One Last Shot

It's not all that often you see the sport's top players in action so close to a Major, but there's nothing all that common about much these days. And with a host of early upsets and various measures taken around the still-not-completely-eradicated global pandemic, it's no wonder a couple stars are looking for any opportunity they can get to notch a few wins before heading to Paris.

Back in business 💪@Bandreescu_ secures her first win on clay in almost 2 years! #IS21 pic.twitter.com/N3zsFNwXcl

— wta (@WTA) May 24, 2021

Bianca Andreescu seemed, finally, to be getting her game back on track in Miami before injury forced her to retire during the final. Things got worse from there, when she tested positive for COVID in Madrid and was forced to skip Rome due to continued safety protocols. So this is the first time we've seen her on a clay court in almost exactly two years, and it's no wonder she wants to get some practice in.

The 2019 U.S. Open champ hasn't had a ton of success on these courts, winning her opening round during her breakout year before withdrawing against Sofia Kenin a match later. In years before, she didn't even qualify -- understandable, considering she's still only twenty years old. But, in part thanks to the protected ranking system, she came to Strasbourg this week the top seed and the sole entrant in the top 25. She opened her campaign with an encouragingly straightforward win over qualifier Andrea Lazaro Garcia, dropping just three games and will face another qualifier in the next round.

Of course things get harder from here, with a potential quarterfinal against Istanbul champ Sorana Cirstea or sixth seeded Shaui Zhang. And second seed Jessica Pegula is coming off a run to the quarters in Rome, where she got the better of Naomi Osaka in the second round -- she would be a more-than-formidable opponent should they meet in the final. But even if she doesn't make it that far, getting a few more wins under her belt will be crucial if she wants to have an impact next week.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has also had an uncharacteristically quiet clay court season. As the man who might have actually become the second best clay courter on tour -- he's got five titles in Rome, three in Madrid, two in Monte Carlo, and of course that Grand Slam-completing crown at Roland Garros -- you usually expect him to win a title or two on clay each season.

That hasn't happened this year, though. After his stunning upset at the Rolex Masters, he bowed out early again at the first Belgrade event in his homeland of Serbia. While he did manage to make it to the Rome final, having to play a double header before the championship match in which he rallied from a set-plus-break deficit to Stefanos Tsitsipas and survived a tight three setter against his Vienna vanquisher Lorenzo Sonego, he eventually ran out of steam against Rafael Nadal and currently has a paltry-for-him one title on the season.

He's looking to get his momentum back as he returns to Belgrade this week. He'll open against lucky loser Mats Moraing, who pulled off a nice win over a tricky Egor Gerasimov today, and will then likely face either veterab Pablo Cuevas or Federico Coria in the quarters. With #2 seed Gael Monfils, the biggest on-paper threat in the draw, winning just one match in the last fifteen months, Novak is the clear favorite for the title -- whether he sticks it out to the end or takes a break after a couple matches remains to be seen. That strategy has, after all, certainly worked before.

Win or lose this week, it's clear both these guys are looking for a little more real match play before hitting the courts at the big event. Because, as we know, everyone in the field is going to be bringing their best and there's no time to waste getting warmed up. So a couple wins now could really pay big dividends in the near future.

On Solid Ground

I admit I haven't been the biggest believer in Ash Barty over the last year, and a lot of that has been because I wasn't really paying attention back in 2019 when she had her breakthrough. It felt like her French Open title, which came without facing a single player in the top ten, was a bit of a one off. And the fact that the altered ranking rules allowed her to keep her #1 ranking at the end of last year after not playing since February just added to my confusion.

Of course that ignored the rest of her accomplishments two years ago -- her first big trophy in Miami, where she beat three top ten players, her WTA Championship to close out the season, four titles in total and another two finals to boot. And while some players have been able to hold onto 2019 ranking points even when they tried and failed to defend them last year, Barty hasn't really gotten a chance to prove those successes weren't just flukes.

That is, until she came back to Miami.

Still the top seed, the twenty-four year old got off to a bit of a shaky start, facing match point against qualifier Kristina Kucova in her opener before powering through for the win. And that wasn't her only test -- in a roller coaster fourth round against three-time champ Victoria Azarenka, Barty went three lopsided sets in just under two hours, and she was pushed to a decider again yesterday in the quarters by Aryna Sabalenka.

Nevertheless, she's still alive and kicking and, now into the final four in Miami, has her first real opportunity to back up her 2019 run.

For a spot in the championship match, of course, Barty still has to get through world #5 Elina Svitolina, who can be spotty at times and has suffered some surprising losses in recent months, but she too has passed some tough tests over the past week and will be hungry for a big title of her own. She has a 5-1 record against Australian, too, which could give her some confidence. At the very least, this could be biggest test yet of whether Barty deserves to stay at the top.

The defending champion moves on!@ashbarty is into the #MiamiOpen semifinals once again 😄👋 pic.twitter.com/AyAiCf1hB9

— wta (@WTA) March 30, 2021

In a similar situation to Barty is young Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who likewise was MIA last year after a breakthrough 2019. Ranked out of the top 150 at the start of that season, she had to qualify for the Australian Open, but really hit her stride in the spring, stunning the world with a title in Indian Wells and going on to win the Rogers Cup and the U.S. Open, beating Serena Williams in the final -- technically, in both finals.

But unlike Barty, her ensuing absense was due to injury rather than travel restrictions and lasted several months longer. That could explain why she's struggled a bit more in her comeback, going three sets in four of the five matches she played before Miami. And while the fact that I watched what she can do a little more closely during that run in New York makes me a little more forgiving of her remaining near the top of the rankings, you have to feel her meteoric rise could make her place there a little more tenuous.

Still, she's done well to prove her mettle over the past week. After a fairly straightforward win over Tereza Martincova in her opener, she edged out American Amanda Anisimova, who's had a complicated few months to say the least, in a thriller and then took out Garbiñe Muguruza, one of the strongest players of the season so far, in another tight one.

