trampled in Monte Carlo -- he found himself in an early deficit and wasn't able to pull out of the hole. After thirteen unsuccessful attempts, including one amazing marathon in Melbourne, the less-decorated Spaniard, ranked just inside the top twenty at the time, scored his first top-ten victory in almost a year and handed Rafa his only clay-court loss of the season.

The Winner

As surprising as Nadal's losses were this year, it's probably more appropriate to dwell on the happier moments of the season for this award. And perhaps the most stunning success came from Andy Roddick who somehow, after announcing his retirement at the U.S. Open, found a way to play better tennis than he had in years. Having already won two titles this year -- making it twelve straight seasons with at least one trophy on the shelf -- he dominated Bernard Tomic in the New York second round, raised his game against Fabio Fognini a match later, and even put up a fight in a rain-delayed round of sixteen against Juan Martin Del Potro. While that was his final professional match, though, Roddick wasn't ready to leave the court right away -- last month he beat big-serving Milos Raonic in a Toronto exhibition and then ended third-ranked Andy Murray at the Miami Tennis Cup exo at the start of December. Non-Tour events don't carry the same cache, of course, but to see the once top-ranked American playing with the same fight that endeared him to so many fans over the years sure makes us miss him even more.


Gutsiest Win

It can be argued that Andy Roddick's run after retirement took a lot of guts, but there might have been some other performances in 2012 that showed just how much mental strength these athletes have. Some translated into bigger and better things in the months that followed, others resulted in a bit of a flame out. But whatever the case, you have to respect the performance these guys gave.

The Runner-Up

It's long been discussed what would become of American tennis when the "old guard" of Andy Roddick and once high-flying James Blake started to struggle. The next generation had a lot of hopes thrust on them and showed glimpses of what they can do, but for a variety of reasons never really made a sustained run in the top. But this year the U.S. made its first appearance in the Davis Cup semis since 2008, thanks in part to John Isner's fearless showing in the early ties. Coming off two long five setters at the Australian Open and with a mediocre 3-3 record in Davis Cup before this year, he was the clear underdog against a strong Swiss team -- who incidentally had homecourt advantage -- in the first round back in February. And with an opening rubber against a resurgent Roger Federer on clay -- the only surface on which he has a losing record -- odds were not stacked in his favor. But Isner wasn't affected by history, the crowd or the dirt -- he dropped the first set in Fribourg, but quickly rebounded, stunning the record-holder in a best-of-five battle, one of six top-ten wins he scored this year. The American had a less stellar end to the season, losing to three sub-forty players in a row, but with a couple titles, his first Masters 1000 final and a rise into the top ten himself, he might just have a run to the elite still left in him.

The Winner

While Isner's performance for his country was certainly admirable, you can't discount what Juan Martin Del Potro did for his. Once the #4 player in the world, his rise to the top was staunchly halted after a wrist injury took him out of the game for most of 2010. He made a couple valiant attempts to get back in the mix, but it wasn't until 2012 that we saw what the man could really do. After a handful of tough losses to Roger Federer this year, he finally started to raise his game in the spring. He took a two-set-to-love lead in the French Open quarters before losing, and then pushed Fed to the very limit in the Olympic semis -- in a nearly three-hour, thirty-six game third set, the tall Argentine came back from breaks down several times, ultimately succumbing in one of the best matches of the week. Given his tendency to exhaustion and the physical struggles he's continued to have, I wasn't expecting much out of him in the Bronze medal round. But after a tight two sets against year-end #1 Novak Djokovic, DelPo fought off all six break chances against him and clinched the most unlikely Olympic glory for himself and his South American nation. That set a fire under off the year-end #7 -- Del Potro went on to shock Roger in the Basel final and again in his last London round robin. He might be a ways from that next Grand Slam title, but by bringing his best when the pressure was on tells me it won't be long before he gets it.


Best Non-Slam Final

Some players may focus all their attention on the Majors, but there's just as much at stake during the rest of the season. And while most of the smaller-level champions will never have what it takes to survive match after match of best-of-five action, a couple big-time winners pulled off victories this year that might have really turned things around for them.

The Runner-Up

King of Clay Rafael Nadal had been going through a bit of a slump recently. He might have been ranked #2 in the world when the year started, but he'd developed a new nemesis over the last twelve months. In 2011 red hot Novak Djokovic had put together six straight wins over the Spaniard, all in finals. But none were more shocking than the two blows he dealt at the clay Masters events. To add insult to injury Nole even rebounded after a grueling win in the Australian Open semis this year to hand Rafa one more defeat to kick off 2012. But Nadal is a champion of the highest order, and when the two met on a turf that's been all Rafa since 2004, he took charge. In the Monte Carlo final the former #1 was ruthless, out-acing his rival, winning all but four of his first serves and wrapping up the match in a tidy seventy-nine minutes. Nadal got two more wins over the Djoker before ending his season early, one importantly in the Roland Garros championship, and though he didn't have time to improve on that score further, he nevertheless turned momentum back in his favor and got one hell of a monkey off his back.

