Golden Swing Glory

Admittedly I've been a little remiss in covering the action going on in Latin America over the last few weeks, but there have certainly been a lot of performances there worthy of some shoutouts.

From Sara Sorribes Tormo winning her maiden title over a resurgent Genie Bouchard last week in Guadalajara, to Cristian Garin ending his 2021 losing streak with a title in his hometown of Santiago, to -- who can ignore -- the standout runs from the Cerundolo brothers, the younger of whom made history by winning a title as a qualifier at his very first tour-level event in Córdoba.

REMEMBER THE NAME: Juan Manuel Cerundolo

The #NextGenATP 🇦🇷 defeats Ramos-Vinolas 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 to win the @CordobaOpen in his ATP Tour main draw debut! 👏 pic.twitter.com/cp2QB0t7Ti

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 1, 2021

And this week's results in Mexico have been just as noteworthy.

I'll start in Monterrey, where a wide open field, not to mention early losses from top seeds Sloane Stephens and Nadia Podoroska, has allowed a couple of up-and-comers and under-the-radar stars to really shine. Unlike so many players who quickly lose their momentum after a big breakthrough, Sorribes has kept her winning ways going, opening with a defeat of Lesia Tsurenko and then getting a pass when Kaja Juvan pulled out of their second round. She'll next face sub-hundred-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who stunned Victoria Azarenka last year at Roland Garros and is looking for her first title since 2018. Either stands a good chance of making a nice run here.

But they're not the only ones. My perennial favorite Leylah Fernandez still hasn't had her big breakthrough, but with Sorribes the first seeded player she'd face at this event, she could rack up a good amount of confidence to make her move now. And of course there's Aussie standout Ann Li, the Cinderella finalist for the Grampians Trophy who reached the third round at the Open. The only other seed in her half of the draw is world #52 Saisai Zheng -- not someone that should be taken for granted, but certainly an opponent she's capable of beating.

The stakes might be a little higher in Acapulco, where three top ten and seven top twenty players are contesting the title. And while top seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev are still both alive and well, here too there could be some surprises. Cameron Norrie, who stunned Dan Evans in the first round of the Australian Open this year, got a solid straight-set win over a back-on-the-rise Fabio Fognini in the second round, while Dominik Koepfer, a surprise quarterfinalist in Rome last year, is making some headway on the hardcourts after taking out Milos Raonic last night. One of those two will earn a spot in the semis and could make good on the opportunity.

And of course there's young Lorenzo Musetti, still ranked in the triple digits but still high on everyone's radar. Another standout in Rome -- he beat Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori before losing to Koepfer -- he got a win over his first ever top-ten opponent, ousting Buenos Aires champ Diego Schwartzman in the first round. He backed up the victory with another three-setter against Frances Tiafoe and will meet Grigor Dimitrov for a spot in the final four. And while the one-time world #3 may be a formidable challenge, he's not quite playing his best ball and could give the teenaged Italian an opportunity to advance.

It's always encouraging to see players start to make moves during this part of the season. Of course the question is whether success south of the border will translate into big wins on the bigger courts. But we've seen some promising signs over the last few weeks, and any of these guys could surprise us down the road.

The Triple-Digit Club

In case you hadn't noticed, there was something a little different about a couple of the winners' circles at this week's tennis events -- sure Novak Djokovic pulled off a stunning comeback from match points down in the Dubai semis to claim his fifth title there, his first since 2013, and Rafael Nadal ended a similarly long drought in Acapulco, his without losing a set, but it was some players way down the rankings that made the biggest statements over the past seven days -- some even making it all the way to the winners' circles.

How far down the rankings?

Well, put it this way -- even with the points they earned during their runs, they're all still ranked outside the top hundred!