In today's last quarterfinal, Andreescu will take on unseeded but spectacularly impressive Sara Sorribes Tormo -- she won her first career title at the start of the month in Guadalajara and in Miami has already defeated Aussie runner-up Jen Brady, Elena Rybakina, and 2020 standout Ons Jabeur. Making the semis would by far be the biggest accomplishment of the Spaniard's career, and if the favorite is at all off her game, this could be an opportunity to pounce.

Whatever the case, it sure feels like last year's comeback stories have finally found their footing for the not-so-new-anymore season. And how they perform over the next few days will go a long way to proving their place. That's not to say a loss would derail everything, but a few more wins now sure would be extra sweet.

Miami Heats Up

I can't be the only one a little surprised that the Miami Open kicked off as planned -- though, I suppose, with my dear James Blake in charge, I shouldn't be so shocked (💕).

And while the primary hope is that everyone there stays safe and healty amid the revelry, as the first premiere tournament since the Australian Open, there is also a lot of top notch tennis to look forward to -- with a slew of top-ranked talent, a couple players riding huge momentum, and even a few we haven't seen in a while.

hi 💙 @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/M0ppGzYNVt

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) March 24, 2021

The Men

I'll start with the men's draw, which may be missing three of its top ive players, but nevertheless boasts some real firepower. Daniil Medvedev takes the court as the top seed, the first time he's hit the court as the #2 player in the world. He's never made it past the third round here, but he's a far different and much more formidable player than he was the last time he was in Miami. With a twenty match win streak that he rode all the way to the Aussie final and a title in Marseille just for good measure, he's certainly deserved his climb, and it's hard to see anyone in his immediate draw derailing him.

Of course, there are players who could surprise us in the top half. Lloyd Harris is coming off a run to the final in Dubai where, as a qualifier, he stunned Dominic Thiem in the second round, and then picked up upsets over three more players. Now at a career high of #52 in the world, he's still a real long shot to make any real play for the title -- but we might have said that about him last week too.

Also in this half of the draw is John Isner who -- meh. After a second round loss at the French Open last fall, he ended the abbreviated season due to injury and then pulled out of the Australian Open this year because of the COVID restrictions. (No comment.) We haven't really seen a lot of the 2018 Miami champion (he beat Alexander Zverev in the final, if you can believe it! -- in the past year, as he's only made it past the second round once. He'll open against qualifier Mackenzie McDonald, who did well to make the fourth round in Melboune last month, and while Isner may be the favorite, he's by no means a sure thing.

On the bottom half of the draw is a man who's had a much more successful 2020 season so far, and had to come out of the depths to do it. Aslan Karatsev, the surprise standout Down Under and brand new trophy-holder at 27, is suddenly ranked one spot ahead of Isner and is far and away at his career best. All eyes will be focused on how he performs now that we actually expect something from him, and while his first opponent, veteran Mikhail Kukushkin, has had some nice results this year, I imagine Karatsev will continue to prove his worth at least a few rounds in.

And finally on the men's side is Thanasi Kokkinakis, who played his first match since 2019 in February. The 24-year-old revealed his battle with anxiety and depression had made the game and life tough for him over the years, but it's nice to see him getting his feet back under him again -- he took Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in his homeland Slam's second round. Still ranked outside the top 200 -- a far cry from his previous high of #69 in the world -- he made it through qualies without losing a set and today beat another qualifier to set up a second round against Marton Fucsovics. The barely seeded Hungarian is certainly not one to be dismissed, but there will be a lot of people rooting for an upset here.

The Women

On the women's side, we've already seen some of the favorites in action and a couple have been tested. Top seed and inexplicable world #1 Ashleigh Barty is playing an event ouside of her native Australia for the first time since last February, and it's probably a good place to start. Her run to the title in Miami in 2019 was what set off that magical season that propelled her up the rankings, and what she does in her return will go a long way to quieting my doubts. She struggled in her opener, though, facing a match point against qualifier Kristina Kucova before pulling out the win. With players like Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber -- who double bageled her own opponent today -- and, more immediately, a resurgent Jelena Ostapenko in her section, she's going to have to up her game if she wants to repeat.

Kicking off her run tomorrow will be Sofia Kenin, who followed up a second round loss in her Australian Open defense with a shocking defeat at the hands of then un-ranked Olivia Gadecki in Adelaide. She was nursing a leg injury in Melbourne and eventually had to undergo an apendectomy, so there are explanations for her upsets. Of course, now that she's recovered, we're going to want to see her step up. She'll face off against veteran fan favorite Andrea Petkovic, which will be a good test. The stage her performance sets for the rest of her season, of course, may not be clear -- we've seen her ride roller coasters before -- but a strong showing would still make a big statement.

Then there's Bianca Andreescu, who's only played this event one time in her short but prolific career, reaching the fourth round -- with wins over Kenin and Kerber -- right after her own breakthrough title in Indian Wells in 2019. Sidelined by injury for all of last year, she's had spotty results in her comeback but will try to turn things around against qualifier Tereza Martincova tomorrow. Of course the bigger challenges lie after that -- either former Roland Garros semifinalist Amanda Anisimova, who's had quite a string of bad luck this year, or one-time U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, who's had trouble putting together two straight wins recently, most immediately, and more later -- so we'll see what she's got soon.

Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula is coming to Miami at her career high ranking. She followed up her breakout run in Melbourne by making the semis in Doha, ridiculously as a qualifier, and the quarters in Dubai, absolutely dismantling former world #1 Karolina Pliskova in the process. She's barely seeded at this event, but we should be well aware of the damage she could cause. She'd likely face Pliskova again in the third round, but there's no reason to bet against her making at least the quarters. And for someone who's never won a main draw match here, that would be quite the triumph.