The Winner

Juan Martin Del Potro similarly ended a long losing streak this year. Fresh off the boldest win of the year, he put together his third Major quarterfinal run of the year and won a title to boot in Vienna. But until he came to Basel he'd been winless against Roger Federer since 2009. He advanced to the final without too much drama, though lost a set in the middle of the week to Kevin Anderson, who actually fired off twenty aces to the Argentine's two. Fed had been tested too, dropping a tiebreak to Thomaz Bellucci in the second round, but he'd raised his game later in the week to make the final for the ninth time in his career. But DelPo wasn't intimidated by the hometown hero -- even though he was out-aced by the Swiss legend, he scored the only break conversion of the nearly three hour match. And with a dominating performance in the third-set breaker, he finally showed his 2009 performance was no joke. To end his season with four titles -- the most prolific year he's posted since 2008 -- the tall Argentine seems to be squarely back in the game and should really cause some damage in the months ahead.


Best Slam Final

Winning any title on Tour is a big feat, but let's face it -- especially when it comes down to best-of-five matches -- the Majors are what everyone is really after. And this year's winners put up quite a show from start to finish.

The Runner-Up

The U.S. Open final was one of the strangest matches of the year, rife with momentum shifts, breakthrough performances, and maybe a source of a little agita for the CBS censors. For all the unexpected drama, the come-from-behind rallies, and the eventual triumph, this year's championship was really about the redemption of Andy Murray. Long lumped in with the other Grand Slam titleists of his generation, he had one very noticeable prize missing from his trophy case. But he seemed to have found a new motivation this year in New York, where he'd been runner-up four years ago -- incidentally, the first of his four previous Major finals. He was the on-paper underdog against defending champion Novak Djokovic, but he came on court with the confidence of a veteran. Having finally broken the seal -- after nearly five hours of play -- the pressure will be on him to add to that tally. And now that he's proven he can, he'd better deliver.

The Winner

We might have known just how good this year's Grand Slam season would be when we saw went down right as the year began. Defending champion Novak Djokovic had sailed through early rounds, winning eight of his first nine sets by at least a 6-2 margin. But he hit a bit of a stumbling block against Andy Murray in the semis -- the two-time finalist took a two-set-to-one lead and pushed him for nearly five hours before finally allowing the Serb into the final. Meanwhile Rafael Nadal, again contending with injury at the start of the year, was similarly strong during the first week, but seemed to raise his game even more later in the fortnight. He survived a battle against Tomas Berdych in the quarters and was surprisingly unrelenting against Roger Federer a round later. By making his first Melbourne championship since he won in 2009, he'd set up the third straight-- and maybe most unlikely -- Major final against his new rival. And what a fight the two men put up on championship Sunday -- after nearly six hours of play, more than a handful of momentum shifts and five high-quality, high-intensity sets, Nole was eventually crowned again. The match set a slew of records itself, but maybe more importantly underscored some of the biggest talents in the sport. Rafa and Nole would play one more Slam this year before injury would put an early end to the season of half of that pair. But once their both back in top form, hopefully we can expect more fireworks from all of their future meetings. And it sure looks like there can and should be many more of them.


Doubles Team of the Year

As always, it's easy to overlook the paired players in this sport, but that doesn't mean their accomplishments are any less notable. And while the veteran team of Mike and Bob Bryan finished as the #1 couple for the seventh year in their much-decorated careers, it was some more surprising duos that earned my awards this year.

The Runner-Up

Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez only started playing together regularly this season, but boy did they capitalize on their teamwork. Together in 2012 they were able to nearly double their trophy count, winning four titles, and they made just as many more finals. But their big coup came at the end of the season when, as the sixth seeds in the ATP Tour Finals in London, they stunned the Bryan Brothers and clinched a semifinal spot with a win over Jean-Julien Rojer and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. They were on point to against Wimbledon champions Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen. When they met the recently-appointed Indian team of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the final, they outlasted the Paris and Dubai champs to capture what's easily the biggest title of their careers. The Spaniards' surprise run might have been enough for them to win this award too, had they been able to make good on their momentum during the Davis Cup finals. But if they can make a similar splash in the new year, there's no telling where they can go from here.

The Winner

Instead, half of the team that wins my award this year was instrumental in that Davis Cup tie. But Radek Stepanek had even bigger success with his new doubles partner Leander Paes in 2012. In just their second tournament, the Czech/Indian pair took out three veteran champions in Melbourne to win their first Major together -- and Stepanek's only one so far. They took two more Masters titles this season and made the final at the U.S. Open, putting them just a skoch behind the record-holding Bryans. They went a perfect 3-0 during the London round robins, but were ultimately halted in the semis by Paes's former long-time partner and countrymen. Still for two men who barely knew each other when the season started, you can't argue that they didn't pull off one of the biggest leaps within their sport.


Player of the Year

There were plenty of candidates for this award in 2012. For the first time since 2003, four different men won Grand Slam titles, and while various players seemed to dominate various parts of the season, no one had quite the run we saw last year. But while many might have made an impact, or a comeback, or a breakthrough, only a couple were truly worthy of this recognition.

The Runner-Up

Novak Djokovic, somewhat quietly, ends his second straight year as the #1 player in the world, though he does so after a much quieter 2012 season. He only won six titles this year, compared to a full ten in 2011, and only one was a Major -- he won three last year. But he did make two more Slam finals, his first at the French, and reclaim the year-end championship with a title in London. He lost just twelve matches this year, only two of them were to players outside the top ten, and he won all but one of the five five-setters he contended -- not bad for a man who just two years ago was widely criticized for his poor stamina in the long matches. He improved his stats in 2012 in almost all categories, becoming one of the most dangerous returners on Tour and serving a shocking, for him, five hundred-plus aces on the year. As he returns to the site of his first and most recent Major, he has momentum on his side and a more-than-solid game on his racquet. And at just twenty-five years of age there's no reason he won't be spending another couple years on top.