Let's start with the ladies' draw in Acapulco which, unlike the men's event, didn't attract anyone in the top twenty and only one contestant in the top fifty. That's not to say there was no talent in the field -- Venus Williams, a champion there back in 2009 and 2010, took the fifth seed -- but it certainly presented an opportunity for everyone else in the mix. And they certainly were quick to grab at it. First there was Mexico's own Renata Zarazua, who'd entered the event ranked #270 in the world, but stunned top seeded Sloane Stephens in her opener and rode through to the semis, her first final four outside the ITF circuit. For her efforts the twenty-two year old wildcard is now ranked at #187, still a hair off her best-ever ranking, but perhaps in a better position now to make a sustained climb higher.

Then there was Xiyu Wang, who I'd at least seen a little more of this year. Still, ranked at #127 before Acapulco, she had to work her way through qualifiers before making the main draw. But she kicked that campaign off with a bang, ousting second seed Yafan Wang in the first round and sixth-seeded Lin Zhu a few matches later. Coupled with a quarterfinal showing in Hua Hin -- where she beat Petra Martic -- she's now a stone's throw away from what would be a career-high double digit ranking.

But the real story in Mexico last week was Canada's Leylah Fernandez. Like many of these ladies, I hadn't heard much of her before last month -- and, again, I know, I've been a bit out of the loop the last few years. The 17-year-old has spent most of her time on the Juniors tour, making the Australian Open Girls' final in 2019 and winning the French Open crown. She first hit my radar in early February after defeating fifth-ranked Belinda Bencic in Fed Cup, but may have had her break out this past week. Another qualifier in Acapulco, she had a jam-packed week and didn't lose a set until the final, pushing an on-the-rebound Heather Watson to three sets before ultimately succumbing. Now ranked #126, she's still got a lot of work to do before she gets an open invitation to the Slams, but the way she's playing it feels like that is right around the corner.

The same might to apply to the other teen making waves last week -- this one in Santiago. Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild was ranked #250 before coming to Chile. The 2018 U.S. Open Boys' Champion also won a Challenger event last season in Guayaquil, but was still far off the radar this week in Chile. That didn't seem to bother the wildcard though -- he scored an upset of fifth-seeded Juan Ignacio Londero in the second round and then advanced past top seed Cristian Garin, the Cordoba and Rio champ who lost a tight first set before pulling out with injury. Seyboth Wild came up against fellow 2020 breakout Casper Ruud in the final, and unlike the other sub-100 players this week, he was able to get the better of his foe, upsetting the second seed in the over two-hour match. The win was enough to more than halve his ranking, bringing him up to #113 in the world to start this week.

It's sort of a shame that these guys didn't get an even bigger boost after their stellar performances last week. But given how early some of them are in their careers, they were starting from so far back that there was no way they could go higher than they did. The real question will be what they do from here -- whether they can take their momentum into the coming weeks and prove their results were no fluke.

They may not all succeed, but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't hear a lot more from all of them. And one day soon, hopefully these triple-digit rankings may be but a distant memory.

A Day for the Underdog

There was plenty of top-notch talent on the courts over the past week, but it wasn't always the favorites who made it all the way to the weekend's finals -- and even when they did, the results came out a little different than you might have expected.

Even if the outcome in Buenos Aires was, on paper, what was supposed to happen, for so for long recently we couldn't be completely sure. Rafael Nadal has continued to struggle in his comeback this year, needing to stage a massive comeback against Tim Smyczek in his Australian Open second round, before ultimately falling to Tomas Berdych in the quarters and falling short of defending his title in Rio when he was shocked by a flailing Fabio Fognini in the semis. But he may have got his footing back in Argentina -- he sailed to his first final of the year without dropping a set, arranging a championship match against former top-ten player Juan Monaco. The homegrown hero had already ousted third seeded Pablo Cuevas and an on-the-rebound Nicolas Almagro, who'd already dismissed Tommy Robredo in the second round. But Rafa proved too much to handle on Sunday -- after breaking in the middle of the first set, he rattled off eight wins in the next ten games clinching his record-tying forty-sixth clay court title. And with so many questions surrounding his game these days, there may not have been a better time for it.