And finally there's Ana Konjuh, ranked #20 in the world four years ago when she was just 19, who's been pushed out of the top three hundred after one surgery after three others. She's been struggling to even qualify for events over the last few years -- her last main draw WTA win was back in 2018 -- but as a wildcard here she seem to be back with a vengence. Still just 23, the Croatian opened her run with a win over a very talented Katerina Siniakova and today notched her first top-twenty win in four years over Madison Keys. While she'll be a serious underdog against her next opponent, reigning French Open champ Iga Swiatek, hopefully her performance even thus far is a sign that she's truly on the comeback trail.

---

We're still in the very early days of this event, of course, and so much can still happen. But it's great to see so many players back on court. And what happens over the next week-plus could give them all a great opportunity to really shine.

A Chance to Rebound

Something kind of cool is going on over on Court 10 at Melbourne Park.

While play at the Australian Open remains in full swing, and a couple dozen men and women are still battling it out for the first Grand Slam of the year, some of those already eliminated -- some who were expected to last much longer in the main draws -- are back in action for a new WTA 250 event.

.@DKasatkina gets the round 1 victory over Boulter, 6-4, 6-2. 👏#PhillipIslandWTA pic.twitter.com/3VhGbKczxu

— wta (@WTA) February 13, 2021

It makes sense to get a little more out of the players when possible -- so many traveled halfway around the world, endured a strict quarantine with little opportunity to practice or rack up ranking points, only to lose their first or second match and, in another world, be sent packing. Sure, losing early is a risk you run at any tournament, but under these particular circumstances, it feels especially like a waste.

So many of the women who didn't make it to the second week of the Open are now vying for the Phillip Island Trophy, and while winning here may not be quite as fulfilling as bringing home a Major, at least there's a quick opportunity to rebound from their recent, sometimes crushing losses.

Former top tenner Daria Kasatkina has had more than a couple setbacks in her efforts to regain top form, but she's had some promising moments too. She beat seeded Polona Hercog last week in the Gippsland draw and a strong Elena Rybakina last year in Ostrava. She had chances in her second round against red-hot Aryna Sabalenka, getting an early break to start the match, but ultimately fell in straights. She kicked off her Phillip Island campaign with a second straight win over Katie Boulter and next faces comeback queen Varvara Gracheva. It's not out of the question to see her make a deep run.

Young Anastasia Potapova similarly looked strong early in her third round against Serena Williams on the big stage, getting a couple breaks in the first set and even an opportunity to serve it out. But she couldn't keep her level up after dropping the opener in a tiebreak and ultimately lost in straights. She proved she has talent, though, and could captialize this week -- she'll open against Rebecca Peterson, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the upset.

And then there's Danielle Collins, a one-time semifinalist in Melbourne and a quarterfinalist last year at the French. She'd already beaten sixth seed Karolina Pliskova at the Yarra Valley Classic, and I'm frankly surprised she wasn't able to do it again in the second round of the Open. She kicks off against either veteran Varvara Lepchenko or Nao Hibino, and is the heavy favorite against either.

Interestingly, though, things haven't got the way of the favorites so far. Sloane Stephens continues to struggle with form and after a loss to Yulia Putintseva at the Open, she lost her first round to Gracheva. And maybe more surprisingly, Nadia Podoroska and Anastasija Sevastova also dropped their first rounds.

But there's an opportunity for others -- Sofia Kenin, who failed early in her bid to defend her first Grand Slam trophy, takes on little-known Australian Olivia Gadecki on Sunday, while 2019 U.S. Open champ Bianca Andreescu, unable to handle a deep challenge from Su-Wei Hsieh as she tried to stage her own comeback, will open against Madison Brengle.

Can these ladies come back and show us what they're really made of? Well, this is as good a chance as any to do it. And if they can make some hay out of what's obviously a complicated situation Down Under, it might all be worth it.

Across Generations

There's been a lot said over the last several years, especially in the men's game, about when the long-dominant players will finally hand over the reins to the next generation of tennis greats. But if we've seen anything in the first few days of the Australian Open, it's that it's not only the Big Three who are unwilling to go yet softly into that good night -- and that there are some new young guns in the mix ready to take the spotlight from those we've been championing so loud.

What a performance 😱@KanepiKaia defeats Kenin 6-3 6-2 in just 64 minutes to continue a hot start to the summer for the Estonian 🇪🇪#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/ZFuidJnVZC

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 11, 2021

I'll start with the result from last night (this morning...) that most perfectly pairs the two ends of the spectrum -- defending champion Sofia Kenin against veteran Estonian Kaia Kanepi. As I mentioned a few days ago, this wasn't a match I would've watched closely, but boy am I glad I did. The 35-year-old, coming off a runner-up finish in the Gippsland draw with wins over red-hot Aryna Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova, was a strong underdog in her second round, but you wouldn't have known it to watch her play. With ten aces, an eighty percent first serve percentage and more winners than errors, she needed barely an hour to score the win against the young American. And with a next round against a recently-struggling Donna Vekic, I like her chances to keep going. Whether she'll keep her momentum going, who knows -- this is the only Major where Kanepi hasn't reached the quarters -- but she's certainly hungry to give it a try.

Another veteran who showed his chops on Thursday, Feliciano Lopez is also well off his career high ranking, hanging out in the low double digits after peaking at #12 in the world six years ago. But if his 75 straight Grand Slam main draw appearances don't prove his continued relevance, perhaps his performance against 31^st seed Lorenzo Sonego does. Down two sets to the man who stunned Novak Djokovic just a few months ago, Feli found a way to rally and pulled out the last three sets in a match that lasted over three hours. In what will be his first third round in Melbourne since 2016, and the road only gets harder from here -- his next opponent, Andrey Rublev, has been on fire over the past year, and while he was tested in his second round, I imagine he'll come out swinging against the Spaniard. But if Lopez can recoup after his marathon last night, perhaps he can surprise us again.

