One of These Things Is Not Like the Other Ones...

Okay, I know we're all anxiously awaiting the return of Roger Federer, and we are getting really, really close. But as much as we all want to see the great one on court again for the first time in over a year, we can't the other top-tier talent that pulled off some big wins at tournaments around the world over the last week. And while a couple of top ten stars were able to add another trophy to their shelves, there was one newly minted champion that may have stood out from all the rest.

1️⃣8️⃣ years of age
0️⃣ sets dropped all week
🏆 First WTA title
💯 Breaks into the top 100

A memorable day in Lyon for Clara Tauson 🇩🇰#Open6emeSensML pic.twitter.com/MNvBoBTtQD

— wta (@WTA) March 7, 2021

I'll start in Rotterdam, where one man further established himself as a real force of the new genereration. Andrey Rublev, who won more titles last year than even Novak Djokovic, was actually only the fourth seed here, but with three straight Major quarterfinal showings and a series of wins over top-ten players, it shouldn't be surprising that he outplayed that. He got a little bit of a break with soon-to-be world #2 Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev both losing early in the top half of the draw, but he was nevertheless clinical in his win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis. And while he played a tight first set against an under-rated Marton Fucsovics in Sunday's final, he stayed strong in the second to secure the win. It was his eighth career title -- impressive for a 23-year-old -- and brings him to a 13-1 record for the year -- Medvedev, with ten wins this season, comes in second on that stat. And there's no reason to believe Rublev won't be adding a lot more Ws to that column in the weeks to come.

The story in Doha was less about the next gen and more about the veteran class. Still, with the eight seeds all ranked in the top fifteen, there was plenty of opportunity for the on-paper favorites to face some really challenges. And they did: Australian Open runner-up Jen Brady won just three games in her first round against Anett Kontaveit, while Melbourne Cinderella Jessica Pegula, bizarrely having to qualify for this event, dismissed second seed Karolina Pliskova handily in the quarters. Ultimately, though, it was unseeded Garbiñe Muguruza, a former world #1, facing fellow two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova in the final. And while Muguruza has had some brilliant moments this year -- she took out recently-unstoppable Aryna Sabalenka in the second round and had match point against Naomi Osaka at the Open -- the much-decorated Kvitova was too much to handle. After just over an hour of play, the 30-year-old Czech returned to the winner's circle, lifting her 28^th career trophy and first since 2019. And to do it amid such an illustrious field sure adds icing to the cake.

Diego Schwartzman may have come into his own a little later than these two champions -- he only cracked the top ten for the first time last year, at 28 years old, but as a long-time workhorse on tour, he's certainly put in the work to have earned it. The ATP Challenger Tour champion way back in 2014, he slogged it out in the middle tiers, picking ups smaller titles in Istanbul, Rio, and Los Cabos along the way, before his breakthrough last season. And after a disappointing early exit last week in Córdoba, he was eager to make good on his top seed this time around. But he'd have a big roadblock -- qualifier Francisco Cerundolo, whose younger brother shocked the world with a title last week at his first tour event, was hoping to keep the family win streak going, first dismissing inexplicably seeded Benoit Paire -- he's 2-10 since the lockdown -- and then repeating Juan Manuel's win over Albert Ramos-Viñolas in the semis. But Schwartzman was just too tough for him in the championship match, dropping just three games in the course of 80 minutes to win his firt title on home soil. And while he has a ways to go to catch up to those other two champs this week, I'm shown he's got the work ethic to at least try.

Of course, as I alluded to above, it wasn't just players adding to their trophy count this week -- in Lyon, we got a brand new champion thanks to a final contested by not one but two qualifiers, both playing for their first title. Of course, at 28 years old, Viktorija Golubic has a little more experience, having made the final in Linz back in 2016, where she beat both Madison Keys and Garbiñe Muguruza, and reaching a high just out of the top fifty in the world. But she's since dropped into triple digits and has spent most of the year on the ITF circuit. This week, though, she seemed to get back on track, stunning Caroline Garcia in the second round and then coming back for a win over second seed Fiona Ferro in the semis. Meanwhile, eighteen-year-old Dane Clara Tauson, who'd beaten Jen Brady in the Roland Garros first round last year, followed up her upset of top-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova here with three more straight set wins to make the final. She didn't let up in on Sunday, either, staying tough against an oppenent a decade her senior to win that maiden crown. The win should put her into the top hundred for the first time in her young career, and while she might be far from the accomplishment of this week's other champions, Tauson might just have shown she belongs among their ranks too.

