The Big Breakthroughs

It's been a very weird week for tennis, with some shocking upsets, some brilliant performances, and, ultimately, two champions whose victories made some really strong statements.

This is the Monte-Carlo champion 🏆

A brilliant week from @steftsitsipas 👏 #RolexMCMasters pic.twitter.com/CNPh7MAozJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 18, 2021

Monte Carlo

I'll start where the stakes were highest, at the Rolex Masters in Monte Carlo, where my theory that the house always wins was proven spectacularly wrong when eleven-time champion Rafael Nadal lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. That result guaranteed we'd see a first-time Masters winner this week, and the final result showed we should be expecting event more.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, after all, has been putting together big results for so long it's hard to believe he's only 22. His first real breakout came three years ago when, just inside the top thirty, be beat Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, and Novak Djokovic to make the final at the Rogers Cup. The next year he made his first Grand Slam semi and won the year-end championship in London, and he's been a staple in the top ten since.

And his performance this week was on point -- while he technically only faced one other seed on his way to the final, his opponents (Dubai champ Aslan Karatsev, giant-killer Dan Evans) were nevertheless formidable foes. And against Rublev for the title, the outcome was anything but certain -- the two had split their previous six meetings, with last year's breakout star most recently the victor in Rotterdam.

But Tsitsipas was clinical in Sunday's match, winning 86% of his first serve point, never allowing a break opportunity and converting all three of his. In just over an hour he had claimed the win and the title -- maybe not the biggest of his career, but certainly breaking the seal for what is sure to be a slew of more Masters titles. And with Roland Garros just about a month away, he might have made a real case that he's one to watch in Paris.

Charleston

Meanwhile in Charleston, we were also treated to a real breakthrough, and one that came with a little bit of redemption on the side.

Just last week Astra Sharma fell victim to one of the most bizarre cases of chair umpire mistakes we've seen -- after having a game she won wrongly awarded to her opponent, she largely broke down, losing her opening match in Bogotá in three sets. The loss particularly unfortunate, since she'd made the final there the last time the event was held in 2019.

But Sharma seemed to shake off her frustration by the time she came to South Carolina. In a field that was pretty wide open -- there was only one player in the top thirty in the draw -- the former college star, still ranked sub-100 on tour, was actually the more experienced player in her later matches. She upended fifteen-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova's breakthrough run in the quarters and then ended Bogotá champ Maria Camila Osorio's eight match win streak in the semis.

For the title, Sharma faced off against top seeded Ons Jabeur, herself going for her maiden title. But while the trailblazing Tunisian was able to avenge last week's loss to Danka Kovinic in the semis and build a set lead in the final, she wasn't able to finish off the task. Sharma forced a decider and took advantage of weak serving by her opponent to seal off the comeback and win her first tour title.

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The wins this week may seem to be of different orders of magnitude, but with the clay court season really getting in full swing now, they're both hugely important for those who pulled them off. And hopefully they're only a sign of what we have yet to see from these two talents -- and one step towards their even bigger wins down the road.

Where Anything Can Happen

We should know by now there are very few certainties on the clay court -- other than, of course, that if you're facing Rafael Nadal on it, it's pretty inevitable you're going to lose. But everyone else is much more vulnerable, so it shouldn't be such a surprise that so many unlikely stars were able to make such big statements over the past week, as we kicked off the now slightly longer road to Roland Garros.

🇨🇴 QUEEN OF BOGOTA 🇨🇴

Teenage wildcard @CamiOsorioTenis wins her first-ever WTA title with a comeback victory on home soil!#CopaColsanitas pic.twitter.com/fyuIZkB5bB

— wta (@WTA) April 11, 2021

Copa Calsanitas, Bogotá, Colombia

I'll start in Bogotá, where the upsets came early and came often. Perhaps it shouldn't be that much of a shocker, as the only entrant in the top fifty was a recently surging Sara Sorribes Tormo, whose run in Miami came just a bit too late to give her the top seed here. But she lost her opening match to veteran Sara Errani, and the woman who did squeak into that #1 spot, Saisai Zhang, dropped one round later. Ultimately only one seed made it as far as the quarterfinals, and Tamara Zidansek, the 23-year-old from Slovenia ranked #93 in the world, was able to stay steady enough to make her second career final.

