Never Too Late

This hasn't always been the best season for all the ladies on Tour -- even when a couple stars seemed to have an opportunity to do something big, they seemed to fall just a little bit short when it counted. But luckily the year isn't quite over yet, and for a few players this week turned out to be one to put their careers back on course.

Irina-Camelia Begu has shown a lot of potential since the start of her career, but even after a breakout 2011 season, she never quite followed through. The other young Romanian did earn a title in Tashkent, but couldn't make much of a run at the Majors. She started out this year strong, strong, taking out Angelique Kerber in her Melbourne opener and going all the way to the fourth round. She got to the quarters in Charleston and Madrid too, and even scored a seed at the French Open, the first time she'd risen that high. She slowed down since then, though, upset by Olga Govortsova for the second time this summer in her U.S. Open first round. But she seems to have shaken that loss off pretty well -- this weak in Seoul she took terrific advantage of her top seed, only challenged once, dropping a set to Polona Hercog early on her way to the final. There she met super Cinderella Aliaksandra Sasnovich, a qualifier who'd already beaten Anna Schmiedlova and Sloane Stephens in Korea. But the Belorussian may have run out of steam on Sunday, and Begu was able to pounce -- breaking her opponent's serve six times she clinched the match in just under eighty minutes and picked up just the second trophy of her career. It should give a nice boost to her current #29 ranking, but more importantly might help her make a sustainable push into the top tiers of the sport. And there's no telling what she'll be able to do once she's there.

Jelena Jankovic has already had some major accomplishments during her career, reaching the final at the 2008 U.S. Open and holding onto the #1 spot for an impressive eighteen weeks -- that's only a week less than Victoria Azarenka and just three weeks short of Maria Sharapova. But those days sometimes feel very far behind us -- now the world #25, she made her way to the final at Indian Wells, but lost in the first round at Roland Garros, she picked up a 125K title in Nanchang and stunned Karolina Pliskova in Cincinnati, but fell early again in New York, this time to sub-hundred Oceane Dodin. It had been more than two years since her last main Tour title when she took the court in Guangzhou as the fourth seed, and with players like Simona Halep and surprise Tokyo International champ Yanina Wickmayer in the field, the Serb had her work cut out for her. But after handling an always-tough Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarters, she finally ended Wickmayer's win streak in the semis. Meanwhile in the top half of the draw, Denisa Allertova, ranked just seventy-fourth in the world, followed up a shocking win over Halep by taking out third seed Sara Errani to make her first Tour final. But Jankovic proved a little too much to handle -- after trading breaks early, the thirty-year-old rattled off a string of games and bageled her opponent in the second set. She may not have had to pull off any big upsets to claim her fourteenth career title, but breaking the seal should serve as a reminder of what she is still more than capable of doing.

The same can be said of Aga Radwanska, who was getting dangerously close to finishing the year outside the top ten for just the second time in eight years. The one-time world #2 started the year off huge with an exhibition win over Serena Williams, but seemed to struggle right after that -- early in the season she lost twice to both Venus Williams and Garbiñe Muguruza and fell well short of her 2014 performance at Indian Wells with a third round loss in the California desert. Even when she looked strong to start an event, she'd end up crumbling -- in Katowice, her homeland's tournament, she sailed through her first three rounds but then was stopped short in the semis by Camila Giorgi, and even during her traditionally strong grass season, she was three times upset by players ranked well below her at the time. It was the first time since 2010 she'd gone so long in a year without a title. Ranked just thirteenth in the world at the start of the week, she was given a relatively low seventh seed at the crowded Pan Pacific Open, which boasted four top-ten players and eight seeds in the top fifteen. And Aga was challenged from the start -- she opened against Wimbledon Cinderella Coco Vandeweghe and went on to beat Karolina Pliskova and a resurgent Dominika Cibulkova, last year's runner-up at the Australian Open. In the final she faced off against Belinda Bencic, the woman who not only beat her in the Eastbourne final, but who also usurped her Rogers Cup title just last month -- the young Swiss may still have been seeded slightly below, but with a win over Serena in Toronto, she arguably has had the better year and might have been the favorite in Sunday's final. But this time Aga got the better of her, taking advantage of weak serving and scoring five breaks for herself. The win may have saved her from going titleless for the first time in five years, but with so many true powerhouses in the field, it might have also reminded us all of her place among the elite.

And with a couple more weeks left in the season, after all, we might just see her -- and any of these ladies, really -- make a play to get back there.

Make Up Time

It's easy to forget, now that the 2014 Grand Slam season has officially wrapped up, that there are still several weeks of play left this year. And especially for the players who fell short of expectations over the last few weeks, this is their opportunity to show us what they've got.