A little further north on the Acapulco hardcourts, things went a little less according to plan -- especially on the women's side of things. Top seed Maria Sharapova had been rolling along, but pulled out of her semifinal match with a viral illness while Sara Errani, fresh off a trophy in Rio, was drubbed by Monica Puig in her second round. Ultimately two lesser seeds made their way to Saturday's final Young Caroline Garcia, slowly but steadily climbing the rankings over the past year, got some solid wins early before receiving walkovers from both Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the quarters and MaSha on Friday. And Timea Bacsinszky, one of the most surprising standouts of the 2014 season, was coming off wins over Petra Kvitova in Shenzhen and Jelena Jankovic in Melbourne -- with most seeds in her section eliminated for her, she didn't face much of a challenger in her first few rounds in Mexico. But she was far from unprepared for the favorite Garcia on Saturday -- she lost just three games in the hour-long final, picking up her first title since 2009. And if she keeps playing like she has there's no reason she can't add a couple more this year.

Most of the top seeded men at the Abierto Mexicano meanwhile fared a little better -- while defending champion Grigor Dimitrov was shocked by a finally-in-form Ryan Harrison, both Kei Nishikori and David Ferrer, each riding their own win streaks, lived up to expectations. The man from Japan, with wins over Alexandr Dolgopolov and Kevin Anderson, secured a rise to a career high #4 in the world, while Spanish champ in Rio won twelve games in a row after dropping the first set to Harrison in the semis. Still Ferrer had a tough task in Saturday's final -- he lost all four of his meetings with Nishikori last year and fell again to the U.S. Open runner-up in straight sets to start off this season. But this time he was able to turn the tables in his favor -- in a surprisingly break-filled final, Ferrer nearly squandered leads in both sets, but was ultimately able close out the match in straights. It was his third title of the year and his fourth in Acapulco and quite a solid argument for the thirty-two year old to make a return to the top five.

Over in Doha the competition was even fiercer -- with five top ten players among the field, there was no lack of talent on the courts, but that set up some more-than-interesting first round matches and opened the door for a bunch of upsets. A still on-the-mend Victoria Azarenka took out last year's runner-up Angelique Kerber in her opener and picked up another win over Caroline Wozniacki a few matches later. And barely unseeded Lucie Safarova started off with yet another win over one-time Grand Slam champion Sam Stosur before taking out Ekaterina Makarova, Andrea Petkovic and Carla Suarez Navarro to reach the final. The Czech may have had the higher ranking in Saturday's championship, but with two Major titles to her name and a 6-0 record against Safarova, Vika was probably still the heavy favorite. But Lucie was able to take care of business too -- ceding just one break of serve and winning more than forty percent of her return points, she was able to walk away with the crown in straight sets, claiming only her second title since 2008, but by far the biggest one of her career.

The men who battled for the trophy in Dubai have a little more hardware on their mantels, but that didn't make their contest any less thrilling. With world #1 Novak Djokovic and his long-time nemesis Roger Federer combining to win the last seven titles in the UAE, it was almost a certainty they'd both make Saturday's final again. And while the draw was not without its upsets -- recently on-fire Andy Murray was stunned by teenager Borna Coric in the quarters and last year's surprise French Open semifinalist Ernests Gulbis remained winless on the year when he lost his opener to Denis Istomin -- the two favorites did ultimately set up the championship match we all wanted. But here again it wasn't the top seed who prevailed -- with Roger and Nole trading wins over their last seven meetings, it was Federer's turn again, and by fighting off all seven break points he faced, he never really gave Djokovic much of a chance to dispute that. It was his second straight and seventh total trophy in Dubai, and while it may not have been quite enough to push him up the rankings yet, it surely suggests he could make a play to climb back to the top before the year's up.

It might not take much to imagine this weekend's champions coming away with the titles, but given the challenges they and their colleagues faced all week, surely nothing was for certain. And by triumphing against the very tough odds they each faced will hopefully make them even stronger the next time around.

Squeaking in the Wins

It always surprises me how many top tier players play the Latin clay court swing just before the start of Indian Wells and Miami, and this year it seems more than usual have made the trip south of the border. And while many are considered favorites in their draws, no victories should be taken for granted, and we could see more than a couple new faces making their way to championship weekend.