The Winner

Roger Federer may end the year a few steps behind Novak in the rankings, but that doesn't make his record-setting anything less than awe-inspiring. Coming off one of the most productive ends to 2011, the thirty-one year old won three straight titles during the spring and finally, finally, ended a two-year streak during which no Major trophies were added to his mantle. His win in Wimbledon also brought him something many didn't believe he was capable of doing again -- reclaiming the #1 ranking which he had ceded all the way back in May 2010. He may have failed to complete the Golden Slam, leaving him one achievement short of Rafael Nadal, but with six titles himself this year and another four finals, he's shown that, even at his advanced age, he has no plans to go anywhere just yet. And while he's still around, don't expect him to cede his place at the top to anyone without a fight.



Well there you have it, one very exciting year in men's tennis is wrapped up. It wasn't a success for everyone, of course, but as everyone looks ahead to the quickly-approaching 2013 season there's clearly plenty of opportunity for everyone to make a much different impression in the new year. And whether momentum stays with the sport's elite or shifts to someplace entirely unexpected we can only hope the action next season is just as good as it was in this one.

December 9, 2012

The 2012 Tennis Spin Awards: The Ladies



It's been a strange and exciting year in the WTA. As we wrap up the 2012 season, the rankings look a little different from just twelve months ago -- we have a new #1, some brand new faces in the top ten, and a couple recent mainstays missing. We saw success come from the most unlikely of places, a couple players storm back onto the scene, and sadly some leave the game entirely, either through retirement of because of some less-than-stellar on court results.

And all that action has given us a lot of fodder for this year's Tennis Spin Awards, so hold on to your hats!

Hottest NewcomerMost Improved
One to WatchBest Comeback
Least Follow-ThroughGreatest Letdown
Biggest SurpriseGutsiest Win
Best Non-Slam FinalBest Slam Final
Doubles Team of the YearPlayer of the Year


Hottest Newcomer

Last year I gave this award to American Christina McHale, thanks to her jump from #115 to #42 in the world. She didn't fail to follow through, either -- though illness kept her quiet in the back half of 2012, she did rise to a high of #24 in August on the heels of wins over Petra Kvitova in Indian Wells and Caroline Wozniacki in Eastbourne. So hopefully this year's newcomer -- and there were several to choose from -- will live up to the legacy McHale has set.

The Nominees

The Netherlands' Kiki Bertens began her year with a couple of ITF titles, but made her first dent on Tour in April when, as a qualifier, she worked her way to the Fes title with wins over two seeded players. She played her first Major main draw in Paris, and got her first win a month later by upsetting Lucie Safarova at Wimbledon. She made the second round in New York, too, defeating McHale, and scored an upset of Nadia Petrova in Montreal. She ends the year at #63 in the world, a shade off her career high ranking, but still a full hundred-plus spots higher than where she started it. If she follows through, I wouldn't be surprised to see her rise farther in the new year.

Heather Watson didn't make as big a jump, but the young Brit also laid claim to her first Tour title this year when she took the title in Osaka. She didn't have to face the most formidable opponents at that event, but with wins over Sloane Stephens in Stanford, Lucie Safarova in Miami and struggling Sabine Lisicki in Tokyo, she certainly has proven she can hit with the big girls. She ends the year just inside the top fifty, her highest career ranking, but seems to be in a place to climb higher in the months that come.

Compatriot Laura Robson may not have won a title in 2012, but she pulled off some of the most high-profile wins on the season. She started out a little slow, didn't win a Tour-level match until June in Birmingham, but once she lit the fuse it refused to go out. She took out two seeds to make the Palermo semis and paired with Andy Murray to win Olympic Silver. But her biggest successes came the next month -- the eighteen year old was responsible for ending Kim Clijsters' singles career in New York and proved she was no one-trick pony by beating red-hot Na Li a round later. She made her way to the Guangzhou final, too, helping her rise to #53 in the world, but if she kicks off 2013 the same way she ended 2012, she's probably got further to go.

The Winner

This might be a slightly controversial call, partly because twenty-two year old Urszula Radwanska has been a pro since 2005, and so maybe isn't a newcomer, and partly because she hasn't grabbed quite as many headlines as her British contemporaries, and so maybe isn't the "hottest". But while her sister finally made it clear why she belonged in the sport's elite, the younger URad very quietly snuck her way into Slam-seeding territory. Urszula had a couple notable wins this year -- she beat Francesca Schiavone in Moscow and Ana Ivanovic in Tokyo -- made the final in 's-Hertogenbosch and, maybe most interestingly, notched the only break of Serena Williams' serve at the Olympics. She hasn't won a title yet, but she's shown she's not living in her sister's shadow and I don't think it will be long before she gets that crown.


Most Improved

While all these ladies really burst on the scene this year, a couple veterans used the season to really make a mark on Tour. Whether they won their first title, rose up the rankings, or established themselves as a part of the elite, each had their biggest successes to date in 2012. And hopefully, like Roberta Vinci who took the award last year, they'll only use this as a jumping board for more wins in the future.

The Nominees

Agnieszka Radwanska has been a staple in the top ten for years, so it would be hard for her to make a big jump in the standings. Still with three titles early in the season, a huge performance in the Wimbledon final, and a run to the year-end semis, she ends the year at #4 in the world, even getting within one title of taking over #1. She may still struggle against the power players -- Victoria Azarenka was the only woman she lost to in the first four months of the year, and Serena Williams made up for a close one at the All England Club with a total domination in Istanbul -- but she does have eight wins over top ten players this year. And as long as she stays healthy she might still get another chance to bring home the big titles.