But in Sunday's match she ran into nineteen year old Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, a wildcard who'd played only a handful of tour-level main draws before this. But the former top-ranked Junior and 2019 U.S. Open Girls' champ was understandably at home on the courts of her native Colombia, scoring wins over seventh seed Tereza Martincova and veteran Stefanie Voegele. In the final, she dropped the first set to Zidansek, the first she'd lost all week, but then rallied back to stun her opponent in a nearly three hour match to claim the trophy. The win not only earned her some serious bragging rights, but may have put her on the radar as a potential spoiler as things really start heating up. After all, we know this is the part of the season when the young guns can really shine.

Volvo Car Open, Charleston, South Carolina

The stakes were a little higher in Charleston, where four Grand Slam champions were counted among the seeds, another elsewhere in the draw. But the favorites strunggled here too -- red hot Garbiñe Muguruza retired with a leg injury while up a bagel set to Yulia Putintseva in the third round, while Sofia Kenin lost her opener and Miami champ Ashleigh Barty was stunned by Paula Badosa in the quarters. And Petra Kvitova was ousted surprisingly easily by world #91 Danka Kovinic, who beat two more seeds on her way to the final.

There, though, she met world #38 Veronika Kudermetova, the fifteen seed who'd taken out that other Major winner -- a still-struggling Sloane Stephens -- in the quarters. It was the second championship match of her career -- she kicked off 2021 with a run to the title match in Abu Dhabi, beating Elina Svitolina before finally bowing to then unbeatable Aryna Sabalenka -- but she'd had a much easier road than her opponent, not facing another seed during her run. And she made good on her favored status in the final too, breaking her opponent four times on her way to the win. It was her first career trophy and might be enough to push her into seeding territory for the next Slam. And if she keeps her momentum going, it could really make some other sit up and take notice.

Sardegna Open, Cagliari, Italy

Things went a little more according to plan for the men last week, but that's not to say there weren't any surprises. In Cagliari, young Lorenzo Musetti stayed strong in a roller coaster of a match with top seeded Daniel Evans, saving four match points before getting the win in the second round. And world #49 Laslo Djere made a big play for his third clay court title, notching upsets over sixth seeded John Millman and fourth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on his way to the final.

Meanwhile third seeded Lorenzo Sonego was plugging away in the bottom half of the draw. The 25-year-old Italian can be a little up and down in his play -- he lost his first five matches of last season and then scored one of the biggest upsets of the year with a win over Novak Djokovic in Vienna. In 2021 too, he lost his opener at the Murray River Open to world #265 Jason Kubler and couldn't seem to get much traction at events after that. That changed this week in Italy, though -- after staging a comeback against a very talented Yannick Hanfmann in the quarters, he got the better over second seed Taylor Fritz in the semis. He was tested again by Djere in the final, but he was able to stay strong and win his second career title. For added measure, he teamed up with compatriot Andrea Vavassori to also claim the doubles trophy. And if he can play as consistently as he did this week, he could cause a lot of trouble for the favorites when the stakes get raised.

Andalucia Open, Marbella, Spain

Of course not all top seeds were so unlucky this week. In Marbella, Pablo Carreño Busta, who'd been a little quiet this year after his phenomenal end to the 2020 season, was able to make good on his spot at the top and claim his fifth career title, his second on the dirt. Without having to face anyone in the top forty during his run, he was the clear favorite in the championship match. But that's not to say we didn't see some other surprises in Spain.