Unqualified Successes

The heat is turning up on the tennis courts this week as top-tier players get back to work in full force now that the Australian Open is well behind them. But it hasn't been just the big stars bringing out their A-games -- more than a few qualifiers have pulled off some of the biggest wins, leaving no doubt what they're capable of.

A first WTA 500 semifinal for @JLPegula 🤩🇺🇸

The qualifier beats Pliskova 6-3, 6-1 to set up a final-four clash with Kvitova!#QatarTotalOpen2021 pic.twitter.com/QaI4bkprYC

— wta (@WTA) March 4, 2021

I'll start in Doha where, for some reason, Melbourne standout Jessica Pegula was not an automatic entry. Of course, this is a high-level event with the lowest seed still carrying a #14 ranking, but it's nevertheless a bit of a slight. But Pegula powered through anyway, trouncing Qiang Wang in her main draw opener and following up with a win over one-time French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko. Her biggest win, though, came earlier today what she blasted through third seed and former world #1 Karolina Pliskova in just an hour to reach her first WTA 500 semi. She'll next face Petra Kvitova, who bested her last year at the U.S. Open, but she sure feels like a much different player than she did last fall and might just be able to get the win this time around.

Jeremy Chardy is another one I'm surprised had to prove himself before hitting the main stage in Rotterdam. Sure the veteran Frenchman is well off his career high, but with runs to the semis in Antalya and at the Murray River Classic, he's certainly been back on the rise. He opened his campaign in the Netherlands with a solid win over a very tricky Ugo Humbert and then ended the run of recently-resurgent Montpellier champ David Goffin earlier today. For a spot in the semis, Chardy will take on ultra-talented Andrey Rublev -- one of just two seeds remaining at the event -- but bigger upsets have happened, and he might just have what it takes.

Some of the big wins, though, have come from more even more unexpected places. Eighteen-year-old Clara Tauson, who defeated Jen Brady in the Roland Garros first round, was one of my players to watch this year. She's had some successes on the ITF circuit in recent weeks, but may be ready to break into the big leagues now. Currently at a career-high of #139 in the world, she stunned top seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in her Lyon first round and backed it up with a win over doubles star Timea Babos. She'll face an often-spotty Camila Giorgi in the quarters, and there's no reason to think she'll be entirely outmatched there, and I imagine this could be just the beginning for her.

Another rising star may be making himself known on the clay of Buenos Aires. Sumit Nagal, who'd only won three tour-level matches before this week, wasn't even seeded in the qualifying draw, but managed to make his way into the event anyway. The world #150 started with a decisive win over veteran Joao Sousa, but his bigger victory came a round later. Against second seed Cristian Garin, who simply dominated the Golden Swing this time last year, Nagal broke his opponent seven times and got the win in straight sets. He's got another challenge next -- Córdoba finalist Albert Ramos-Viñolas, arguably a bigger threat, even if a lower rank, but the twenty-three year old is spry and certainly has shown he's got a couple tricks up his sleeve.

Of course, it's not just the qualifiers who are notching big wins this week. Kei Nishikori, after a months-long recovery post his latest injury, has scored two impressive wins in Rotterdam, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur already. And Tommy Paul successfully brought Alexander Bublik down off the high of his biggest win yet. Lyon wildcard Clara Burel, meanwhile, opened with a win over Aliz´ Cornet and, with her next round against second seed Fiona Ferro, might be in position to continue her run farther.

Still the performance of the players who had to fight just for a spot in the main draw has been more than encouraging so far. And hopefully bodes well for what we'll see from them down the road.