Angelique Kerber ascendance actually started about eighteen months ago -- but after surprising everyone and making the semis at last year's U.S. Open as a qualifier, she really found her game in 2012. She beat Marion Bartoli and Maria Sharapova to take the title in Paris, and stunned hometown hero Caroline Wozniacki to get the Copenhagen crown. She was winless in three round robin matches at her debut year-end championships, but nevertheless made some real headway at the Slams, even handing Serena Williams her only defeat since the French Open. She ends the year #5 in the world -- impressive considering the German was in triple digits back in August 2011. As long as she can improve her consistency, Kerber looks well on her way to stay in the big leagues.

Sara Errani very easily could have become a one-hit wonder this year. She's one of those veteran also-rans, who'd been hanging around just in the top fifty for years -- she'd finished each of the last four seasons ranked in the forties -- and was never really able to take her game into the elite. But something changed in 2012 -- she crushed her way to the quarterfinals in Australia, surpassing her previous best efforts at seventeen Slams by two rounds. Then she practically swept the clay court season, taking titles in Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest before stunning the world at Roland Garros. The twenty-first seed in Paris, she took out 2008 champ Ana Ivanovic, breakout star Angelique Kerber and defending U.S. Open winner Sam Stosur to reach her first Major final. She was decimated in the championship match and might have slithered off into the sunset, but she went on to pick up another trophy in Palermo and prove she could also hit off clay with a semi showing in New York. Now solidly in the top ten, she even was a stone's throw from making it past the round robins in her premier year-end event. Her surprise rise into the elite may have been a long-time coming, but it was more unexpected, and by keeping it up through every part of the season, she might have shown she's got even further left to go.

All these ladies may have made their first big strides into the sport's top levels, grabbing headlines throughout the season, but there were some others who also made some big jumps while flying way more under the radar. Kirsten Flipkens has been on Tour for almost a decade but spent most of that time out of the top hundred. Still, with her more famous compatriots now out of the game entirely, she was quick to take the reins. She beat Roberta Vinci and Sam Stosur to make the semis in 's-Hertogenbosch and stunned three seeds in Quebec City to capture her first career title. She finishes the year at her highest-ever ranking, just outside the top fifty, and with additional wins over Sabine Lisicki, Dominika Cibulkova and Ana Ivanovic, it sure seems like she has some more to show us in the new year.

The Winner

Su-Wei Hsieh was just as off the grid when the 2012 season started, but she set off to change that right at the start. Pro since 2001 she had finished only one year in the last eleven in triple digits, but had made quite a dent on the ITF Tour, bringing home twenty-three titles in the junior league. But the qualifier made the semis in Pattaya City just a week before finally capturing that maiden crown in Kuala Lumpur and, despite a middling middle part of the season, ended the fall with another in Guangzhou. The two International crowns were enough to extend her season, and she took a trip to the Tournament of Champions in Sofia, the only participant there with more than one title on the year. Now ranked #25 in the world, she's easily the most successful player to come out of Chinese Taipei, and while she may not be a household name quite yet, she just might be heading there soon.


One to Watch

It wasn't all about the on-paper improvements in 2012 -- not everybody made huge jumps up the rankings, captured that maiden trophy, or even were able to end a long title-less run. Some players made some big strides in their game without earning any real acknowledgement of their accomplishments. But very quietly these ladies put up some of the biggest fights on court this year, caused some of the most surprising upsets, and clinched some huge wins -- and the winner did her best to remind us that she has no intention of sneaking away. So here's to the women who established a platform that could make themselves huge forces in the new season.

The Nominees

Sofia Arvidsson is another one of those veterans who've picked up a big win or two over the years, but never really made a dent in the big leagues. But in 2012 she returned to Memphis where she won her first and only title six years before and came away a winner again. It wasn't the most impressive feat of her year, though -- no one in the top fifty was in her path -- but come fall she was able to turn on another gear. She beat Lucie Safarova in Linz, Maria Kirilenko and Marion Bartoli -- definitively so -- in Moscow. She earned a alternate slot to the Tournament of Champions, and though she only got half a match in during round robins, really ended the year with some of her best stuff. If she can pull that momentum into 2013, she might be able to make another run to get back into the sport's elite.

I've had my eye on Ekaterina Makarova for a few years now. Two years back she beat -- wait for it -- Flavia Pennetta, Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sam Stosur, and Victoria Azareanka as a qualifier to take the Eastbourne title. A year later she made the fourth round at both the Australian and French Opens and reached a then-high ranking just in the top thirty. But she failed to get any real traction in the months that followed and ended 2011 with four wins in her last thirteen tournaments. She began this season ranked #54 in the world and had to qualify for Sydney, but when she hit the hard courts in Melbourne she really took off. After beating red-hot Kaia Kanepi and struggling Vera Zvonareva, the tiny Russian stunned heavy favorite Serena Williams to make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. She scored a couple more upsets throughout the year, and while none can quite compare to that particular victory, she was able to end the season just in the top twenty. Having established herself a more consistent force in 2012, she might just be primed for a breakthrough in the new year.