Seventeen-year-old phenom Carlos Alcaraz continued his ascent on tour, stunning veteran Feliciano Lopez in his second round and following up with a win over a quickly climbing Casper Ruud a match later. The wins earned him his first ATP semifinal and boosted him fifteen ranking spots to #118 in the world. And something tells me that number is only going higher from here. He did eventually lose to finalist Jaume Munar, though -- the fellow Spaniard, ranked just inside the top hundred, had opened his run with a solid win over an often spotty Fabio Fognini. And while he couldn't ultimately get the better of PCB in the championship match, the fact that he pushed the eventual champion to three sets might bode well for his future too.

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So with week one of the 2021 clay court season in the books, and the big events starting with the Rolex Masters around the corner, we're starting to see how things could shape up as we head to Paris. Can this week's winners make any real headway at the bigger events? Well, some have better chances than others. But with momentum on their side right now, it should be fun to see what they do with it.

A Couple Different Breakthroughs

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

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

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

A Door Creaks Open

It's been a good couple weeks for some of the stars of the WTA. Flavia Pennetta cemented her comeback with a win in Indian Wells, her biggest title to date, and Serena Williams closed out trophy #7 in Miami last weekend in dominating form. But the efforts got to both of them this week, and each lady bowed out of the first real clay court tournaments of the season earlier than expected. And that might have opened the door for other players looking to turn around a spate of bad luck in their own corners.

Uber-veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm took out Pennetta in their Monterrey Open first round, and followed the victory with a three-set win over Timea Babos. A couple other largely unknown names have also thrived south of the border -- qualifier Julia Boserup, ranked #302 in the world, took out Kirsten Flipkens on her way to the quarters and Jovana Jaksic, a winner of fourteen ITF titles and only one match win in a WTA main draw before this week, will face off today for an unlikely spot in the semis. But the bigger opportunity in Mexico lies with Caroline Wozniacki, seeded third and just off her lowest ranking in almost six years. She did reach the semis in Dubai and the quarters in Miami, so maybe she's been pulling her game together a bit over the last few months. She's handled challenges from American upstart Coco Vandeweghe and doubles champion Kristina Mladenovic already this week and should be the favorite today against Karolina Pliskova, though the Czech has put in some inspiring performances herself. If Caro can stay strong, she might just get back the confidence she needs to relaunch herself back in the elite

Up in Charleston, an exhausted and injured Serena lost her opening round to little-known Jana Cepelova who, to her credit, backed up the win by taking out another seed in Elena Vesnina. And as strong as the world #78 has been, the glaring hole in the draw has created opportunities for a slew of players who haven't tasted big victory in quite some time. Sara Errani, just hanging onto a spot in the top ten, has barely won more matches than she's lost this year, while former #1 Jelena Jankovic has only won one title since 2010. They're both still alive, but it's the lower seeds who could most surprise us. Quickly recovering Andrea Petkovic drubbed Sabine Lisicki in the third round and Daniela Hantuchova may not face a seed through the semis. But I'll keep an eye on Lucie Safarova, runner-up at the Family Circle Cup in 2012 -- she was the only player to take a set off eventual champion Na Li in Melbourne, even holding match point, and last night pulled off a stunning victory over Sam Stosur, bringing her record against the one-time Grand Slam champion to an impressive 9-2. She has a less impressive record against Petkovic, who she'll face in today's quarter, but could just have the momentum to push her a few matches more.

Of course the early exits of the very favorites at this week's tournaments should signal that nothing is certain -- and we've already seen several surprises in both draws, so there could very well be more in store. Whether these players take advantage of these opportunities remains to be seen, but the way they're playing there may never be a better chance to do so. And for some of them, a win could put them on a much brighter path for the rest of the year.

Three Times a Charm

It's about that time of year when we make the switch in earnest from hard courts to clay, but while the change of season can take some players by surprise, for others it can be a chance to either continue a good (okay, great) run or to wash out the bad taste of a thus-far disappointing year. And this past weekend a couple ladies, each winning their third trophies at their respective tournaments, might have done just that.