Carla Suarez Navarro may be the top seed at the Brazil Tennis Cup, but she's one of only two players left in the draw still looking for her first title. She's been solid so far, but with a meeting today against Melbourne spoiler Monica Niculescu she will be tested soon, and still other players in this field could make a play for the title too. Young Garbine Muguruza has put together a more-than-impressive 13-3 record so far this year and picked up her first crown as a qualifier in Hobart. She's already pulled off upsets of players like Kirsten Flipkens and Caroline Wozniacki this year, so she shouldn't be intimidated by any of her potential challengers. But Alexandra Dulgheru also looks poised for a comeback -- once ranked #26 in the world, she's struggled a bit recently. But the Romanian hasn't dropped a set yet in Florianopolis and, slated to meet Klara Zakopalova, who she's beaten on dirt before, she could keep her streak going.

Over in Sao Paulo a couple men and trying to launch comebacks themselves. Juan Monaco, a top ten player less than two years ago, is now out of the top forty. That's enough to make him a fourth seed here, but with only one win on the season, he'll be a long shot for this title. And Nicolas Almagro, usually a force this time of year -- a full half of his twelve titles have come in LatAm -- skipped this year's Australian Open with a shoulder injury and fell in his opener here to Federico Delbonis. My eyes instead will be on Thomaz Bellucci who's already ousted eighth seed Santiago Giraldo and could have a pretty open field from here on out. It's been almost two years since his last title, but he's scored wins over players like Jerzy Janowicz, Grigor Dimitrov and David Ferrer since then, so it wouldn't be too much to ask for a few more upsets in his homeland this week.

A little to the north of Brazil, Melbourne Cinderellas Dominika Cibulkova and Eugenie Bouchard have been turning around their bad luck since the Aussie Open. Both have reached the Acapulco quarters without dropping a set and hope to prove their runs Down Under were no fluke, but either could be surprised in the remaining days. France's Caroline Garcia once held a set and a break lead over Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros, but has spent most of her time since then on the ITF circuit. She scored her first two wins of the season in Mexico though and should arguably be stronger on this surface than her next opponent, Bouchard. And Ajla Tomljanovic, who took Sloane Stephens to three sets in Melbourne, has lost just seven games in her first two rounds here. She holds a 2-1 record against Shuai Zhang, too, and so could earn entry to the semis with a win today. And there's no reason either of these ladies couldn't go even farther.

The draws are a bit more intimidating on the men's side, though, with three-time champion David Ferrer and double-Major winner Andy Murray leading the pack. But lower seeds like Delray finalist Kevin Anderson and Marseille titleist Ernests Gulbis have been just as strong the last few weeks and should put up a fight for the title. But one-time world #13 Alexandr Dolgopolov could be the unseeded spoiler in this bracket -- the Ukrainian star is coming off a final run in Rio during which he beat Ferrer handily and opened in Acapulco with a straight set win over Vasek Pospisil. He'll face big-serving Ivo Karlovic next, though, and that's clearly no easy task, but the way Dolgo's been playing, I wouldn't put a big win past him.

Whether these players can fare as well once they hit the hard courts remains to be seen, but it might be a smart move to get in a couple big wins before making the turf switch. And if they're able to notch a couple big wins now, there's no telling what kind of confidence that'll give them down the road.

Like it Was Only Yesterday...

So it's been a couple weeks since I've had a chance to post something, and now that I'm here again it sure seems like we've turned the clocks back a lot farther that even that.

Things got a little crazy for a minute or two -- Murray started winning Majors, Serena started losing finals, and some of the strongest players in years past started to struggle a bit. But with the results the last few weeks, order may have been restored.

