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April 28, 2015

Back from the Brink

Okay, I realize I'm late in posting again, but that shouldn't suggest that the results from this weekend are any less important than others. And for the couple winners who'd seemed to have been long missing from the podiums, in fact, their performances may herald something even more notable.

The favorites seemed totally in charge during the early rounds in Bucharest, with only one seed falling before the quarterfinals. But things got pretty interesting pretty quickly after that -- three-time champion Gilles Simon was stunned by a surging Daniel Gimeno Traver, while big-serving Ivo Karlovic was taken out by young Jiri Vesely in the semis. And red-hot Gael Monfils, fresh off a huge win over Roger Federer in Monte Carlo, fell in a squeaker that same round to veteran Guillermo Garcia Lopez. The thirty-one year old Spaniard, who's scored wins over the likes of Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka in the past, had fallen a bit off his game the past few years, only ending a four-year trophy-less streak last April in Casablanca. But even with a trophy this year in Zagreb he was flying well under the radar in Romania, and against Vesely in the final he was pushed to the limit. The pair went two very long sets, each going to a long tiebreak, before the elder Garcia-Lopez was able to finish off the match. It was only his fifth career title, but coming so late in his career, it might just suggest there are a few more to come.

Angelique Kerber hadn't fallen quite so far down the rankings, but the two-time Major semifinalist seemed to have a few cobwebs on her at the start of the year -- with four first round losses in the first three months of the year, she'd dropped well out of the top ten by the start of the month. She's turned it around since then, though, picking up a title in Charleston and drubbing former world #13 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during the Fed Cup semis. This past week in Stuttgart -- where favorites like Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic, and Aga Radwanska all lost early -- the still unseeded German started off with an impressive win over top seeded Maria Sharapova and followed up with another upset of eighth-ranked Ekaterina Makarova. In the final against U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki she started off a little slow, dropping the first set, but rebounded quickly to force a decider and closing out her third top-ten win of the week. It was Kerber's second title of the year, but arguably the most significant of her career. And with a win streak now eleven matches long, you have to think she's making a pretty good case for herself to be a real force at the year's next Major.

This weekend's champions may have been clawing their way back into the spotlight for some time, but their titles on Sunday may have finally cemented their returns. And as the clay court season really gets into full swing over the next couple weeks, there may never have been a better time for them to make such strong statements.

April 23, 2015

Stumbling Blocks

Okay, first of all, everyone calm down.

This isn't the first time Rafael Nadal has lost on clay.

Just last year, in fact, he lost in the quarterfinals in Barcelona and Monte Carlo and even ceded the top spot in Rome back to Novak Djokovic. He still did just fine though, picking up a Masters crown in Madrid and, of course, that historic ninth trophy at Roland Garros.

Still, you have to admit something feels a little different this time around.

The former world #1 has had a tough time coming back from his most recent injury -- he failed to defend titles in Doha and Rio. He's only picked up one title this year, and didn't have to beat a top-fifty player to do it.

And earlier today he suffered his second straight loss to an also-struggling Fabio Fognini -- the Italian, off his best game at #30 in the world, took out the second seed in Barcelona in straight sets, needing less than an hour to notch the upset and handing the clay court king his earliest loss on the surface in nearly three years.


Fognini is now only the second player on Tour to beat Rafa more than once on dirt in the same season. One guess as to who the other man is?

Sure, Novak Djokovic has gotten the better of Nadal a couple times now, most recently taking him out in the Monte Carlo semis. He's even had chances at the French Open, the one place where Rafa's remained relatively unbeatable. But this seems like the biggest opportunity he's had to unseat the legend in Paris. And with just a few weeks left before the next Grand Slam, he might just be chomping at the bit.

Still, Nadal always has a way of surprising us -- especially this time of year -- and if he's able to learn something from these early losses, he might just be able to regroup in time.