Lucie Safarova's year was a little more up and down. She won just three matches at Majors in 2012 and lost in eleven first rounds in total. On the other hand, she did beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki in Doha, Vera Zvonareva on her way to the Charleston final, and shocked Sam Stosur in Montreal. She was also the most unlikely of heroes in all of the Czech Republic's Fed Cup matches -- when the championship tie came down to her final rubber, she raised her level of play against former world #1 Jelena Jankovic, a woman she'd only beaten once in their previous six meetings, and secured a second straight trophy for her compatriots. Somehow, quietly, she rose to a career-high ranking to end the year, and though she may not have put up any big numbers on the year, she seems to have set herself up to make some big strides when she gets back on the courts.

Also sneaking up the rankings this year was top-thirty staple Maria Kirilenko. The pretty Russian has finished all but one of the last seven years among those elite, but strangely hasn't won a singles title since 2008. Still, this year she came pretty darn close -- she worked her way to the final in Pattaya City, even taking a set off Daniela Hantuchova in the championship match. But her success wasn't just at the smaller tournaments -- she took Maria Sharapova to three sets in the Indian Wells, made Aggie Radwanska fight in the Wimbledon quarters, and came within spitting distance of an Olympic medal -- she did eventually win Bronze in doubles. Now a shade of her #12 ranking, she enters 2013 knowing she can hit with the big girls and may finally be ready to get the payoff she's been waiting so long for.

The Winner

Andrea Petkovic, sadly, wasn't able to put up many numbers at all this year. One of the nominees for most improved player last year, the fun-loving and well-liked German was sidelined most of this season with various injuries. She notched a couple wins in January before a lower back injury took her out of the game until April, then an ankle problem forced her to miss the summer stretch. It took a while for her to get her groove back once she returned in August -- she won just two matches from New Haven to Linz -- but things improved at the tail end of the year. Having seen her ranking tank from #9 last October to nearly #200 twelve months later, she made good on a wildcard in Luxembourg, beating Jelena Jankovic to make the semis and even beat top seed Nina Bratchikova to reach the final four in Pune. Still ranked deep in triple digits, she at last seems to remember what it takes to win, and if she stays healthy in the new year, I'd expect her to make a big push back into the top tier pretty quickly.


Best Comeback

While a bunch of players seemed to come out of nowhere this year, there were plenty who seemed to rise from the ashes. Out of the picture for months and years for various reasons, these women stormed back onto the courts in 2012, causing (technical) upsets, jumping up the rankings and reminding us all they're not going anywhere.

The Nominees

Aleksandra Wozniak had been one of those players who hung out in the middle tiers of the sport for years. Her only title came four years ago, but it was a big one -- Stanford! -- and in the year that followed she notched wins over the likes of Nadia Petrova, Marion Bartoli, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Sam Stosur. But a wrist injury in 2010 severely hampered her season last year, and she dropped well into the triple digits. The young Canadian played a lot of qualifying rounds early in the year and won an ITF title in the spring, but really upped her game once she was squarely back on Tour. She very nearly beat Venus Williams in Miami, ousted Christina McHale in Charleston and took out three higher-ranked players to make the quarters in Montreal. She ends the year at #43, still more than double her all-time high ranking, and did miss the last few months with another injury, but if she can recoup in the off-season we might just see her make another comeback in 2013.

Venus Williams pulled off what seems to be her fiftieth career comeback in 2012, and at thirty-two years old did her part to prove that age is really no object in this sport. The five-time Wimbledon champion had announced late last year her battle with Sjogren's Syndrome and took a leave of absence after the U.S. Open. She came back in Miami unseeded and ranked in the triple digits, but survived three straight three-setters to make the quarterfinals, notching wins over then-#3 Petra Kvitova and former #1 Ana Ivanovic. She put up some strong results later in the season too, beating clay-court specialist Sam Stosur in Rome and making the semis in Cincinnati. Her coup came at the end of the season, however, when she dropped just one set in Luxembourg, capturing her first title in over two years. As the clear elder-stateswoman of the sport, there's no telling how much longer we'll have her around, so the fact that she's still got the drive to fight her way back to #24 in the world speaks volumes for her character.

The Winner

But perhaps the greatest comeback came from a woman you might never have noticed was around in the first place. Yaroslava Shvedova had previously peaked just outside the top thirty two years ago, buoyed by a quarterfinal run at the 2010 French Open. She also made quite a name for herself on the doubles circuit, winning both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open that year. She struggled with knee problems in 2011 though, and with just four singles wins in the first seven months of the year, saw her ranking fall out of the top two hundred. But she clearly turned the tables in 2012 -- after some qualifying losses, she eventually put together a couple ITF title runs and started causing stress to the sport's elite. She beat defending French Open champ Na Li in the Roland Garros third round, dealt soaring Sara Errani a Golden Set at Wimbledon, and even took a set of Serena Williams at the All England Club. With some big and unexpected wins against the very best the sport has to offer -- just when we'd come to expect so little from her -- Shvedova's put herself in just the right place to really strike next year.


Least Follow-Through

For all that was good in the world of tennis this year, there was inevitably some bad. Some players who started off the season with a bang fell off the radar by fall, and a couple were such non-entities you might easily have missed them if you blinked.