Petra Kvitova had been a stone's throw from the #1 ranking just over a year ago, but was largely overshadowed by her contemporaries for most of the 2012 season. With illness marring her performance at the year-end championships and a couple early round losses to start 2013, she'd dropped a couple ranking points before coming to Dubai two weeks ago. But she upped her game when it counted in the UAE -- after dominating Aggie Radwanska in the quarters she easily ended former #1 Caroline Wozniacki's comeback run a round later. She was the clear favorite against clay-court specialist Sara Errani in the final, and when tested by the spirited Italian, she rose to the task and closed out the match in impressive form. It was her first title since New Haven last year and did a lot to put her back on the radar among the sport's elite -- if she can bring that momentum with her the rest of the year, it might not be long before we see her holding up the big trophies again.

Errani's disappointment didn't last long, though. It would have been easy to write off her stellar 2012 season as a fluke -- she'd already lost two finals this year and failed to defend points from last year's Australian Open. But when she returned this week to Acapulco, the site that kicked off her ascendance to the top ten, she found that spark which has made her such a force on Tour. Ranked well above the rest of the field in Mexico, she shouldn't have had much trouble at all, but given reason stumbles that wasn't enough to seal in the win. But the slight star hardly missed a beat during the event -- with only one of her ten sets going as far as a tiebreak, she rolled through early rounds and won the first seven games of the match against second-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the final. Though the second set was tighter and Errani's serve started to slump a bit, she eventually closed out the win in just over an hour and a half, winning her seventh career title and hopefully silencing those naysayers who complained she wouldn't be able to repeat her successes. She hasn't been out of the spotlight quite as long as Kvitova, but hopefully her performance this week will help keep her in it a bit longer.

The gentlemen were not immune from similar comebacks the last few weeks. One-time world #21 Ernests Gulbis has been largely off the radar the last few years as injury cut short a couple of seasons -- but he worked his way back through Challenger events and qualifying draws and eventually was able to make an impact again on the big stage. This week in Delray Beach he opened with a win over my dear James Blake and followed it up by defeating quickly climbing American Sam Querrey. He was taken to a third set by uber-veteran Tommy Haas in the semis too, but after surviving one test after another he was treated to a relative easy final against Edouard Roger-Vasselin today. Though the pair traded breaks through the first set, Gulbis finally got lead in a tiebreak and never looked back. It was his second championship in Florida, the site of his first title three years ago. It may not be enough to push him back to the top right away, but it could just give him enough confidence to return there soon.

And while all these players made huge strides to get themselves back on the radar, perhaps the most impressive run we've seen the last few weeks came from a man who never really fell that far down the rankings anyway. Rafael Nadal had been missing from Tour since that fateful Wimbledon second round, and his long-awaited return stopped somewhat shortly when he lost in the Viña Del Mar final to little-known Horacio Zeballos. But he rallied after defeat, winning a title a week later in Sao Paulo after suffering through two three-set nail-biters. This week he finished off his Golden Swing in Acapulco where, as the second seed, he got straight-set revenge over Martin Alund -- one of the men who'd troubled him in Brazil -- and positively dominated top seed David Ferrer in the final, dropping just two games in the hour-long championship. Things will be a little more difficult for Rafa when he's off the clay the next few weeks, but it's nice to see him thriving on the surface that made him a star. And having proven he can still beat the best, it sure bodes well for him once Roland Garros training really kicks in.

With the last few weeks bringing stars big and small back into the spotlight they occupied not so far in the past, it might not be long before we see some big shake-ups among the top ranks. Those that have recently been strongest will have to watch their backs, it seems, and up their games if they're going to compete among these resurgents. And as long as they keep up their games, there's no telling what they can do for the rest of the season.

Men vs. Boys

There is of course a difference in sports -- and tennis in particular -- between the athletes who prove to be flashes in the pan and those that can deliver year-in and year-out. Some players can have a great run one week and, overwhelmed by the effort, fall early and often in the tournaments that come. But others, the real powerhouses, come back week after week and dominate the field. And the thin line that separates them marks a real distinction between winners and champions.