The draw in Charleston was full of not just top-notch talent, but also a few rising stars that were out to prove they too could hit with the big girls. And while a couple succeeded for a time -- college star Mallory Burdette upset 2009 champ Sabine Lisicki and eighteen-year-old Madison Keys worked her way to the quarterfinals -- it was ultimately a couple veterans left standing to contest the title. Last year's winner Serena Williams had progressed without much drama, even easily dispatching older sister Venus in the semis, to make her fourth final of the year. Meanwhile former world #1 Jelena Jankovic, rebuilding her game with a title in Bogota and an impressive run to the final four in Miami, endured a few more hiccups during her campaign -- though she didn't meet a seed in her first five matches, she nonetheless needed three sets to beat Melanie Oudin, Caroline Garcia and Stefanie Voegele.

Despite these challenges JJ came out swinging in Sunday's final -- she saved five early break chances before pouncing on Serena's serve early in the first. She broke again to grab the opener, firing off aces, catching Williams flat-footed, and guessing right on almost every ball -- it was quickly evident why the Serb had been able to compile a commendable 4-5 record against the top-ranked champion. But things took a turn early in the second set -- after a heated exchange at 40-15 in the first game, Serena eventually broke and went on to bagel JJ, forcing a decider. She took an early lead in that one too, and never looked back -- the "war" of words may have, to some degree, shifted momentum to the American's favor, but her comeback shouldn't have been unexpected, given Serena's recent indomitable level of play. Still, with her third title at the Family Circle Cup, on a surface that is far from her best, she's certainly put her name in real contention for the ultimate clay court crown -- if it wasn't there already.

The field may not have been as star-studded down in Monterrey, but that doesn't mean the stakes weren't as high. Here, too, was an opportunity for resurrections -- Monica Niculescu, down markedly from her career-high ranking achieved a little more than a year ago, made her way to the semis with wins over uber-veteran Kimiko Date Krumm and sixth-seeded Yanina Wickmayer -- and for breakthroughs -- young American Coco Vandeweghe scored a big win over world #11 Marion Bartoli before being ousted herself by nineteen-year-old Lauren Davis. But finally top seed Angelique Kerber, looking for her first title of the year, worked her way through the draw, needing three sets to get past both Alla Kudryavtseva and Maria Kirilenko in the semis. In the other half of the draw, two-time champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, having put together a middling 7-7 record on the year -- including five first round losses -- found a way to regroup. She didn't face a seed until the final, but won her first six sets of the event, facing a challenge only from Niculescu to make her second final of the year.

Kerber seemed to get the edge early in the pair's second meeting -- having lost in the Brisbane quarterfinals in two tiebreaks, the German broke in the first game of this final and held on to take the set. But Pavs regrouped in the second, winning nine games in a row to go ahead 5-0 in the decider. Kerber very nearly pulled off the comeback of the tournament, though, winning the next four games and drawing within a stone's throw of evening the match. But the Russian held tough again, winning the next game and, with it the match. Her record in Mexico now stands at 15-0, with three of her four trophies coming South of the Border. And while her success here hasn't yet translated into much for the rest of the clay court season, her performance this past week could set the stage for bigger things this time around.

Three-peats are big accomplishments in this sport, whether they come in sequential years or not, and both of these ladies made some big statements when they got their third trophies this week. If they can keep up their game, it seems they could find continued success on court throughout the spring, and those who thought they might be able to rest easy on clay might just have to sit up and take notice.

How It's Done

I'm not sure many people didn't expect today's result at the Family Circle Cup. The 2008 champion here, Serena Williams, coasted through the draw without dropping a set, winning her first trophy of the year and the milestone fortieth of her career. But the manner in which she did it proved she's still the one everyone else must answer to.