The Standouts

Sometimes you don't have to win a tournament to really make a statement. After all, only one person can be left holding the trophy at the end of the day, but plenty of others can not only have matches of their lives along the way, but can certainly make it easier for that eventual champion to claim the win. And at this week's events from Thailand to New York and Europe, we certainly saw some career-making runs among those who didn't quite seal the deals.

Let's start with the men in Buenos Aires, where we saw some clay court veterans try to make a stand. Thirty-four year old Pablo Cuevas did manage an upset of Albert Ramos, just two years his junior, and took top-seeded Diego Schwartzman to three sets before losing in the quarters. But Argentina's Guido Pella, seeded second thanks largely to a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon last year, was less fortunate, losing his second match of the event to Juan Ignacio Londero, after squeaking through a qualifier in his opener. Today's final, though, will be a battle between the old and new guard in the most unlikely of ways. Eighth seeded Casper Ruud, who picked off John Isner and Fabio Fognini at the ATP Cup this year, has largely sailed through the draw, upsetting world #24 Dusan Lajovic on the way to his first career final. Only Portugal's Pedro Sousa, ten years older than him, stands in his way. The lucky loser, who benefited from the withdrawal of Cristian Garin, hasn't had a real test this event as Schwartzman pulled out with a leg injury ahead of their semi. Ruud is the heavy favorite for this match, but win or lose, something tells me we'll be seeing a lot more of him this year.

Then we head over to Rotterdam where Gael Monfils just picked up a second title in as many weeks. Still, let's not discount the performance of his final opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian teen was one of my players to watch this year, but kind of got off to a slow start. After losing all but one of his matches at the ATP Cup, he lost in the Adelaide semis to the seemingly unstoppable Andrey Rublev, and he was shocked by a resurgent Ernests Gulbis in his Australian Open first round. But he seems to have found his game again this week -- just barely unseeded he took out an always tough Grigor Dimitrov and Aljaz Bedene, who'd dispatched second seed but struggling Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. The championship match may not have gone the way he hoped, but his performance up to that point certainly makes me more optimistic for the future of FAA.

Closer to home for me, the New York Open was full of upsets and surprises. Mustachioed Jordan Thompson, who's had a solid career on the Challenger's circuit and stunned Andy Murray at Queen's Club a few years back, hasn't had consistent success on the main tour and had only won a single match so far this year. But after dismissing big-serving Ivo Karlovic in his first round he took on another ace machine in top-seeded John Isner, getting the win in three sets and two and a half hours. And Soonwoo Kwon, ranked 84^th in the world managed a big upset of Milos Raonic on his way to the quarterfinals. But the real surprise of this event for me was thirty-year-old Jason Jung, who's never cracked the top hundred in his long career and had to battle through qualifying round last week. He took out another big man in Kevin Anderson, a two-time Major finalist, in his opener and defending champion Reilly Opelka to make the semis. While he was ultimately stopped by Andreas Seppi, his performance certainly puts him on a map he may never have been on before.

Some of the more amazing breakthroughs, though, happened on the women's tour this week. In St. Petersburg, ultimately second seeded Kiki Bertens got the win over a red-hot Elena Rybakina in the final, but some much more interesting stories emerged earlier in the draw. There was unseeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who notched her first career title to start the year in Shenzhen -- she beet Donna Vekic on her way to the semis -- and Oceane Dodin, who caught my eye years ago with a win over Jelena Jankovic at the U.S. Open. This week she scored wins over Viktoria Kuzmova and Johanna Konta. But perhaps the one to watch out of this event is Maria Sakkari -- yes, she's seeded just outside the top twenty, but she's playing well above that ranking. The Greek got a solid win over Madison Keys and took Petra Kvitova to three in Melbourne. This week in Russia, she ousted top seed Belinda Bencic and won the first set off Rybakina. She's only won one trophy in her career so far -- taking the title in Rabat last year -- but she seems primed to really have a breakthrough in 2020.