But one things for sure -- the race for the title in Roland Garros this year might just be the tightest we've seen in over a decade.

April 20, 2015

Around the World

The ladies of the WTA were in action, literally, all across the globe this weekend -- with Fed Cup semis and World Group rounds taking place from Montreal to Sochi, Italy to Japan, and a full tournament going down in Bogota, there were few parts of the world who didn't get in on the game. And things got interesting all over the place.

In the higher stakes Fed Cup action -- where teams were playing for a spot in November's final -- the Czechs were aiming for their fourth run to the championship in five years, and they were quick to prove their worth. Underappreciated Lucie Safarova, got her team off to a strong lead, beating France's Caroline Garcia in three sets, and stalwart Petra Kvitova, playing her first matches since February, gave them some breathing room with a win over always tricky Kristina Mladenovic. She followed up with another defeat of Garcia, giving the Czechs an insurmountable lead and securing their place as a real force in the women's game.

Things did not go so smoothly in Russia, though -- playing against a tough German team, the four-time champions got off to a quick start with both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova giving the home team an early edge. But Miami semifinalist Andrea Petkovic and a resurgent Angelique Kerber subbed in on Sunday to even the score and make the doubles rubber that much more important. But the Russians got momentum back on their side when it counted -- Pavs teamed up with defending U.S. Open doubles champ Elena Vesnina for a straight set win, sending their team back to the final. It'll be a rematch of the 2011 championship, and a chance for Russia to grab their first Fed Cup since 2008. And something tells me the way these two teams are playing, it's going to be a fight to the finish.

There was plenty of action in the consolation rounds this weekend, too, and a couple results that may surprise you. Italy, looking to get back into World Group action after losing to France in February, took on a tough U.S. team led, of course, by Serena Williams who hasn't lost a Tour-level match all year. Camila Giorgi put up a fight in the first set against the world #1 but ultimately fell short in the second. But Sara Errani, struggling a bit in recent months and back out of the top ten in her singles ranking, surprisingly trounced Lauren Davis, who was coming off a big win over Eugenie Bouchard a few weeks ago. The Italian even looked good against Serena in her reverse singles match, taking her first set off the multiple-Major champion since 2009. While the American did manage the win, Flavia Pennetta came out for the fourth rubber and leveled the score with an easy win over Christina McHale. She then paired with Errani in doubles, dropping just three games to Serena and Alison Riske, doling out Williams' first ever loss of any kind in Fed Cup. It's tough to tell whether that or the return to the top tier is more meaningful.

Things went down to the wire in Poland, too, but the big surprise there was not necessarily the result, but who was on court. Martina Hingis -- now both the youngest and oldest player to represent Switzerland -- took to the singles circuit for the first time since 2007 -- and though she lost both ties she played, one somewhat unexpectedly to Aga Radwanska, the other in a tight match against her sister Urszula, she may have given us a glimpse into what more we can expect from her this year. But the Hall of Famer was far from the only bright spot in this tie -- a surging Timea Bacsinszky rounded out the Swiss squad, beating both Radwanska sisters and scoring her third top-ten win of the year. She then teamed up with little-known Viktorija Golubic in doubles to close out the win, putting the Swiss back in World Group play for the first time since 2004.

And as exciting as the Fed Cup ties were this weekend, there was actual hardware being awarded in Colombia, and the ladies there really gave us something to talk about. Top seed Elina Svitolina looked on point in early goings, but ended up losing in straight sets in the semis, while Monica Puig, one of the standout youngsters from the 2014 season, fell a round earlier in the quarters. Both their vanquishers, though, made it all the way to Sunday's final -- now-world #56 Yaroslava Shvedova, reaching her first singles final since 2007 and triple-digit ranked Teliana Pereira, playing just her second WTA-level main draw of the year. But the Brazilian wasn't daunted by the task at hand -- having already defeated one-time French Open champ Francesca Schiavone in her opener, she went on to defeat Svitolina and then took out Shvedova, never dropping a set all week. The win, a milestone for the twenty-six year old workhorse, got her back into the top hundred, pushing her to a career high #81 in the world. It's still a long way off from the sport's elite, but might just serve notice to all those who face her this clay court season.