Williams' performance in Miami helped her back into the top ten, but she was still the fifth seed when she came to Charleston. But her performance, even in the early rounds, showed she was ready to outplay her position. She fired off eleven aces against Elena Vesnina in her opener and, despite suffering her only broken service game of the week in that match, eventually advanced with little drama. As she progressed through the event, as is her style, she seemed to clean up her game further -- in her semifinal against Sam Stosur, the woman who stunned her in last year's U.S. Open final, she made just fifteen errors to nearly twenty-nine winners and dropped just two points on her first serve. After just under an hour, she'd made her way back to the final, the clear favorite for the title.

In the other half of the draw, Lucie Safarova had been similarly impressive, though arguably against less formidable players. The ninth-seeded Czech was pushed to a third set by on-the-rise Aleksandra Wozniak, but passed the test without dropping serve. Against Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals, a woman to whom she'd lost a tight two-setter last year in Melbourne, she stayed strong and polished off the former world #2 in just under ninety minutes. Safarova raised her game in the semis, rolling past Polona Hercog -- who'd incidentally beaten Nadia Petrova in the quarters after outlasting a likely exhausted Marion Bartoli a round earlier -- with a double bagel.

But her luck ran out in Sunday's final. Serena ran off with the first nine games of the match, and though Safarova was able to hold at love in the tenth game, Williams quickly put the championship back on her track and polished off her opponent in just fifty-eight minutes.

Her win should bring her back to #9 in the world as of Monday's rankings. But more importantly, it reminds all potential challengers she's still out there to win. Sure it's been a few months since her last title and a couple other stars have taken the opportunity to shine in her absence. But Serena's return to the winner's circle this weekend shows she can still dominate, and do so without any drama. And if she's truly healthy again, it might just change how the rest of the year plays out.

Adding to, or Starting, the Trophy Case

There are a select few players who really thrive on clay -- champions like Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin have the ability to intimidate their opponents on the surface, but when they're out of the picture anything really can happen. And as we kick off the 2011 clay court season it was both some relative veterans and a few brand new names that made the first statements.

As the youngest of this week's victors, it's a little strange to think of Caroline Wozniacki as the most accomplished of the four. But ranked #1 in the world and already owning fourteen career singles titles before arriving in Charleston, that's exactly what she is. The twenty-year-old Dane didn't play the best tennis during the week, but she'd done what she needed to make her fourth final of the year, surviving scares from Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Yanina Wickmayer on the way. But she was able to raise her game on Sunday against Russian Elena Vesnina, firing off six aces and denying her opponent on all four break opportunities. After about ninety minutes, she was the one lifting the trophy, her third of the year.

On the European courts it was Caro's good friend Victoria Azarenka who prevailed. Fresh off her second title run in Miami, the top seed in Marbella began her clay court campaign in impressive style. She only dropped serve three times in her first four matches, reaching her first final on the surface since 2006. Against qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu in the championship match, she was able to take advantage of her challenger's inexperience. Though her service games were a little more spotty, Vika only allowed the Romanian -- who, over the week, had out-toughed players like Klara Zakopalova and '09 French Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova -- to hold serve once during the match, and with the scoreline decisively in her favor, the Belarusian won her first ever title on the dirt.

While the ladies were adding to their trophy collections this weekend, the men were just out to capture that maiden title. The Casablanca final boasted two players who'd lost all four of the finals they'd played before -- Potito Starace, the fifth seed, took on world #69 Pablo Andujar, who'd beaten Jeremy Chardy and tournament favorite Albert Montanes on the way to the championship. The Italian had won both of the pair's two prior matches, most recently on the Santiago clay this year, and though Starace had pulled off a few comebacks this week, Andujar proved to be too much for him today. The twenty-five year old won more than eighty percent of his first serve points and stayed aggressive on return to get the win and put his clay court season on the right track.