And that leaves us with Hua Hin, where the draw went the way no one would have expected. Nao Hibino, who lost to Sakkari in Melbourne, scored her first top ten win over Elina Svitolina on her way to the semis, and Patricia Maria Tig took out two seeded players during her run. But the big story here was nineteen-year-old Leonie Kung, currently ranked #283 in the world. The Swiss qualifier not only ended Hibino's campaign, but took out Qiang Wang, the woman who stunned Serena in the Australian Open third round. While Kung ultimately lost in the final to fifth-seeded Magda Linette, it seems her star is only rising, and I'll be excited to see what she brings to the table this year.

While these guys may not have been the ultimate winners this week, they all certainly made the case that they should be taken seriously on the court. It's hard to tell, of course, whether they'll all be able to follow up their performances this past week with more success down the road, but it sure feels like they were each able to make a couple of splashes. Whatever the case, you can be sure you haven't heard the last from any of these guys.

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.

Eye on the Underdog

This is the first week since the Australian Open where many of the sport's top players are back in action, with six players in the ATP top ten taking the court one place or another. And while many of the favorites have survived and powered through their early opponents this week, it might be a couple of longshots who are scoring the more notable wins.

On the clay of Buenos Aires, David Ferrer made a winning return against qualifier Maximo Gonzalez while Viña Del Mar champion Fabio Fognini repeated Sunday's win over Leonardo Mayer to make the quarters. But perhaps the dark horse in this draw will be his next opponent Pablo Andujar, who really hasn't put up many big results over the last several months. But this week, back on his most successful surface -- his two career titles have come on the dirt -- he delivered a one-sided loss to fifth seed Marcel Granollers in their second round and could be poised to go farther. He lost his only Tour-level meeting with Fognini, though, on these courts in fact, but that was five years ago, and if he can take advantage of the Italian, who went over three hours against Mayer on Wednesday, he might be able to change that record.

There have been some surprises in Memphis too, even as world #17 Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarters with little drama. Still struggling Sam Querrey, champion here in 2010, lost his opener after winning a decisive first set and fifth seeded Marinko Matosevic dropped to 2013 Newcomer of the Year Jiri Vesely in straight sets. But the standouts in Tennessee might be a couple of old dogs with new tricks. Alex Bogomolov, one of the big comeback stories of 2011, but fell back down the rankings over the next several months. Now barely in the top hundred, he's come out on top of two three-set matches, beating Querrey in the first round and then taking down American Ryan Harrison yesterday. And Michael Russell, approaching thirty-five years of age, rallied past seventh seed Michael Przysiezny before handling Tim Smyczek to make the quarters. In his long career -- sixteen years as a pro -- he's never even made a singles final, but it sure would be nice to see him continue his fight this week.

But even more spoilers have emerged in Rotterdam, in a draw where top tier players like defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro and two-time Grand Slam titleist Andy Murray loom large as threats. Marin Cilic continued his comeback with a win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday and Jerzy Janowicz managed an upset of Zagreb finalist Tommy Haas earlier today. But maybe more threatening are barely unseeded Ernests Gulbis and Phillipp Kohlschreiber, neither of whom have lost a set on their way to the quarters. At #24 and #27 in the world, they promised to be spoilers from the start -- Gulbis has the tougher task ahead, facing DelPo next, while Kohlscreiber, who just wrapped up a fairly routine 4&4 win over Richard Gasquet will face either wildcard Igor Sijsling or qualifier Michael Berrer next, but either man could continue his streak.

With just a few weeks left before the next round of big tournaments, there might be no better time for all these guys to make these statements. And after their performances so far this week, you can't count any of them out, even against the most intimidating of foes.

A Chance for the Vets

The Latin American stretch of the tennis season always catches me a little off guard -- a (mostly) clay court teaser before the players really make the switch to dirt post-Indian Wells and Miami. The events don't always attract the top players, but that doesn't mean there aren't a ton of challenges out there. And the players who show up really have the opportunity to shine -- and this time, it's not just the youngsters making an impact.

Not too surprisingly, the upsets began early in Monterrey, with Roberta Vinci, Alexandra Dulgheru and Gisela Dulko all failing to make it past the second round. And while Australian Open standout Sara Errani and recently resurgent Sorana Cirstea are still alive, for the time being, there are again some underdogs out there ready to bite.