In Guangzhou a couple ladies have already fallen short -- top seed Sam Stosur, who lost in her U.S. Open second round, dropped in her opener here while Zarina Diyas, who couldn't quite capitalize on the opportunity she was dealt in New York, fell in straight sets to a qualifier in China. In fact, only one seed made it out of the first round -- Alize Cornet, who's struggled since her big Wimbledon win, only dropped a set in her first three matches and seems to have a clear road to the final. Monica Niculescu, too, though, could be in search of redemption -- after her upset of Sabine Lisicki in Melbourne, she's lost in eight first rounds. But wins over Tashkent finalist Bojana Jovanovski and rising star Monica Puig this week might mean she's ready to turn her season back around. Though she wouldn't meet Cornet until the final, she could give the heavy favorite a run for her money.

The stakes are a bit higher in Seoul, though, where a few more seeds are still standing. But even those results weren't set in stone. Aga Radwanska had high hopes heading into the U.S. Open after winning the title in Montreal and trouncing her first round opponent in New York in under an hour. But the fourth seed lost a round later to eventual semifinalist Shaui Peng, marking her earliest Major exit since 2011. So far in Korea she seems to have her game together again, dealing Chanelle Scheepers a double bagel in her last match. But the real story at the Kia Open is that of Maria Kirilenko, whose struggles with injury pushed the recent top-ten player down to #155 in the world. She's only played a handful of matches this year, and lost most of them, including a straight set defeat by Maria Sharapova in her USO first round. But the wildcard in Seoul kicked off her campaign by beating up-and-comer Donna Vekic and then upset third seeded Klara Koukalova. She'll face off against always-tough Kaia Kanepi next, clearly no easy task, but if she's on top of her game, this truly could be her time to shine.

The stars might shine even brighter in Tokyo, where some of this year's most successful players are taking the court. But in the case of Melbourne finalist Dominika Cibulkova, who also lost eight opening round matches after that stellar showing -- most recently to then #1208 Catherine Bellis in the Big Apple -- you may not remember early-season success. She held on to the sixth seed at the Pan Pacific Open, but given recent performances I wouldn't have been surprised at an early exit. But she has been impressive -- she took out tricky Kirsten Flipkens to start her run and then ousted Coco Vandeweghe on Wednesday. She might just have put herself back on the winning track. So too has Caroline Wozniacki, who had a slightly better run in Flushing Meadows. The two-time Major runner-up might not have gotten the result she hoped for in New York, but she rebounded well with a come-from-behind victory over Jarmila Gajdosova in tonight's late match. There are still plenty of threats left in the bracket -- top seed Angelique Kerber among them -- but the way the former #1 is playing, she seems to have her eye on climbing back to the top as soon as she can.

The fields this week might not be as intimidating as they were at the U.S. Open, but there's still plenty of firepower in the ranks and seeing these ladies come out so strong sure bodes well as they wrap up the season. Sure the big trophies have all been awarded for the year, but 2015 is just around the corner. And the extra credit they're racking up now will only put them in better standing in the weeks and months to come.

The Year of the Brit

It's been a pretty good couple months for UK athletes. First they played host to a successful Olympic Games, winning twenty-nine gold medals in the process. Golf's golden boy Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship and returned to the #1 ranking in the sport. And, maybe most spectacularly, their tennis stars have finally come out of the shadows and taken the spotlight.

It started with perennial also-ran Andy Murray, claiming Gold at the All England Club less than a month after being denied the Wimbledon crown. A few weeks later he ended a seventy-six year Major drought with a stunning win at the U.S. Open.

He wasn't the only Brit making waves in New York, though. Eighteen-year-old Laura Robson might have been the Cinderella story of the tournament, stopping not one, but two Grand Slam champions on her way to the fourth round -- this after teaming with Murray to capture the mixed doubles Silver in London, too. She didn't stop there, however. At a then-high rank of #74 in the world, Robson took out three seeds on the way to her first Tour final in Guangzhou, ultimately losing a hard-fought battle to Su-Wei Hsieh, but chopping another fourteen spots from her ranking.

But perhaps the greatest breakthrough came this past weekend. While Murray lost a tight final to Novak Djokovic in Shanghai, and Robson was ousted in her Osaka third round, often overlooked Heather Watson was making her own move in Japan. Just twenty herself, her previous best performance this year might have come when she took a set off Maria Sharapova in Tokyo -- the only top-thirty player she's ever beaten was Lucie Safarova back in Miami -- but she didn't let her inexperience stop her last week. After defeating sixth-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round, she sailed until reaching the championship match, stumbling a little against fellow final first-timer Kai-Chen Chang, but finally winning her first trophy in the more than three-hour match.

It wasn't a huge title -- only one player ranked higher than #20 was in the draw -- but it was enough to push Watson into the top fifty as of this week's standings. It was also the first Tour title won by a British woman in twenty-four years, a feat that might match the more headline-grabbing accomplishments of her compatriots. And as she joins the ranks of the many Brits making breakthroughs this year, she might just be ushering in a new era of athleticism in the sport, changing the face of the top ranks in the years to come.