Last among the under-the-radar Old Guard standouts is top doubles star Su-Wei Hsieh who, at #71 on the singles scene, was certainly expected to have her biggest successes when partnered up. But after what I thought was a pretty astounding win over 2020 Comeback Queen Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round, she took on 2019 U.S. Open champ Bianca Andreescu, who was playing her first event in some fifteen months, and was wholly on point. The 35-year-old, who's never made it past the fourth round at a Slam on her own, got off to a strong start against the Canadian, fifteen years her junior, and in under ninety minutes was able to capitalize on the rust that had accumulated after her long hiatus. She opens up Friday's play against qualifier Sara Errani, whose run to the French Open final in 2012 seems so, so long ago. While it won't be a walk in the park by any means, it's certainly a more manageable ask than what she's already battled.

Of course, it wasn't only the veterans pulling off big wins, and as at every Grand Slam we've already seen a peak of the talent that's still to come. Twenty-year-old Kaja Juvan, who beat Venus Williams last year in Acapulco and stunned Angelique Kerber in the first round of the French Open, was the top seed in the qualifying rounds for Melbourne and managed to advance without dropping a set. She got a bit of a pass in her opener against thirteenth seeded Johanna Konta, who was up a set but had to retire with an ab injury, and her second round against Mayar Sherif was filled with even more drama -- the exhausting two and a half hour plus match left everything on the floor for both players, but ultimately ended with the young Slovenian as the winner. She's not more challenges ahead, though, with a tough Jennifer Brady waiting for her in the third round. I'm not sure she'll recover in time, but I'm hoping her performance is a sign that we've only started to see what she can do.

And then there's Mackenzie McDonald who, at 25, admittedly isn't necessarily "young" anymore -- sorry, millennials -- but at least young in experience. Though he had a brief stint in the top sixty back in 2019 and even made the fourth round at Wimbledon the year before, he's had trouble staying consistent and currently sits just inside the top two hundred. But he has had some nice wins over the years -- my dear Juan Martin Del Potro in Delray Beach, Milos Raonic in Shanghai, and Borna Coric in the second round here on Thursday. It was his first top twenty-five win in quite some time and with his next round against Lloyd Harris, a man who went three hours in his five-setter against Alexei Popyrin in his last match, he might just be able to get the better of the sort-of-favorite. And a good showing there might help him set the stage for an even bigger year to come.

Gearing Up

Exhibitions are underway, warm-up events are about to start -- the Australian Open is finally on the horizon, folks! And what we see this coming week could give us a good idea of what we might expect at the first Grand Slam of the year -- not only in terms of the action on court, but also for what sporting events could look like in a still very different sort of world.

Tennis 👏 Is 👏 Back 👏#AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/P7Rpuele32

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2021

Yup, those are actual, real life fans in the stadium in Adelaide, watching Serena and Naomi battle it out. And they'll be there too when play starts in Melbourne next Monday -- officials announced this week that as many as 30,000 observers will be allowed at the event each day. That's about half the usual capacity of the Australian Open, but would still mark one of the biggest events since the COVID pandemic began.

In some ways, it makes sense that Australia would be the first site of somewhat normalized play -- already well-isolated from the rest of the world and having implemented some of the stictest lockdown measures, it's had fewer cases of the coronavirus in total than the U.S. has had deaths in just the past month, and less than a thousand fatalities in all. But that's not to say it's entirely in the clear, and some organizational hiccups have led to plenty of questions and consternation.

A spate of athletes -- and others -- who tested positive on arrival in Melbourne, plus anyone on their flights, were forced into a rigid two week quarantine and are only now getting back on actual courts. Some, like Paula Badosa, who got a positive test a week after touching down, may go straight from the hotel room to the match play, with no practice in between -- that's if she's well enough to compete at all. And, of course, there's no telling what might happen if more cases crop up as the main draws get underway.

Meanwhile this week, six separate tournaments will take place on the courts of Melbourne Park -- the ATP Cup, as well as the Grand Ocean Road and Murray River Cups for the men, and the Yarra Valley Classic and Gippsland and Grampians Trophy for the ladies. And it's the first time we'll see some big stars at work in a long time.

Ashleigh Barty, who other than an exhibition in Adelaide hasn't seen match play since the Australian last year, makes her return in a draw that features defending Melbourne champ Sofia Kenin and seven-time winner Serena Williams. And 2019 U.S. Open winner Bianca Andreescu hits the court for the first time since a knee injury took her out of that year's WTA Finals. And on the men's side Nick Kyrgios, who somehow became the voice of reason during the pandemic, is back in action for the Murray River crown.

And as interested as I am to see how these guys perform after such long hiatuses, it'll be even more worth watching whether these events go off without any major hitches. After all, the first priority is of course that everyone stays safe and that we get the virus under control. And hopefully officials have put in place all the steps we need to do that.

And just maybe sometime soon things will truly be back to normal.

The 2020 Tennis Spin Awards: Most Anticipated Comebacks

One of the reasons I had so much trouble coming up with the men who'd staged huge comebacks this year was that so many of the top guys were all but missing from tour in 2020 -- a couple gals too. Whether because of injury or due to COVID-related travel restrictions, we know we didn't get a full picture of what the tennis game should have been like this season.

But luckily we're on the verge of a new year and some of the players we saw precious little of last season have promised to make a return. So let's take a look at them.

Will they be in as great a shape as they were the last time we saw them? Well, it stands to reason it may take a few weeks or months before they return to form. But I sure am willing to wait for it.

---

The Women

The Winner: Bianca Andreescu

It almost feels like the 20-year-old Canadian was a tornado that blew through the tennis world last year. Ranked out of the top hundred at the start of the season, she stormed through draws at the biggest events, making quick work of the likes of Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Sofia Kenin, and Serena Wiliams, and picking up titles at Indian Wells, Toronto, and the U.S. Open -- the run made only more remarkable by the fact that it was the first time she'd ever played the main draw of that Major. She ended the year as #5.

But it's been over a year since Bianca Andreescu took the court -- a knee injury at her first WTA Finals forced her out of this year's Australian Open. After a couple false starts -- we thought she'd be back in February and then, after the seven month lockdown, hoped she could try to defend in New York -- she called off her season in September, not that there was much season left at that point.