April 16, 2015

A Few Tense Moments

This was not shaping up to be a good day for the favorites on Court Central in Monte Carlo.

With many of the top seeds getting their first taste of this season's clay court action, it's understandable that a few faltered a bit at the outset. And with some of the early action today, fans may have wondered if there was a bit of a curse on the Masters' main stage.

It started with defending champion Stan Wawrinka's third round match. The seventh seed has lost a little of the momentum he'd gained last year -- despite picking up titles in Chennai and Rotterdam, he's also notched losses to world #59 Sergiy Stakhovsky and triple-digit ranked Robin Haase this season. This week he opened with a solid win over clay specialist Juan Monaco, but had a tougher time today against also-struggling Grigor Dimitrov -- the big-hitter hasn't won more than one match at any event since the Australian Open. But the Bulgarian was back on his game today -- in less than an hour, he kept Wawrinka under fifty percent on serve, saved all six break points he faced and allowed his opponent just three games. It was the Swiss's earliest exit in Monte Carlo since 2010, but it was far from the biggest upset of the day.

That came shortly after when second seed Roger Federer took the court against recent nemesis Gael Monfils. The Frenchman, who came oh-so-close to beating the legend last year in New York, regrouped for an important win in the Davis Cup final, but has been mostly silent this year. He made a loud statement on Thursday, though -- taking advantage of a spate of errors from the four-time finalist, Monfils got the early lead in the first set and held on in the tiebreak for the second. The win keeps Roger waiting at least a year longer for one of the few Masters titles that continues to elude him and further widened the hole in the bottom half of the men's draw. Monfils will face off against Dimitrov next, and while neither are the highest ranked player still alive -- that honor goes to fourth seed Milos Raonic -- both made pretty good cases for themselves to sneak even further through the bracket.

Given what had happened on center court already today, you couldn't help but think even eight-time champion Rafael Nadal might be vulnerable. The undisputed King of Clay has had his own issues this year, losing a nail-biter to Fabio Fognini in the Rio semis and then falling to compatriot Fernando Verdasco early in Miami. And, of course, let's not forget that stunning upset at the hands of Michael Berrer in Doha. But this court is where he's arguably most at home, and many considered it his opportunity to turn a disappointing season back around. But even he was pushed today -- after surviving a tight tiebreak in his opening set against a recently resurgent John Isner, he dropped serve in the second and was forced into a decider. Ultimately Nadal was able to clinch the only break in the third set, securing the win after more than two hours of play -- but with more than a few scares, he'll have to raise his game the next time he's on court if he wants to return to the throne in Monte Carlo.

The only former champ to skate by on Thursday was Novak Djokovic. The man who dethroned Rafa in 2013 is riding quite a win streak -- he's won thirteen straight matches and crowns at the last three Masters he's played. The top seed in Monte Carlo, Nole lost just five games in his opener against Albert Ramos and today needed just fifty-six minutes to dispatch Casablanca semifinalist Andreas Haider-Maurer. Next up he faces U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, back in action after his own injury absence -- and with a 14-0 record against the Croat, you have to like his chances to keep his momentum going. Of course, just because the gremlins that seemed to haunt today's early matches seem to have cleared out in the afternoon, doesn't mean they won't be back in the next few days. And with so many surprises already this week there's no telling how many more are still in store.

April 13, 2015

A Couple Different Breakthroughs

Breakout performances can come in many forms -- sometimes it's the first big win a player scores, other times it's capturing their maiden crown, and occasionally it's a comeback after months of struggles. And this weekend, on the ladies Tour, we saw a little bit of all those things.