The Runner-Up

Tamira Paszek was one of those Juniors players that made everyone stand up and take notice. A contemporary of Caroline Wozniacki some six or seven years ago, she was the Girls' champion at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and picked up her first ITF title in 2005. In 2007, her first full year on the big girls' Tour, she made the fourth round in both the back-half Slams. She went radio silent for a few years after that, but managed to make the quarters at the All England Club in 2011 before going back into hibernation. Things had seemed to turn the corner in 2012, though -- after going 2-13 to start the year, she beat five higher-ranked players in a row to take the Eastbourne title and followed up with a first round come-from-behind victory against Wozniacki at Wimbledon. She rode that success to another quarterfinal and even made a nice run in Montreal a month later. But she's gone 4-8 since then, beating no player ranked in the top forty. CLearly the girl knows how to play, but if she's only going to score wins during the shortest part of the season it might not bode well for her overall prospects.

The Winner

Mona Barthel's success came a little earlier in the year and from an even less expected place. The twenty-two year old German was entirely off the radar when she came to Hobart, battled through three qualifying rounds, and then defeated four top-thirty five players in a row to win her first Tour title. She made the third round in Melbourne and the quarters in Paris, nearly handed world #1 Victoria Azarenka her first loss of the year in Indian Wells and even put up some one-sided wins in Miami. But her strong results were few and far between in the latter part of 2012. She lost six straight matches from May through July and her only significant win the rest of the year came over injury-plagued Daniela Hantuchova in New Haven -- she pulled out of the event right after that match. She's been able to hold onto a top-forty ranking to finish off the year, but if she doesn't deliver quickly in 2013, it could be a sharp fall back down the ladder.


Greatest Letdown

While each of these ladies seemed to lose the momentum they'd gained at various parts of the year, a few others wholly seemed to dissolve in 2012. Having made huge strides throughout their careers, they'd given us such high hopes, but for a variety of reasons -- not always their fault -- they failed to deliver in 2012.

The Nominees

It may not be fair to stick Vera Zvonareva in this category, since the one-time world #2 missed all post-Olympic events due to illness, but given the epic meltdowns she's had in the past, it's easy to be disappointed. Of course Bepa's been around for years and has some huge titles under her belt. But people really started to take notice of her two years ago, when she rocked her way to the Wimbledon final with upsets of Yanina Wickmayer, Jelena Jankovic, and -- most shockingly -- Kim Clijsters. She was clearly heartbroken by her performance in the championship match, but seemed to have regrouped when she made another run to the final in New York. She remained Major-less, though, and dropped a few ranking points over the next twelve months when she was unable to defend too many of those points. I was hoping for a resurgence in 2012, and a run to the doubles title in Australia seemed to bode well for her -- but a slew of injuries kept her from doing too much damage on Tour, and after her season was cut short, she saw her ranking drop to nearly triple digits. And given her history of volatile reactions to previous setbacks, I'm not sure what her chances of recovery from this one are.

Admittedly Caroline Wozniacki kept herself from becoming the clear winner in this category with her performance over the last three months. Having started the year at #1 in the world, she continued to satisfy her detractors by not living up to her seeding at the biggest events, against the best opponents. She lost in the quarters of the Australian Open to Kim Clijsters and in the third round of Paris to Kaia Kanepi. She had moments of brilliance, though, out-playing Serena Williams every step of the way in the Miami quarters, but also fell in five first rounds, including the last to Slams of the year. Through the U.S. Open last year she had won six titles -- in the same period of 2012, she'd won zero. By the time she took to the courts in Seoul, she'd dropped out of the top ten for the first time in three and a half years. With such middling results all season, it seemed the Dane had proven everyone right -- she couldn't perform when the pressure was on. Lucky for her, though, she got things back on tract in September. She took the title in Korea and picked up another in Moscow for good measure, pulling off a stunning defeat of Sam Stosur in the final. She came in second at the Tournament of Champions, but did manage to climb back to #10. If she keeps up the momentum, hopefully she'll get her name in a totally different category next year.

The Winner

Momentum doesn't necessarily last, though, and that was abundantly clear in Sabine Lisicki's case. Last year's winner for Comeback of the Year took a severe turn for the worse in 2011. The injuries that had largely taken her out of the game in 2010, just after she was putting the pieces together to become one of the greats in this sport, came back with a vengeance this season. It wasn't all bad, of course -- she made the fourth round in Melbourne, got revenge over Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon quarters, and climbed to #12 in the rankings -- but with just one win in six events after the grass court season ended, she took a bit of a tumble in the back half of the year. Her results may have been hampered by health issues, but after the surge we saw from Lisicki in 2012, it's more than a little disappointing to know her body may not hold up long enough to show us how much she can really do.


Biggest Surprise

There were upsets all year, of course, breakthroughs and flame-outs. But some of the biggest surprises in 2012 came from players we'd either written off or never considered threats.

The Runner-Up

Nadia Petrova has been at or near the top of the sport for the better part of a decade and finished the last nine years in the top thirty. She peaked at #3 in the world a little over six years ago after making at least the quarterfinals of four straight Grand Slams. But she can also be pretty darn volatile -- she lost twice this year to sub-hundred Italian Camila Giorgi, beat Sam Stosur in Indian Wells then immediately lost to Maria Kirilenko, beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Charleston and lost the next round to Polona Hercog. She put up a fight against Serena Williams in Rome, but lost a week later in straight sets to Tsvetana Pironkova in Brussels. But just when we'd begun to write her off as a flake, she really upped her game -- she had won a title in 's-Hertogenbosch just before Wimbledon, but faced a much tougher field when she took the court in Tokyo -- just barely seeded she took out three top-ten players for the title. True to form she lost her next two matches after that, but went on to first win the year-end championship in doubles and regroup quickly enough to storm through the draw in Sofia. Petrova finishes the season with her highest year-end ranking since 2008, but more importantly showed she might bring a little more to the table than we thought she could. And if the thirty year old keeps up her game, she could easily continue to surprise us next season.