Jurgen Melzer isn't exactly a slouch, but his victory in Memphis last week came after a string of disappointing results. He probably had the right to be exhausted when he came to Delray Beach this week, after battling through three seeded players to take the title, but his loss to Tim Smyczek in his opener was nevertheless a surprise. His exit, though, may have cleared the way for others in the draw -- John Isner lost to Melzer in the Memphis quarters, but now will face a dangerous, but slightly less intimidating Bernard Tomic later today. And while Andy Roddick, trying to make his own comeback in Florida, may be able to gain some traction knowing the field is slightly cleared out for him.

Sofia Arvidsson, the other titleist in Memphis last weekend, was no more successful than Melzer when she came to Acapulco. Still well off her career-high ranking at #55 in the world, she was in seeding territory for the Abierto Mexicano. But though she got up a set against two-time winner Flavia Pennetta in their second round and could have closed out the match in a tiebreak, she ultimately succumbed 6-1 in the deciding set. Her exit could give the Italian a clear road to at least the final, as she looks to win her first title in nearly two years. But top seeded Roberta Vinci, who's quarterfinal run so far marks only the second time in 2012 that she's won more than two matches at one event, may have even more to prove. She's been spotty of late, but a good run here might put her back on the track that won her three trophies last year.

The men's draw in Acapulco also features one of last week's victors. David Ferrer, twice a champion here before, came to Mexico fresh off a title in Buenos Aires, and looks to extend his success during this season's Golden Swing. He's only lost a handful of games in his first two matches, and with many of his contemporaries getting upset he'll face no seeds through at least the semis. If everything goes as planned, he'd likely face Nicolas Almagro for the title, a rematch of last Sunday's championship match, but with a 9-0 record against his compatriot, something tells me Ferrer's streak is good to go.

Like Ferrer, Aggie Radwanska began this week on her own winning streak. With her title in Dubai, she came to Kuala Lumpur with an impressive 15-3 record on the year -- all three of those losses coming at the hands of current world #1 Victoria Azarenka. Playing some of the best tennis of her career, the Pole didn't drop a set in her Thursday double-header, beating both Akgul Amanmuradova and Karolina Pliskova in straight sets. There are, of course, still obstacles in her way -- Jelena Jankovic, one of the few remaining seeds left in Malaysia, took her to three sets in last week's semi -- but as Radwanska's star continues to rise, she should be able to handle the challenges she's dealt.

All that's not to say, of course, that sometimes spotty players won't be able to turn around their streaks -- Azarenka, after all, was only of the most inconsistent champions on Tour just last year -- or that the current stars won't see their successes come to a sharp end. But early performances this week certainly draw a line between players with staying power and those who might need some time to recover.

And that difference has the opportunity to make a big impact on the top ranks of the sport this year.

First Time's a Charm

For some this was a week of defending titles -- both Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams repeated as champions in Dubai and Acapulco, respectively -- but for others it was a week of firsts.

In Kuala Lumpur the story was all Russia's Alisa Kleybanova. The twenty-year-old had climbed into the top thirty last year with wins over player like Jelena Jankovic and Venus and even took a set from Justine Henin at the Australian Open.

She struggled early in Malaysia, going to three sets in her second and third rounds, but when she met Elena Dementieva in the finals she went on a roll. Alisa capitalized on her compatriot's notoriously weak serves and broke her opponent four times. She won seventy percent of her own first attempts and captured her first ever Tour title in just over ninety minutes -- not bad for a final debut.

Closer to home in Delray Beach Latvian Ernests Gulbis and Croat Ivo Karlovic battled through a slew of homegrown fan-favorites to contest the championship. The two had never met before, but the big server, seeded second, was clearly the favorite. Gulbis, on the other hand, is one of those very talented, but terribly inconsistent pros -- since peaking at #38 in the world two years ago, he's languished somewhere in the low double-digits.

This year, though, he's been on his own roll, beating two higher-ranked players in Melbourne and making the semis last week in Memphis. And today in Florida Ernests withstood fourteen aces from the more-experienced veteran and still managed to break him four times. And after two sets the twenty-one-year-old was also the victor in his first career final.

It's always nice to see new talent come to light, and both Kleybanova and Gulbis have finally shown they can put together a few wins in a row to capture the ultimate crown. If they're able to keep up the momentum, this could be a good year for both of them, and I'm looking forward to watching them succeed.