There's was lots of talent on the courts of Charleston this week -- at a tournament which has claimed champions from Justine Henin to Martina Hingis to Serena Williams, that shouldn't come as a surprise. But the favorites this year didn't fare quite as well -- top seed Genie Bouchard notched another early loss, falling quickly to Lauren Davis in her opener, and Ekaterina Makarova pulled out of her third round with a sickness. Instead it was two low-ish seeds playing for the crown -- world #16 Angelique Kerber who, despite a couple final appearances last year, hasn't won a title since 2013, and Australia's surprise semifinalist Madison Keys, who'd gotten through the draw without facing a single seed all week. Kerber, who'd beaten defending champion Andrea Petkovic in the semis, started off strong by taking the first set, but the young Keys was able to push her to a decider. The German seemed to lose all her momentum too -- she got down 1-4 in the decider, and with a middling 8-9 record on the year before this event, it seemed unlikely she'd be able to rally this time. Still Kerber was able to dig deep when it mattered, leveled the set at five-all and got another break to serve out the match. The win brought the twenty-seven year old her fourth career title, but after the somewhat disappointing season she's had so far, it might just be her most important.

Over in Poland, though, there were even more surprises, and maybe an even bigger breakthrough. Hometown hero Aga Radwanska looked unstoppable early, losing just a handful of games through her first three matches in Katowice, but the former world #2 has also struggled recently and fell in straight sets to third seed Camila Giorgi in the semis. The bottom half of the draw was opened up even earlier -- defending champion Alizé Cornet endured a long opening round, going three sets against Polona Hercog, and then won just two games against twenty-year-old Anna Schmiedlova in the quarters. The young Slovak, a runner-up in the 2012 French Open Girls' championship, didn't stop there -- coming off a win over Venus Williams last year in Paris and a run to the final in Rio, she finally made her biggest statement on these hard courts. After dropping sets in her early rounds, she raised her game the deeper she got in the draw and in the final pulled off a quick upset of Giorgi -- also going for her first title this week -- in straight sets. It bumped her more than twenty spots up the rankings, helping her crack the top fifty for the first time in her career. And with the clay court season just around the corner I imagine we'll see her continue her ascent over the weeks and months to come.

April 10, 2015

Shooting for #1

Okay, it's probably a long shot to think that any of the players I'm going to talk about here will be rising to the very top of the ATP rankings any time soon -- but with some impressive performances in the early days of the clay court season, there are a couple men in action this week who have a real shot at picking up their first career titles. And you might be a little surprised to see who's still in the mix.

In Casablanca top seeded Guillermo Garcia Lopez was stunned by wildcard Lamine Ouahab of Morocco, and that created a big hole in the top half of the draw -- so far Daniel Gimeno-Traver has seemed more than happy to fill it. The world #95 has picked up a handful of wins over top ten players during his career, but has never made a significant run in the rankings himself. He's got fourteen Challengers titles to his name though, and seems ready to make a stand on the ATP Tour now. He was well in control of his match against Mikhail Kukushkin when the seventh seed retired in their second round and then dismissed Ouahab with little drama today to reach the semis. Though he'll face wünderkind Jiri Vesely next, he could use experience to his advantage and may finally be able to get his big break. Young Damir Dzumhur has a similar opportunity -- the twenty-two year old Bosnian had only won eleven matches on Tour during his career and had to qualify for most of the events he's played this year. But at the Grand Prix Hassan he's so far looked on-point -- he got a straight-set win over veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu in his opener and on Friday notched an easy win over sixth seed Andreas Haider-Maurer in just over an hour. Next he'll meet Martin Klizan, a man who's had ups and downs throughout his career, and it's not impossible to think Dzumhur has a real shot at getting the upset.