The Winner

Some of the most interesting wins this year though came, not from just one player, but from a group that fit an often ignored category. Many women who usually see their greatest successes on the doubles court really broke out this year when out on their own. Of course the year-end doubles champions have each made strides on the singles circuit for ages, and the most successful team in 2012 were also breakthrough acts themselves. But it didn't stop there -- long-time doubles champ Elena Vesnina pulled off three straight-set upsets in a row to make the Budapest final, but couldn't quite clinch a win. A few weeks later Lucie Hradecka, twice a Slam finalist this year, served her way to the semis in Madrid as a qualifier, beating Petra Kvitova and Sam Stosur in the process. Her partner Andrea Hlavackova even broke into double digit rankings on her own -- after upsetting Klara Zakopalova in her U.S. Open first round, she took out Maria Kirilenko in the third, battling injury and exhaustion to do so. She's dropped a few spots down the rankings since then, but with solid records on the singles court this year she and her contemporaries proved they're no one trick ponies.


Gutsiest Win

Tennis is one of those special sports in which a player's true mettle is tested. On the court wholly by yourself, without teammates or coaches, battling the elements and the fans along with your opponents, it often takes more than just talent to pull off a win. And this year that extra juice came from some surprising places.

The Runner-Up

Virginie Razzano has been around the Tour for well over a decade and has had modest success over the years, but injury and illness pushed her out of the top hundred in 2010, finishing the year at her lowest ranking since the turn of the century. She was dealt an even bigger blow the following spring, when her coach and fiancé passed away just days before the start of her hometown Slam. The Frenchwoman played Roland Garros without much luck and came to Paris this year with just two main draw wins on her record for the season. Ranked #111 at the time, her odds against Serena Williams -- riding a seventeen match, two-title win streak at the time -- in her French Open opener were dismal at best. But Razzano found a way to steel up her nerves -- down a set and 1-5 in the second, she somehow rallied to force a third. She took a stunning five-game lead in the decider too, and though she hiccuped a bit trying to close it out, the veteran wildcard ultimately held on for the unbelievable win, handing the great Serena her earliest ever exit at a Slam. Razzano's grit didn't hold out too much longer, though -- she lost in the next round to Arantxa Rus and only won two more Tour-level matches the rest of the year. But this win, her first in Paris since 2009, may have meant more than any other in her long career.

The Winner

There's not much that can beat Razzano's toughness in that match, but Alisa Kleybanova's return to the court in 2012 might just do it. The young Russian cracked the top twenty early last year after winning a pair of titles the previous season and making the quarters in Dubai. But then she shocked the world when, on her twenty-second birthday, she revealed she was suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma and took a leave from the sport. She made a stunning return this past March, facing off against Johanna Larsson in Miami. It took three sets and a couple hours, but the Sony Ericsson wildcard notched a win that meant so much more than its simple scoreline. She, too, lost a round later to Maria Kirilenko and didn't play again the rest of the season, but storming back after nearly a year of treatment for a serious disease shows a type of courage above and beyond what we've come to expect on the court.


Best Non-Slam Final

Individual matches are one thing, but to string a couple together, day after day, and to walk away with a title is quite another. A couple ladies got the honor of claiming their first Tour trophies this year -- for some it may be the only one they ever get, for others it'll be the kick-off for what will surely be many more to come. Not everyone title set a milestone this year, though, but that doesn't mean one was any less important than another -- and some wins came in such strong style that they deserve special recognition.

The Runner-Up

The Citi Open in Washington, didn't attract the biggest names this year -- with most of the sport's elite distracted by the London Olympics, no one in the top twenty-five made it to the mid-Atlantic. That's not to say there was no talent in the field -- several rising American stars and a couple newcomers took the opportunity to get in a few match wins that week. Ultimately top-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, once a stone's throw from the top ten, made good on her position and reached her first final in over a year, albeit after a long fight with Vania King in the semis. In the other half of the draw, little-known Magdalena Rybarikova, winner of a couple small titles here and there, took out the next two seeds and made the championship match without dropping a set. The teeny Slovak had only won five Tour-level matches all year before D.C., but when you'd never have guessed that to see her play in that final. She smacked stunning returns, hit every line and dismantled the heavy favorite in their hot night match. And with her third career trophy, gave us a glimpse of what she can do -- now she'll just have to keep it up from one event to the next.

The Winner

The year started off with some fireworks too as the players tried to get in their opening salvos before the Australian Open. This field was stacked with half of the eight seeds having at least one Grand Slam crown to their name and all of them ranked in the top twenty. There were some casualties, though, with retirements from both Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams helping Daniela Hantuchova through to the finals, but the bottom half of this draw showed nothing but top-notch ball. Kaia Kanepi's biggest challenge came surprisingly in her first round against qualifier Alexandra Panova, but she one-sidedly defeated three top players in a row after that, handing a bagel to Pavlyuchenkova a round later and dropping just three games to Francesca Schiavone in the semis. Her similarly dominant victory over Hantuchova in the final put her on a path towards the top tiers of the sport -- she won another title in Estoril and climbed to #15 in the world back in August -- but unfortunately all sorts of injuries disrupted her play throughout the year. If she gets healthy and plays like she did to start the year, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see her make another play for the top ten.