She's been training hard, though, for her return, practicing in Dubai ahead of the now-delayed Australian Open. It'll be interesting to see if she can have the same success she did pre-injury. After all, her rise was so meteoric it was bound to take a couple opponents by surprise, and whether she can keep it going now that she's a known quantitiy -- well, we'll have to see.

Still, I do have faith -- her game seems strong enough to have some staying power. And whoever's on the other side of the net will surely have to bring their best.

☺️☺️ pic.twitter.com/GdoEj4U2yv

— Bianca (@Bandreescu_) October 28, 2020

Runner-Up: Ashleigh Barty

Maybe I'm a grump, but was I the only one raising an eyebrow at all posts congratulating the 24-year-old for a second straight year-end #1 ranking? After all, Ashleigh Barty only played three events this year, and none since February. While I respect her decision to stay local during these uncertain times, and her point-retention is less problematic than, say, Marketa Vondrousova, who she beat in the French Open final but lost in the first round in 2020 -- the "best-of" scenario really should only come into play if you were prevented from playing the same event -- it certainly feels like there are others who are more deserving of that honor. Still, Barty had a great season in 2019, also picking up trophies in Miami and at the year-end championship, and made a nice run to the Melbourne semis this year. And I'm excited to see if that performance was a fluke or a sign of something more.

---

The Men

The Winner: Roger Federer

Okay...deep breath...rumors of the great one's imminent retirement are hopefully greatly exagerrated.

Still, it's not often that we see the GOAT 🐐 contender take so much time off in one season. When back injury caused him to end a streak of 65 straight Grand Slam appearances in 2016, we hardly knew what to do with ourselves.

His respite this year seemed particularly well-timed. After undergoing knee surgery in February, he pulled out of Dubai and was planning to sit out Miami, Indian Wells and the French Open, had any of those events happened as originally scheduled. He officially closed the books on a potential return this year after another surgery in June, making this his quietest season in over two decades.

But Roger Federer is nothing if not a journeyman. An unlikely social media star, he was putting in the work even in his downtime and has indicated his intention to play in Melbourne next year -- and scared everyone with his latest hint of a delayed return.

And he's certainly got plenty of motivation to get back on court. After all, as congratulatory as he might be over Rafael Nadal's tying his record 20 Grand Slam titles, I'm sure he wants to add a couple more wins to his résumé before he calls it quits. And at 39 years young he's running out of time to do it.

Of course, we should know better than to write off Roger Federer. And we should expect when he hits the court next year, he's going to bring all the firepower and grace he's always given us.

Back to work😃🏋️‍♂️👨🏼‍🏫📚🍂🍁🎾 pic.twitter.com/zwljm17Rkv

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) November 6, 2020

Runner-Up: Juan Martin Del Potro

I feel like this is my most anticipated comeback EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. But Juan Martin Del Potro isn't giving up yet, and neither am I. The gentle giant has been dealing with one injury after another over the years, from persistent wrist problems -- once requiring four surgeries in one year -- to most recently a second fracture of his patella at Queen's Club in 2019. That might be enough for most people to call it quits, but the Argentine wants to fight on. And he's climbed out of the depths before -- twice in the past he's fallen out of the top hundred and both times made it back to the top ten. He'll be trying to do it a third time. Earlier this month, DelPo underwent a stem cell treatment and said he's got his sights set on playing the Olympics next year -- remember, he's already got two medals at the Games. I don't know if he'll get there, but if there's anyone who can, it's him.

Honorable Mention: Nick Kyrgios

Unlike Roger and DelPo, who spent the year recouping from injury and surgery, the feisty Australian was MIA from the Tour for entirely 2020 reasons. Like Barty above, Nick Kyrgios took the enviable stance of avoiding travel during the pandemic and became the surprising voice of public health in the sport, loudly calling out those who were less than careful during the ill-fated Adria Tour over the summer. And it's a shame we didn't get to see him on court more -- he started the year with a solid win over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Cup and stunned a soon-to-be-target in his tirades, Karen Khachanov, at the Australian Open. It looked like his ranking was back on the rise again, and hopefully it will be once again.

---

We're getting to the end of this year's Tennis Spin Awards. Up next: the matches of the year -- the ones that had us on the edge of our seats and screaming like mad at the television.

And to check out all of the winners this year and in years past, click here.

Top Shelf Tennis

There may not be any fans in the stands, or the usual post-match handshakes. There's not a ton of prize money or ranking points on the line. For so many reasons these first few weeks back in action since the lockdown really highlight how much has changed in for tennis, and of course, for the entire world. But that didn't stop us from getting some of the most inspiring match play we'd seen since even before the five-month pause went into effect.

One of the most powerful sports pictures of 2020

(Via @CCSMOOTH13 / 📸 Getty) pic.twitter.com/HGJHwIkR0s

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) August 11, 2020

Let's start in Prague, where Simona Halep, the highest ranked player we've seen in action since March, took the court after bowing out of Palermo a week earlier. The top seed got off to a shaky start, splitting lopsided sets with Polona Hercog in her opener and then dropping the first set to wildcard Barbora Krejcikova a round later. But she seemed to get her groove back after that, downing lucky loser Magdalena Frech in less than an hour in the quarters and coming back from a break down in the final against Elise Mertens to capture her 21^st career trophy.

But her performance wasn't necessarily the biggest standout. Fellow Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, once a stone's throw away from the top twenty, had fallen a bit down the rankings in recent years, spending a lot of time on the ITF circuit and playing qualifying rounds in Shenzhen and Hobart. But she picked up steam just before quarantine, winning the Indian Wells Challenger Series, the last event before August. In Prague she opened with an upset of Anastasija Sevastova, and then was cursed with a series of night matches that were suspended for darkness, subjecting her to two straight days of double-headers. She eventually fell to Halep in the semis, but may have done a lot to get her game back in gear.