And in another case of first-time victory, we saw American Ryan Sweeting make good on a wildcard entry in Houston to claim his premier Tour trophy. After taking out second seed, and last-year's runner up, Sam Querrey in the second round, he'd been impressive against a tough Teymuraz Gabashvili and outlasted big-serving Ivo Karlovic to make his first final. On the top half of the draw, a resurrected Kei Nishikori backed up a win over U.S. #1 Mardy Fish in the quarters by taking out clay-court specialist Pablo Cuevas in the semis. But Sweeting was solid on Sunday, holding strong after losing a break lead in the second set and ultimately earning the victory, 7-3 in the tiebreak. If nothing else, it's encouraging to see an American win on this surface again.

With just a few weeks left before the French Open, we've started setting the stage for what's to come. Of course we've come to know that almost nothing is certain on the red clay of Paris, but all four of this weekend's champions have certainly gotten off on the right foot. And whether their success came from experience or beginner's luck, if it continues we might have some new favorites to talk about at Roland Garros.

A Change of Season

Here in New York we've been teased with signs of spring for several weeks, but there hasn't yet been a definitive shift to the brighter, warmer weather we in the Northeast have been longing for.

Similarly in tennis after a sprinkling of "Golden Swing" events on the Latin American clay, the real shift to dirt only officially took place this week -- and it could be time for some new players to take center stage. The winter hard court season was all about Novak Djokovic, Kim Clijsters, and Caroline Wozniacki. Notwithstanding Kim's injury-induced hiatus, I wouldn't expect any of them to completely disappear in the weeks leading up to Roland Garros, but they might not have the week-after-week success they've become accustomed to.

The men in Houston are helmed by new American #1 Mardy Fish, whose gutsy Davis Cup wins late last year proved that boys from the States do not always crumble on the dirt. Still third-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, one of my dark-horse favorites at last year's French Open, and Teymuraz Gabashvili, who shocked Andy Roddick in Paris, might be the bigger threats. And Pablo Cuevas, a six-time Challenger titleist on the surface, might be ready to make his own breakthrough on the main Tour.

There are even more specialists over in Casablanca, where the seeds have ten trophies and another twelve finals to their names. Albert Montanes, who beat players like Marin Cilic, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Roger Federer on the surface, is hoping to go one better than his runner-up finish here in 2007. He hasn't had the best record this year, but on the courts which make him most comfortable, I expect that to change. And Fabio Fognini, whose French Open second round made my list of best matches of 2010, could easily turn around his year with a few more wins this week.

But if anyone is going to make a big statement in Morocco, it could be former top-ten Frenchman Gilles Simon, the champion here four years ago. He's been climbing his way back into the elite all year, winning a title in Sydney and taking Federer to five sets in the Australian Open second round. It's been a while since he's claimed a clay-court trophy, but with his game back on the right track this could be a good opportunity.

Over in Marbella the ladies draw is stacked with players who've seen most of their success on the dirt. French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and finalist Dinara Safina spent much of the 2009 season battling each other on this surface, and they very well could meet in the final again, but it might not be that easy. Alexandra Dulgheru has won her only two titles on the Warsaw clay and will be looking to branch out, while feisty Sara Errani has been known to cause some higher ranked players some trouble too.

But we might get a better idea of the real threats this season in Charleston where four top-ten players, including world #1 Wozniacki and Roland Garros runner-up Sam Stosur. Last year's champion at this tournament hasn't had a real deep run at any event in 2011, but now on the courts where she really hit her stride, I would expect her style of play to really shine.

Of course, with the clay court season really just getting started, there's plenty of time for some hopefuls to upend the status quo. But in the next few weeks, don't be surprised if we see a few new faces on the championship blocks -- after all, some previously latent talent is bound to wake up after the winter thaw.

Playing at Her Prime

It took a while for Sam Stosur to win her first title -- the twenty-six year old had been pro for about a decade before claiming that inaugural trophy in Osaka last year, but seeing her play in the Charleston finals today makes you wonder why it took so long. Now ranked #11 in the world, the Australian is playing some of the best tennis in her life. She made the semis in Indian Wells and the quarters in Miami before she took the South Carolina clay by storm.