Things have been just as interesting in Houston, even with most of the seeds doing well through their early rounds. It hasn't been all smooth sailing though -- 2013 titleist John Isner, fresh off a stellar run in Miami couldn't keep his momentum going on the dirt and fell in yesterday's late night match. His vanquisher, Teymuraz Gabashvili has pulled off big wins in the past -- he stunned Andy Roddick at Roland Garros back in 2010 and took out David Ferrer in Barcelona just last year. Still at #79 in the world he's usually far off the radar. But he still could surprise us -- he faces defending champion Fernando Verdasco next, and the Spaniard has been famously spotty of late. He could be caught off guard this time too. And Jack Sock, back in action after surgery cut short his breakout 2014 season, scored his second straight win over second seeded Roberto Bautista-Agut yesterday. His next opponent, Colombian Santiago Giraldo may be the on-paper favorite, but with a middling 7-9 record on the year he's been far from impressive, and the young American could surely take advantage.

Sure there are still a couple more matches left before this weekend's champions are crowned, but the performances these guys have put up so far this week may show just how hungry they are to nab that elusive first title. And once they break the seal, there's no telling how far they can go.

April 7, 2015

Where to Begin...?!

Wow, I am really far behind, huh?

But things sure got interesting in the last few days of the Miami Open, that I can't help but react, even a few days after the champions were crowned. Sure, maybe we should have expected that Serena and Nole would come out on top, but there were nevertheless a couple surprising faces hanging around late in the tournament. And their showings could bode very well for them the rest of the year.

I've been talking for a while about how impressive John Isner's been over the last few weeks, but he really exceeded expectations in Miami. After stunning Milos Raonic in the fourth round, he pulled off a solid upset over Kei Nishikori in the quarters, his second top-ten defeat of the tournament. He had a shot at Novak Djokovic in Friday's semis, but after dropping the first in a tight tiebreak, he was fairly demolished in the second. Tomas Berdych had a shot against Andy Murray too -- in a rematch of their Australian Open semi, a match to which he'd brought a 6-4 record -- but fell short for a second straight time, succumbing to superb serving from the Brit and falling short of another run to the final here.

But ultimately we were treated to a repeat of the Melbourne final, with Murray trying to end a streak of six straight losses to the world #1. And having scored his milestone five-hundredth career win in the fourth round, he looked ready to keep his momentum going. He pushed the defending champ to a first set tiebreak, and then got the decisive break in the second to force a third. But Nole, as he so often does, found his motivation when he needed it most -- in the deciding set he blanked the third seed, finally finishing off the match in just under three hours and picking up the elusive Indian Wells/Miami combo for the third time in his career. It marks title #3 for the season, too, and guarantees him the top ranking at least through Wimbledon. But with some inspired performances from so many others in the field this week, there may be a couple out there ready to give him a run for his money.


The women's draw wasn't without its surprises either. With players like world #2 Maria Sharapova, former champ Aga Radwanska and even in-form Caroline Wozniacki all getting upset, the bottom half of the bracket was decimated pretty early during the event. That opened the door for two unlikely semifinalists to make a play for the title. Andrea Petkovic, a little spotty this year despite a title in Antwerp, notched wins over Ekaterina Makarova and red hot Karolina Pliskova during her run. But she was ultimately stopped short by a resurgent Carla Suarez Navarro, who'd pulled out of the Antwerp final but scored two wins over Petra Kvitova already this season and took a set off eventual champion Simona Halep in Indian Wells. In Miami she scored her third win over veteran Venus Williams in the quarters, precluding a much anticipated match-up between the two sisters.

She was thoroughly outmatched in the final though -- Serena, who'd survived quite a squeaker against Halep on Thursday, was coming off a tight two-hour long semi before reaching the weekend's championship. But the seven-time champion didn't seem too fatigued after the fight -- she lost just two games in the fifty-six minute match, handing the Spaniard the fifth bagel set in their five meetings. With a record eighth title in Miami, she's certainly shown she's not ready to cede her spot at the top any time soon -- but performances from the rest of the semifinal field may give us some clue as to who's ready to take over when she does.