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner has been around for what seems like ages, but hasn't ever made a big dent on Tour. An ITF titleist fourteen times during her career, the best she's ever done on the WTA was a runner-up showing last year in Bad Gastein. But after her defeat of Dulko and a smashing of Eva Birnerova earlier today, her draw is opening up. She'll next face either Cirstea or Timea Babos, having her own coming out party these days, but at an event where anything really can happen, she has a real shot going even further.

Ranked just outside the top hundred -- a few spots behind Mayr -- twenty-six year old Nina Bratchikova is responsible for the bigger upset in Monterrey, taking out #1 seed Vinci in their second round. Though she's been around for over a decade, she's never made a big crack into the double digits, but this was her second top twenty-five win of the year, having beaten Flavia Pennetta in her Melbourne opener, and could help her move to a new all-time high in her career, whatever happens next. And with a quarterfinal date with super-veteran Greta Arn, a woman who she's only played once -- in 2005 -- there's a good chances she might really break through in Mexico.

The big upsets didn't start until today in Buenos Aires. After seven of the eight seeds made it through early rounds, Gilles Simon, Juan Monaco and Fernando Verdasco all lost Thursday, each in straight sets. While Nicolas Almagro still has a shot at winning his second title of the Golden Swing, the door swung open for some others to sneak through too.

Qualifier Igor Andreev hasn't won a title since 2005, but his first main draw matches here have been reminiscent of the play that helped him nearly beat John Isner last year in Miami. After beating Verdasco today, dropping just three points on his first serve, he should be able to give even defending champion Almagro -- against whom he has a solid 4-3 record, two of those wins coming on clay -- a run for his money.

But fellow veteran David Nalbandian might have something to say about that. The one-time #3 in the world has struggled with injuries over the last few seasons, but comes to Argentina after a tough five-setter versus Isner in Australia and an upset of Gilles Simon in Brazil. Facing his countryman, up-and-comer Carlos Berlocq, in the quarters, he has a much less intimidating road through the draw now. And if he keeps it up, he might be able to give a couple of elite a fight for the rest of the year.

With so many new stars coming onto the scene, the ones with the most experience can often be overshadowed. But this week there's plenty of veteran power shining through among the youngsters. And as the fields get narrowed, the opportunity for even bigger success may never look better.

The Haves and the Have-Nots

This past week of tennis seems to highlight two things: players on a roll and players trying to get back on one.

At the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires, the field was fraught with local stars and past champions with Nicolas Almagro leading the pack, fresh off a title in Costa do Sauipe. The Spaniard is probably one of the most under-rated guys in the game, outshone by compatriots Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco. Still he's been in and around the top thirty for almost four years and has racked up at least one title a year for the past six -- incidentally, all on clay. On the way to the quarters in Argentina, he's put together a solid 11-2 record on the year, and if he continues to play like he has, I wouldn't be surprised to see him improve it even further.

The 2009 champ here, Tommy Robredo is also trying to keep his momentum going. After a disappointing season last year, he finally seems to be turning things around. He defeated Mardy Fish in Melbourne and took a set from Roger Federer in the fourth round before winning the championship in Santiago. Back in seeding territory for the Majors, he hasn't lost a set yet in Buenos Aires. But with a third round date with David Nalbandian, things are only getting harder from here.

Less successful in recent months has been Albert Montanes. After scoring wins over Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nikolay Davydenko and Roger Federer last year, he'd gone just 1-3 before the Copa. He struggled through his second round versus a tough Fabio Fognini, but if he keeps his cool against Juan Ignacio Chela today, he could recapture his momentum.

The Marseille draw is headlined by Robin Soderling, ranked at a career high #4 in the world and having just successfully defended his title in Rotterdam. Though he was forced into two tiebreaks against marathon-man Nicolas Mahut in his opener, he's been flawless since and earlier today dismissed Dmitry Tursunov, himself a stunning comeback story, 6-1 in the second set, to make his second final in a row.