Sam developed a lead early in most of her matches this week, and today got off to a quick start against Vera Zvonareva in the finals. In about twenty minutes she had captured the first set, bageling her more-decorated opponent and seeming to get under the Russian's skin just a bit. But while Vera threw racquets, (presumably) cussed loudly and took the opportunity to consult her coach on changeovers, Sam remained calm even after dropping back on serve in the second set. She bombed aces that kissed the corners, delivered winners that Zvonareva could barely get her racquet on, and immediately broke back and clinched her second title in the shortest-ever final at this tournament.

At her post-match press conference Stosur opined on her dominant play:

"You have a handful of matches where everything you hit is a good shot or winner and you just kind of can't miss, and they're the days that everyone talks about you're in a zone. It's just a great feeling, and you wish that you could do that every day, but it's not that easy. To be able to do it in a final is all the more pleasing."

It was a nice way to end a successful week. Stosur, the fourth seed here, had never made it past the second round at the Family Circle Cup, but with dominating performances both today and in the semifinals against Daniela Hantuchova on Saturday, she's certainly established herself as a threat for the French Open, where she made the final four last year.

"Whenever you win a title, you want to go into the rest of the season feeling like you can achieve more and win more titles ... If you can win a title in April, that's better than winning it in the last week of the year like I did last year."

And with just a few weeks left before the year's second Grand Slam, you can bet that a few others will be putting Samantha Stosur on their radar now.

No Way to Win -- or Lose

The first semifinal at the Family Circle Cup ended abruptly on Saturday when top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was forced to retire from her match against Vera Zvonareva with what looked like a very painful ankle injury.

Last week's winner in Ponte Vedra hadn't dropped a set in Charleston, looking in top form against Patty Schnyder in the third round and battling through a feisty Nadia Petrova last night. She had gotten herself down a break to start the match, but we've seen in the past how capable she is of coming back. I wasn't worried.

But with Zvonareva serving at 40-30 in the sixth game of the match, we watched one of the best points of the tournament. The nineteen-year-old was able to get to one drop shot, but couldn't put away a volley to end the point. Instead both ladies got back to the baseline and traded a few strong forehands. Vera tried another short ball, but this time Caroline couldn't quite reach it, and when she tried to stop short she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground as a collective gasp rose from the watching crowds.



Wozniacki was carried off court, where she sat a few minutes icing her foot and trying to tape it in place. I have to admit I was surprised when she tried to come back and play. When I asked her about it in her press conference later, she said:

"I wanted to see if it was possible, and I was surprised that I could stand on my leg, which was very positive actually. But as soon as I was moving to the sides, it was impossible, so I couldn't play."

She retired while trailing the Russian 2-5. But as she pointed out, she was able to walk off the court -- hopefully a good sign for a speedy recovery.

Vera couldn't have felt good about the sequence off events -- it was, after all, just last year when she tore two ligaments in her own ankle when chasing down a ball at this very tournament. That injury caused her to pull out of the French Open and forced her to miss almost two months of play. In her press conference she said that watching Caroline gave her flashbacks and made her think she was having pain in her ankle again.



But Vera will have to push that out of her mind tomorrow when she plays the winner of the Sam Stosur/Daniela Hanutchova match that's going on now -- as she said, "It's great to be in the finals, but it's not great to be in the finals this way...I'll try to just come back on the court tomorrow and do my best."

And hopefully for Caroline, the runner-up here last year, recovery will be quick. She'll be getting an MRI tomorrow and then reassess the rest of the clay court season and her prospects for the French Open. I know fans will want to see her back soon.

As for her opponent, who made the final whether by default or not, she had some nice things to say.

"She's definitely a good player. She's been playing well this week, and Vera's going to be a tough opponent to beat tomorrow. "

Having watched those first few gamed, I'd have to agree.

Breaking the Seal

Now I've never won a professional tennis championship, but I like to believe that your first title is probably the hardest to bring home. Once you gather some momentum and establish yourself as someone to be reckoned with, numbers two, three and four should be much easier to come by.