The biggest surprise out of Prague, though, might have been the showing from one-time world #5 (and three-time Major semifinalist) Genie Bouchard, now ranked all the way down at #330 in the world but granted a wildcard here. She'd had some encouraging results early this year, beating Caroline Garcia in Auckland, and helped the Chicago Smash make the finals in World Team Tennis last month, and that could have helped her this week. She dominated eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova in her first round and endured a tight three setter versus Tamara Zidansek before finally falling in three to Mertens. Whether that's enough to propel her for the rest of the year, we'll certainly see, but it was nice to see glimpses of the former Wimbledon finalist again.

Things were even more interesting at the inaugural Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky, which boasted plenty of starpower in its initial field -- and even more excitement by way of the upsets. Serena and Venus Williams faced off in their 31^st career meeting in the second round -- a match after Venus had dismissed fellow former world #1 Victoria Azarenka -- and put on a show reminiscent of any of their heyday championship matches. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Coco Gauff added more big upsets to her resume, taking out second seeded Aryna Sabalenka and the barrier-breaking Ons Jabeur.

Then there was wildcard Shelby Rogers, who back in 2014 took out Carla Suarrez Navarro, Sara Errani and Camila Giorgi to make the final in Bad Gastein as a qualifier and, two years later, reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. After knee surgery took her out of the game for over a year, she'd struggled to regain form and came into this event ranked #116 in the world. But after a solid showing against up-and-comer Leylah Fernandez, she pulled off what's undoubtedly the biggest win of her career. Down a set to Serena Williams in the quarters -- she dropped the first 1-6 in less than 30 minutes -- the 27-year-old somehow rallied over the next hour, taking advantage of her opponent's errors to defeat the top seed in a third-set tiebreak. It was the first time Serena has lost to a sub-100 player in eight years. Rogers would lose a round later to Switerland's Jil Teichmann, but the win should give her confidence that she still has what it takes to get those big wins.

But of course, the standout story from Lexington is that of champion Jennifer Brady, who picked up her first career trophy with a straight set win over Teichmann today. The 25-year-old entered the event near her peak ranking just inside the top fifty, helped by wins over Maria Sharapova and Ashleigh Barty in Brisbane and a run to the semis in Dubai. Still, unseeded at the event, she had a tough road to the final facing sixth-seed Magda Linette in the second round and a surging Gauff in the semis. But the former UCLA national champion didn't lose a set all week, closing out the Swiss in a little more than 100 minutes. The win helps her not only break the seal of claiming that maiden crown, but also pushes her up the rankings, now within seeding territory for the U.S. Open.

Speaking of the U.S. Open, the field there continues to thin out as players elect not to make the trip to New York in these uncertain times -- while Novak Djokovic finally confirmed his intent to play not just the Major, but the lead up "Cincinatti" tournament this week, defending champion Bianca Andreescu and 2019 semifinalist Belinda Bencic both withdrew. In all, fourteen wouldbe seeds -- nine women and five men -- are sitting out the Slam.

What that means for who's going to walk away with the trophy, I don't know yet. But if this week's action is any indication, we're certainly in store for a lot of great tennis, whatever happens.

An Experiment Worth Watching

Tomorrow the Mutua Madrid Open kicks off its innovative Virtual Pro tournament -- a stab at not only giving tennis players and fans something to watch during the global shutdown, but also helping support those who may be under more pressure these days than the biggest stars. It's a truly noble effort, one I hope other events will be able to replicate as this pandemic drags on.

But I've already talked at length on the competition's virtues. So instead, today I'm going back to the good old days when we could actually size up the field.

¿Quién será el campeón? 😏

¡Ya sabemos cómo será el cuadro! 🤜🤛#PlayAtHome 🎮 | #MMOPEN Virtual Pro

— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 24, 2020

To be fair, "sizing up the field" in an event like this requires some bold assumptions that may not have any basis in reality. Like with the year-end championships, the Virtual Pro is structured in groups of round robins, where the top two finishers will make the quarterfinals and then will play a traditional bracket-style elimination after that. But with the players battling on screen rather than on court, any advantage that comes with seedings and brute strength is all but eliminated when they pick up a game controller.

Still that allows for a motley group to participate. Caroline Wozniacki and David Ferrer are both retired, Bianca Andreescu was still recovering from a knee injury that's kept her out of play since October, and I'd never even heard of Fiona Ferro before this event. There's no reason these guys couldn't "upset" Rafael Nadal or Karolina Pliskova. And maybe I'm just stereotyping the generation, but I imagine that Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are probably pretty good at video games.

So having said all that, and without consequence, I'll go ahead and pick who I think will make the quarters in each group.

The men: Denis Shapovalov, Gael Monfils, Dominic Thiem, David Ferrer, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kei Nishikori, Alexander Zverev, and Karen Khachanov.

The women: Fiona Ferro, Carla Suarez Navarro, Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka, Bianca Andreescu, Caroline Wozniacki, Donna Vekick, and Genie Bouchard.

But of course, in the end, it doesn't really matter who comes out on top. It's just good to know that all these guys are playing for a good cause, and hopefully we'll all come out better off on the other side of this.

And if you want to watch all the action, you can do so on Facebook in English or Spanish starting tomorrow morning.

#SociallyDistanced

As the world looks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, we've all had to adapt to a new normal. Whether it's working from home, skipping a night out with friends, or watching our hands shrivel up into prunes from how often we're washing them, our daily lives are way different from what they were just a few weeks ago. And tennis players, now officially all on hiatus until at least June 7, are no exception.

But luckily for us, #SocialDistancing hasn't kept them off social media. Whether they're entertaining or informing us -- Andy Roddick has been a surprising source recently -- they've certainly been communicating to all of us during these troubling times. So today I decided to share some of their takeaways over the last few days.