There he'll face one-time top-ten player Marin Cilic, once my favorite to take this sport by storm. After failing to three-peat titles in Chennai and Zagreb earlier this year, he dropped precipitously in the rankings and lost the seeding in France. But with wins over #7 Tomas Berdych in the quarters and third-seed Mikhail Youzhny in the semis, the Croat has reached his first final in almost a year. He's lost his only previous meeting with Soderling at last year's French Open, but he sure looks like he's playing back at the top of his game.

Things are a little backwards in Memphis, where the hot player is not the top seed, but the wildcard. Milos Raonic began the year ranked #250, but a fourth round run in Melbourne and his first career title in San Jose have vaulted him to #59. The twenty-year-old backed up his win over Fernando Verdasco in the SAP finals with a three-set victory in the first round this week and somewhat easily clawed his way to the semis where today he faces fourth seed Mardy Fish.

In the other Memphis semi it's a former Major champion trying to come back. Juan Martin Del Potro missed most of 2010 recovering from wrist surgery and failed to make a dent in any tournament when he returned last September. Now ranked back in the top three hundred -- his semifinal showing in San Jose boosted him 186 spots -- he's starting to show his stuff again. He's not quite the big server he was in the past, firing off just seven aces in his quarter against Michael Russell, but he is winning again, and if he can get past Andy Roddick today, it could make for a very interesting final.

Of course it's still early in the year, and we certainly don't know yet whether any of these guys will be able to continue their performances thus far in 2011. But things so far are looking promising for both the consistent players and the comebacks. And if they keep it up, those at the very top of the sport might have something to look out for.

Between Friends and Teammates

Strangely, for two men who came of tennis age in the same era, cracking into the sport's elite around the same time, facing challenges from the same players, Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey have never played each other on a singles court.

That's not to say they're strangers, by any means. They'll be leading the U.S. Davis Cup team this year and have paired together for more than a few doubles matches -- in fact, they're playing on the same side of the net for the championship in Memphis as I type. But one-on-one, their record was clear until this afternoon.

From the start the Regions Morgan Keegan final promised to be a great match-up. Isner, the sixth seed and now the second best player in the country behind Andy Roddick, had gotten past another big server in Ivo Karlovic and overcame a challenge presented by Philipp Petzschner in the semifinals. Querrey, for his part, avenged his loss to Roddick last week in San Jose on his way to his seventh career final.



For the first two sets neither man was able to break the other's serve -- not surprising when Sam, at six-foot-six, is the short one of the two. They split the tiebreaks and fittingly forced a third set with more than the scoreboard showing how even things were. They'd both scored seventy-three points, fired off fifteen aces, won an incredible percentage on first serves. It wasn't until early in the third that Querrey converted his first break point and, just for emphasis, broke one more time for a 6-3 score in the decider.

It was certainly a great result for Sam -- after a strong start to last summer, he struggled when playing for the title, only winning once in four attempts. Isner, who won his first title in Auckland this year, was certainly on more of a roll, racking up a nice 8-1 record before this tournament. But it was a better result for a country that has been struggling to find its next generation of stars. Clearly both John and Sam proved that there is plenty of talent still to come out of the U.S.

Meanwhile in Buenos Aires two other Davis Cup teammates were battling for the Copa Telmex title. David Ferrer and former world #1 Juan Carlos Ferrer hadn't met since the 2008 Australian Open, but with JCF clearly on the comeback trail while Ferrer continues to falter, you had to give the second seed the advantage, despite David's higher ranking and better head-to-head record.

Ferrer did in fact take the first set, but Ferrero came back to take the second set and ultimately broke his compatriot in the final game of the third to take his second title of the year -- he'd won the Brazil Open just last week. It was a solid victory for a man who, a year ago, had fallen out of the top hundred. You certainly can't count him out as a threat going forward.



What's great about today's title matches is that, results aside, before long all these guys are going to find themselves on the same side -- some sooner than others -- fighting for the same cause. It's nice to see that kind of camaraderie in a sport, especially when you're talking about some of the most talented athletes in the field.

And it certainly makes for great games to watch!