Best Slam Final

But while every tournament win is important, let's face it -- what everyone is really going after is a Grand Slam title. And this year was full of championships so exciting you can't help but feel good about the future of women's tennis.

The Runner-Up

This year's U.S. Open was full of surprises, breakthroughs and goodbyes, but ultimately the two most successful players of the year made it to the final and, boy, did they put up a show. Serena Williams had won this title three times before, and had brought some big-time to Center Court over the years. Meanwhile Victoria Azarenka, the first new #1 to have captured a Major title in almost four years, was looking to back up that trophy in Melbourne and seal in her banner year. The two battled for more than two hours, the lead shifting back and forth and the outcome in question throughout. Though experience finally won out, handing Serena her fourth trophy in the Big Apple, the fact that we saw these ladies go at it so well for so long bodes well for the next generation.

The Winner

Serena was the winner in my pick for the best Major final of the year too, but her road to get there was not nearly as easy as we might have expected. Four times a winner at the All England Club before this year, she was the huge favorite despite her relatively mediocre sixth seed. Aggie Radwanska, on the other hand, may have been at a career-high ranking, but the then-#3 had never made it out of a quarterfinal at a Slam. This fortnight, though, she'd raised her game and managed to pull off some top-rate wins to make the final. She very easily could have buckled like those before her, and after dropping a 1-6 first set, it looked as if she would do just that. But the young Pole rebounded in a way her predecessors could not -- after trading breaks in the second, she was ultimately, unexpectedly able to force a decider. Of course, her surge only lasted so long, but watching even the most reserved players bringing their power game, could be a sign of a great, intellectual development in the sport.


Doubles Team of the Year

It's easy to be swept up by all the action on the singles circuit, but this year brought us some impressive action in doubles as well. With veteran teams taking a bit of a backseat in 2012, new blood took the opportunity to rise up and captured some of the biggest titles of the year.

The Runner-Up

Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka had their coming out party in 2011, but really turned up their game this season. After winning Roland Garros in 2011, the Czechs combined for four doubles titles this year and made the final at five other events -- two Grand Slams, the Olympics and the year-end championships among them. With big serves and slick movements they notched wins over some of the biggest stars in the sport and finished the year ranked #3 and #4 respectively in the discipline. They're not showing any signs of slowdown either -- they didn't need to play the final rubber during the Fed Cup championship, but the momentum driving their country's spirits should stay with them in the new season. And with some of the most infectiously happy reactions on Tour, I can't wait to see their next win.

The Winner

But while the Czechs parlayed their success into glory for their homeland, a pair of Italians broke through from seemingly out of nowhere to end the year at #1. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci had more than their fair share of success on their own this year, but the two best friends really thrived when they came together. They were seeded eleventh in Australia and made their way to the final and, after sweeping the clay court season, combined for a title at Roland Garros -- not insignificantly after Sara had also made the singles final. They exited "early" at Wimbledon -- in the quarters to the Czech powerhouses -- but rebounded to claim the crown in New York, just two days after Errani had been decimated in the singles semis. In total, the dancing duo won eight trophies and played in two more finals this year -- all while rising to their highest singles rankings. If they continue to play this well together, I expect they'll be adding to those totals by the boatload.


Player of the Year

All of these ladies put up some big results in 2012, but at the end of the day the WTA was dominated by just a handful of players this season. And a couple ladies in particular showed themselves to be the true forces in tennis -- putting together amazing win streaks, setting all kinds of records and proving they're never going to give up fighting. Some players rise to the top and flitter out, but something tells me these two are going to be fighting it out for some more time to come.

The Runner-Up

Victoria Azarenka had a coming out party in 2012. After years of thriving on Tour, she had yet to make a breakthrough at a Slam -- she had been handed some tough draws in the past, meeting Serena Williams in the third round at last year's U.S. Open and suffering heat exhaustion at a couple Majors before that. But she started this year with a bang, winning in Sydney and handing out four bagel sets on her way to the title in Melbourne. In total, she won twenty-six straight games to kick off the season, took the #1 ranking, captured six titles, brought home Olympic Bronze, and earned a record $7.9 million in prize money during the year. She notched wins over every top-ten player she faced this year except one -- so it shouldn't be a surprise who just narrowly beat her out for the last award of year.

The Winner

She may not have ended 2012 at the top of the rankings, but it's hard to argue anyone had more success this season than Serena Williams. After some strange results early in the season, she ultimately hit her stride. She brought a seventeen-match win streak into the French Open, and despite an even more shocking loss there, regrouped to put together a second half record of 31-1 which included two Major titles and Olympic Gold. Now back at #3 in the world, she looks healthy, motivated and focused on the sport in a way we haven't seen in a while, and when she's in this kind of state we know she's practically unstoppable. Still, with a couple of next-generation stars starting to give Serena a run for the money, winning might not come as easily for her in the future -- but as long as she's around to force others to play their best, it sure looks like there's a lot of good tennis left to be had.




Well there you have it, the best and worst of women's tennis in 2012. It might not all have been pretty, but it sure got pretty darn exciting this season. Hopefully those who succeeded will keep momentum on their side and those that stumbled a bit will regain their footing. But whatever happens next year, if the action comes even close to this, we'll be in for even more fun.

Check back soon for the men's Tennis Spin Awards -- if you thought the ladies made it exciting in 2012, you ain't seen nothing yet.