Find ways to occupy your time

not complaining, but i feel like quarantine would be a lot more fun with a boyfriend

— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) March 18, 2020

What to do when you don’t have anyone who can do the #ohnananachallenge with you because you’re home? You just do it yourself 😂 pic.twitter.com/jjGELMxN0z

— Sabine Lisicki (@sabinelisicki) March 17, 2020

Chiuso in casa @alexdeminaur diventa star di Tik Tok insieme alla sorella!🕺💃

Seguici📱 su Tik Tok 👉supertennis #tennis #iorestoacasa #NextGenATP
(via Instagram) pic.twitter.com/a1XO6tpS2d

— SuperTennis TV (@SuperTennisTv) March 19, 2020

Stick to your routine

View this post on Instagram

Spending the next 6 weeks in solitude. Being a wife. Being a mom. Cooking. Cleaning. Spring cleaning. Face mask. Makeup tutorials. I’ll let you know how it goes.... stay safe everyone. This is serious. 🙏🏿

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Mar 13, 2020 at 6:01am PDT

I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but yes you should shave your legs.. only because it will make the pajama pants you’re about to wear all day even more comfortable 🙌🏼

— Bethanie MattekSands (@matteksands) March 17, 2020

Not all heroes wear capes https://t.co/2L00RO7cVk

— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) March 17, 2020

Keep active

@FeteleMur #entre4murs et vous ?? pic.twitter.com/KG6EFWQXuO

— Lucas Pouille (@la_pouille) March 18, 2020

今SNSで色々なチャレンジがありますがスペインの友達に挑戦されたやつを載せます。ジュニアの子達やテニスやられてる皆さん是非試して、できたら僕のDMに送ってください。できなかった失敗で笑えるのも送ってください。よろしくお願いします！ pic.twitter.com/doNRnhjwkN

— ダニエル太郎/Taro Daniel (@tarodaniel93) March 19, 2020

View this post on Instagram

La Monf still working hard 💪. . . 🎥: @iamgaelmonfils #tennisathome🎾🏠

A post shared by ATP Tour (@atptour) on Mar 19, 2020 at 6:18am PDT

Easier working as a team https://t.co/VY0CM58pU4

— John Millman (@johnhmillman) March 19, 2020

View this post on Instagram

Fitness 🤝 House Clean How are you guys staying fit while social distancing? Use the hashtag #quaranfitness to see how others (or just me) are staying active (and sane)!

A post shared by Kristie Ahn 안혜림 (@kahn1) on Mar 16, 2020 at 1:10pm PDT

🎾 ❤ 🎾

🎥: @GsaLegrand pic.twitter.com/D36MsmPEc4

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 16, 2020

Help if you can

Thinking of all the freelancers and professionals working in the sports industry affected at this time. Each of them play an important role in making a sporting event come to life.

Check out how you can help: https://t.co/Dtm8Sz6Lbv pic.twitter.com/xaThTdpR4D

— Rajeev Ram (@RajeevRam) March 18, 2020

Family/Friends/Fans! I’m donating a signed racquet to https://t.co/MrU92NFKcf in order to give back during this difficult time. YOU can donate for a chance to win with all proceeds going directly to the CDP’s COVID-19 Response Fund. Please donate if you can, $25 goes a long way!! pic.twitter.com/ORTIbS9mtz

— Bianca (@Bandreescu_) March 16, 2020

And most importantly...stay safe!

Le distanze non devono separarci. Anche se sei giovane, è il momento di rispettarle. Allunga un braccio verso l’altro e sembrerà quasi di toccarci.#DistantiMaUniti #iorestoacasa pic.twitter.com/Gfjxhftw5w

— Fabio Fognini (@fabiofogna) March 11, 2020

You got me out of my robe for a brief minute, @AngeKagame. Challenge accepted in an 80’s hair scrunchie 😊 #SafeHandsChallenge #StayHome #please 🙏🏻 Thanks for starting this initiative, @PaulKagame. We miss Rwanda so much 🇷🇼💕 pic.twitter.com/f1fjAGgYTw

— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) March 18, 2020

Please listen https://t.co/GQl75F28dp

— andyroddick (@andyroddick) March 19, 2020

Hang in there, guys!

The Weeks That Were

With the Miami Open now officially cancelled, the ATP suspending play for six weeks, and the entire spring tennis season completely up in the air, everyone's got a lot of questions.

Currently looking for something to do for the next few months 😳

— CoCo Vandeweghe (@CoCoVandey) March 12, 2020

Of course this outbreak affects so many more people outside the tennis world, and in much more dire ways than a schedule thrown out of whack. And the response we're seeing, from the shutdown of Disneyland to the entire country of Italy going on lockdown, shows just how far-reaching an impact the coronavirus is having. But I'm not going to start expounding on the health, political, or economic ramifications of what's going on -- I get to do enough of that in my day job -- and since I can't write about the on court action at Indian Wells and Miami, I instead am going to take a look back at some of the champs we've seen at these events over the last few years and where they are now.

As you know, I've been a little out of the loop -- and fittingly got back in the mix just in time for the whole thing to shut down (#sarcasm) -- so some of these results were a surprise to me. And in hindsight they took on a deeper meaning than they might have at the time. I mean, check out the list of players who've been crowned recently:

	Indian Wells		Miami
Year	Men's Champ	Women's Champ	Men's Champ	Women's Champ
2016	Novak Djokovic	Victoria Azarenka	Novak Djokovic	Victoria Azarenka
2017	Roger Federer	Elena Vesnina	Roger Federer	Johanna Konta
2018	Juan Martin Del Potro	Naomi Osaka	John Isner	Sloane Stephens
2019	Dominic Thiem	Bianca Andreescu	Roger Federer	Ashleigh Barty

I was frankly shocked to realize it's been four years since Nole won at either of these events. It wasn't long ago that he'd been dominating them -- he'd swept the Sunshine Swing, historically difficult given the huge difference in climes between the California desert and the Florida tropics, first in 2011, and then from 2014-16. And given how much of a force he's been at the Majors and other Masters -- he's won a combined twelve since that last one in Miami -- it seems insane that he hasn't repeated. On the other hand Vika, who'd been similarly strong during this stretch, hasn't won a single singles title since then. Of course, she's had a baby, a grueling custody battle, and injuries that have kept her off court more than any of us would like. But seeing her name on the list certainly brought back memories. And it was great to see Fed not only doubled up in 2017 -- which came as he was reactivating his Grand Slam streak -- but took home his 28^th Masters in Miami just last year.