Hopefully now that they have the first -- and most difficult -- trophy under their belts, the rest will come easily!

Going for a Hat Trick

Hockey fans, anyone? Anyone? Well, me neither, but with the U.S. men's team playing Finland for a spot in the finals today in Vancouver, I can't help getting caught up in the excitement.

But in much warmer climes, last night in Acapulco two men were looking to achieve a different, but just as venerable feat -- a feisty Nicolas Almagro was in search of his third straight Mexican Open trophy while countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero, boasting his highest ranking in almost four years, was looking to capture his third championship in three weeks after taking home titles in Argentina and Brazil. When they met on the clay in the quarterfinals, obviously one's quest would end while the other's would live at least another day.

Former world #1 Ferrero is the fourth seed at the tournament, Almagro the sixth, but the one-time U.S. Open winner lost two of the pair's three previous meetings. Almagro, too, had proven his fortitude over the last few weeks, battling through three five-setters at the Australian Open with a broken wrist.

Juan Carlos rolled through his first set, breaking Almagro three times and winning more than eighty percent of his first serves. But the younger Nicolas fought back in the second, securing that set despite poor serving. Ultimately, though, it was the thirty-year-old vet who was victorious in the two-hour match, taking fifty-six percent of the points and converting five of thirteen break chances.



He's still a few wins away from getting his hat trick -- Argentina's Juan Monaco, a man he beat earlier this month in Buenos Aires, is his first obstacle in the semis. And two plucky opponents, Fernando Gonzalez and Costa Do Sauipe runner-up David Ferrer, are still battling in the bottom half of the draw. But after a long absence, it sure is nice to see JCF back at the top of his game.

And though it's probably still too early to get excited about Roland Garros, he's got a perfect record on clay this year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him challenge in Paris. And I hope his success continues!

In the meantime, go Team U.S.A.!

South of the Border

All the action wasn't in Dubai this week, and both men and women were in full action in Acapulco, Mexico.

The ATP World Tour 500 event was worth just as much as the higher-profile tournament in the Mideast, but didn't attract quite the controversy, or the names, as the Dubai games. Twelfth-ranked David Nalbandian claimed the top seed, but he was upset in the first round by Daniel Koellerer of Austria.

The most notable name in the draw was probably Tommy Robredo -- the twenty-six year old came to Mexico fresh off two title wins in South America and had brought his ranking from #21 to #15 in just a few weeks. But his twelve-match win streak hit a brick wall against Jose Acasuso, who he's already met three times this year.



Acasuso didn't have much time to celebrate his triumph, however, as Gael Monfils defeated him in the semifinals in straight sets on his way to the title match.

But the ultimate victor in Mexico this week was fourth seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro, who needed just over an hour to win his fifth career championship. When Monfils' second serve fell apart, Nicolas was able to capitalize on break opportunities and took home the $300K paycheck.



Venus Williams also wore the winner's sombrero in Acapulco as she claimed her second title in as many weeks. Though she had struggled in earlier rounds, dropping sets to qualifier Greta Arn and top-thirty player Agnes Szavay, she had little trouble against Italian Flavia Pennetta, coasting through the final, 6-1, 6-2.



It was an impressive win for several reasons -- Venus dominated in both first and second serves, and converted two out of every three break chances she had. But more importantly she showed some real power on clay, a surface on which she has been far from dominant. And she defeated an opponent who's given her some trouble in the past -- prior to Saturday night's match-up, Pennetta had held a 3-2 record over Venus, including three straight wins from 2007-08. Venus's win in Mexico could be a good sign for her as she gets ready for Roland Garros, less than three months away.

Slightly further north Mardy Fish won his first title of 2009 in Delray Beach, taking out qualifier Evgeny Korolev, 7-5, 6-3. It was the first time in the tournament's seventeen-year history where the top seed came away with the title, and continues something of a comeback for American palyers after Andy Roddick won in Memphis last week.



Congrats to all this week's winners!