Case(s) in point: Victoria Azarenka, who claimed her first WTA title in January and hasn't looked back, winning in both Memphis and Miami after that. And Caroline Wozniacki who broke through in Stockholm last year and has since won three more championships. And of course, on a grander scale, Rafael Nadal hasn't ceded the French Open crown since 2005, when he rose his first Grand Slam trophy over his head as the #5 seed.

Sabine Lisicki made her case to join that elite bunch this week in Charleston at the Family Circle Cup.

The nineteen-year-old German is currently ranked #63 in the world, just a hair off her career high of #49. She's had some success in the past, defeating Dinara Safina at last year's Australian Open and winning an ITF title in Jersey in 2007, where she notched victories over the six, three and one seeds.

But her career-high had to have come in her third round match in South Carolina this week, where she stunned world #5 Venus Williams in straight sets. More impressively, she didn't let the wind out of her sails and followed up with wins over Elena Vesnina and Marion Bartoli for her space in the finals. There she met Wozniacki, who was also running on the momentum from her win in Ponte Vedra Beach last week and a second consecutive win over top seed Elena Dementieva in the semis here.

But luck, strength and just a little persistance were with Sabine on Sunday. She let five match points slip by her in the second set, but eventually regrouped to bring home her first Tour title, 6-2, 6-4.



I'm hoping this is just the start of many good things to come for Sabine.

Across the ocean another group of women were battling in Barcelona where top seeds Alize Cornet, Flavia Pennetta and Kaia Kanepi all lost early. On the top half of the draw, Maria Kirilenko advanced to the finals only dropping sets to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Carla Suárrez Navarro. On the bottom Roberta Vinci followed up her upset of Pennetta with a win over former #11 Francesca Schiavone to make her second WTA final match.

Kirilenko, ranked thirty-seventh in the world to Vinci's #61 and holding the sixth seed in Spain, should have been the favorite. But Roberta steamrolled through the first set, 6-0, and outserved her opponent to take the second 6-4. In just over an hour she'd won her second title, putting her in a good position as the French Open draws closer.



Incidentally Nadal took home his third title of the year, and his fifth straight championship in Monte Carlo, by defeating Novak Djokovic in the finals. But what did you expect? We're on clay -- it would be a surprise if he didn't hold the trophy at the end of the week.

Congrats to all!

Clay Court Kickoff

It's the last stop in the U.S. before women begin the 2009 European clay court season in earnest, and the Family Circle Cup has not only attracted the top talent, but also has so far proven to be a good opportunity for the stars to shine.

Unlike recent tournaments where top seeds have struggled early, all but one of the top eight seeds, who received byes in the first round, have made it to their second match -- most of them did so in straight sets.

Number one seed Elena Dementieva, with a shiny new career-high ranking, barely broke a sweat in her fifty-minute match against American Julie Ditty. Venus Williams gave up a one-break lead in her second set against India's Sania Mirza, but eventually rolled 6-2 in the third. Only Patty Schnyder had any trouble, though I can't say I would have favored the former top-ten player against Elena Vesnina, who made it to the finals in Auckland and the semis in Ponte Vedra Beach last week.



More impressive was Ditty's Fed Cup teammate, Melanie Oudin. The former juniors phenom has only won one match in the main draw of a WTA tournament this year -- she had to qualify for the Australian Open and then lost to Akgul Amanmuradova. (Yeah, I'd never heard of her either.)

But today Melanie was able to pull it together for a win over ninth seed, Aleksandra Wozniak, only her second win over a top-fifty player. After a close first set, she blanked Wozniak in the second, winning nearly ninety percent of her first serves and all of her three break points



It's a good omen for the remaining women. With just over a month left before Roland Garros, a couple of big wins in the next few weeks could be very important for these players -- both the elite and the up-and-comers.

Of course I'm hoping Dementieva can get back on track, but it sure would be nice to see an American succeed on clay!