But it was some of the other names that caught my attention.

Elena Vesnina?! The Russian doubles star had a baby last year, so has been out of contention recently, but that 2017 trophy in Indian Wells was by far her biggest singles win. It came not long after her Major breakthrough -- after never really having any success on her own at the Slams, she somehow made her way to the semis at Wimbledon in 2016. The title in California, which came with wins over Angelique Kerber, Venus Williams, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, did a lot to prove that showing was no fluke.

And then of course, there's John Isner, who, as you know, has long confounded me. That performance in Miami earned him what's so far his only Masters title, and set him up for the unlikeliest of runs to the Wimbledon semis in 2018 -- I remember watching that 6:30 hour match against Kevin Anderson and thinking, "There's no way John Isner is going to make a Grand Slam final, is there?!" Well, he didn't, and he's never made it to another Major final four -- before or since. He has admittedly had some other decent showings, though, at least getting back to the Miami final last year. But as we've seen, it's been a struggle for him since.

It's been rough going for Juan Martin Del Potro too, but for different reasons. The one-time U.S. Open champion has been plagued by one injury after another and is currently recovering from a knee surgery that kept him out of the most recent Australian Open. But I was encouraged to be reminded that it wasn't so long ago that he was at the top of his game, and it gives me hope that he could be once more.

The wins by Sloane Stephens and Johanna Konta also came at interesting points in their careers. Stephens had just won the U.S. Open title a few months earlier but then went winless for months. Then after winning in Miami, she struggled on clay and then somehow reached the French Open final. More recently she's again in a funk, managing only one win this year, over a player barely ranked inside the top 500. Konta similarly hasn't won a title since her Miami run, but she's arguably been a little more consistent, reaching a Major semifinal and two quarters last year. Still for two players who seem to hold a lot of hope for their respective countries, we might have wanted to see a little more hardware to show for their efforts.

And finally are the women whose wins really set the stage for the biggest successes of their careers. Naomi Osaka had never won a title before Indian Wells, Barty had just a couple small trophies under her belt, and Andreescu was ranked #60 in the world ahead of her run. But all three went on to capture Grand Slam gold in a matter of months -- Osaka got two titles. She's struggled a bit this season, though, and Andreescu's been dealing with injury, but all three are young -- oh my God, so young -- and there's no reason to believe they don't have a lot of time left to make more splashes. And when they do they could be big ones.

It's a shame we won't be able to crown another set of winners this year in either Indian Wells or Miami and follow their stories over the years. But one day, hopefully soon, this pandemic will pass, and we'll all be back on the courts again, and there will be plenty of great champions to come. So until then, let's enjoy the memories of what we've had and take comfort in the fact that a whole lot more is still to come.

2020 Vision: Serena Eyes #24...But There Are Roadblocks

Welcome back to my look at what's to come for tennis in the new year. In my last post I talked about the Big Three's dominance in the sport for the past decade-plus and a couple of the guys who might be ready to take the mantle when they're ready to cede it.

And speaking of passing the torch, it's coming up on Serena Williams' time to do that too, though some might argue she's further along in the process than the guys. While still the perennial favorite at any tournament she enters -- she was, after all, just named AP's Female Athlete of the Decade -- the elder statesman of the WTA has fallen short of that record-tying 24^th Major title in her last seven appearances. Four times she's gotten within one match from the Promised Land but has been foiled in turn by Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, and most recently Bianca Andreescu -- who, you'll remember, was ranked in the triple digits at the start of the year. It's now been nearly three years since Williams has won a Major, the longest dry spell she's ever had at those events. She actually hasn't won a single title -- singles or doubles -- since returning from maternity leave.

I do believe, eventually, she'll have that breakthrough though, and maybe even do better than "just" tying Margaret Court's lead. After all, she's reaching finals, not flaming out in early rounds. And as Osaka so astutely points out, the fact that she ended the year in the top ten while playing as few tournaments as she did shows she's more than holding her own out there. Still, she is running out of time. I'm not willing to say 2020 is Serena's last chance to close the deal, but you have to think it's gotta happen quick if it's gonna happen at all. I mean, look at all the talent waiting in the wings.

There is, of course, the crop of players who've gotten the best of Williams as she went for #24 -- Kerber has actually won two of their last three Major championship showdowns, though has struggled with injuries this year and fallen to #20 in the world -- as well as a couple who knocked her out earlier in the rounds -- Sofia Kenin, impressively backed up her French Open stunner with titles in Mallorca and Guangzhou. There are also a slew of youngsters who shocked the world this year with their deep runs at the Slams -- Amanda Anisimova (a semifinalist in Paris) and Marketa Vondrousova (the runner-up!), Danielle Collins (final four in Melbourne), Karolina Muchova (quarters at Wimbledon).

But there are some other names looking to break the seal for themselves that might be able to take advantage of any holes in the draw, whether or not they have to go through Serena to do it.

Top of my list is Elina Svitolina, who came just short of her second WTA Final crown this fall, but pulled off wins over Halep, Kenin, and Karolina Pliskova to make the final match. She also got to the semis at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon and the quarters in Melbourne. She is a bit off her career high ranking and didn't win a title in 2019, but this workhorse seems to have solidly broken into the top tiers and seems ready to make something of it.

More of a long shot, but someone I've been watching for a while, is American Alison Riske. Long a mid to low double-digits player, she won her first title since 2014 in Den Bosch and stunned Ashleigh Barty and Belinda Bencic at Wimbledon. Ranked 18^th in the world now and closing in on her 30^th birthday, she seems to be playing the best tennis of her career. There may be no better opportunity for her to show the world what she's really got.

Remember to check out the rest of my 2020 Vision and keep coming back for more Tennis Spin all year long! Coming up tomorrow: There are a couple players who made big splashes in 2019, but will they keep it going in the New Year?