The Comebacks and the Coming Out

This is an interesting period of the tennis season -- with the Majors over and done for the year, casual fans might not pay attention to what's happening on court. But there are still several weeks worth of tournaments left, and there's a lot on the line for players trying to make a statement this year. Some may be trying to reverse several months of less-than-spectacular results, while others are looking to capitalize on recent momentum. And though they've already scored some impressive wins, they might need to raise their game even more at the end of this week.

Caroline Wozniacki came to Seoul with her lowest ranking in over three years and on the heels of two first-round Slam exits. She held onto the top seed this week, but with no titles on the year -- she'd won at least three annually since 2008 -- it seemed the former world #1 was on the downswing. But she came out firing this week, dropping just three games to giant-killer Arantxa Rus in her opener and taking just an hour to oust Caroline Garcia, she who took a set and two breaks from Maria Sharapova at last year's French Open. She'll next meet Klara Zakopalova who hadn't won a match since July, and against whom the Dane holds a solid 2-0 record. If she can hold her ground, it might put her on track to win her first trophy of the year.

But Kaia Kanepi, trying for her own comeback -- again, might stand in her way. After a stellar start to the year, injury sidelined her after Roland Garros. She arguably has had an easier road than Wozniacki in her first tournament back, but with two straight-set wins she seems to have eased her way back into fighting shape. Next up will be Kiki Bertens, another up-and-comer who won her first career title in Fes this past April. The Dutchwoman has pulled off a few upsets this year -- Nadia Petrova in Montreal and Christina McHale at the U.S. Open -- but if Kanepi plays to her full ability, she should be a real contender for this title.

Over in Guangzhou we've seen a couple other players fight their way back into relevance. Sorana Cirstea, once a standout in Paris, has been climbing up the rankings for most of the year, beating Marion Bartoli in Madrid, Na Li at Wimbledon and Sabine Lisicki in New York. She's had a couple of struggles this week, dropping serve four times in her first round and needing a tiebreak to close out her second. But today against Alize Cornet, whose advance in China had been helped largely by retirements of her opponents, the Romanian was on point. Against the former #11 she converted four break opportunities and won a solid seventy percent of her first serves. The win might have given her the confidence she needs to pull out a few more wins.

Unfortunately for the third seed, though, she next faces British teenager Laura Robson. The Olympic Silver medalist has been having a coming out party this summer, beating two former Major champions at the U.S. Open and rising to a career-high ranking of #74 in the world. So far in Guangzhou she's taken out second seeded Jie Zheng and survived a break-fest with Shuai Peng earlier today. Now in her second Tour semifinal -- she got this far in Palermo back in July -- she might actually be expected to get the win. And with her compatriots finally proving they've got the stuff to win, all eyes will be on Robson to deliver too.

It's not over yet, of course, with a few rounds left before winners are crowned, but these ladies' performances so far certainly look encouraging. As former stars look to regain their place at the top of the sport and rising ones climb their way to new heights, it sure looks like we'll get even more depth in the women's game. And while the biggest crowns of the year have already been awarded, it sure looks like they might be in a good position to get next season off on the right foot.

The Asian Swings

The courts at the U.S. Open aren't event cold yet and already the ladies have made their way to the other side of the globe for the first leg of the fall season. And some players are already wielding their racquets in an attempt to end their years on a high note.

There haven't been too many huge upsets at the Guangzhou International Women's Open, where three of the four remaining athletes are seeded at the event. Though defending champion Jarmila Gajdasova was ousted earlier today, top seed Maria Kirilenko -- a real fighter, as she proved in New York -- has been relentless in her progress. The world #28 hasn't won a title since 2008, but has so far not dropped a set in China, and with a semifinal meeting against Chanelle Scheepers, who proved herself a journeywoman against Francesca Schiavone in her U.S. Open third round, she has a good chance to at least get back to a final -- the South African has played deciders in all three of her matches so far, and eventually the effort will catch up with her.

But the real story in Guangzhou has been homegrown Jie Zheng, once ranked fifteenth in the world. A semifinalist in Melbourne last year, she notched wins over Maria Sharapova and now-retired Elena Dementieva in 2010, but a wrist injury has largely kept her out of contention for the last twelve months. Now hanging around the low eighties, she's way out of seeding territory, but you know she's capable of doing damage well beyond her rank. So far, she's taken out Alberta Brianti and Petra Martic. And if she truly is back in form, I wouldn't be surprised to see her handle Magdalena Rybarikova in the semis and make a real push for this title.

The stakes were slightly higher in Seoul, where four of the top twenty-five women in the world entered the draw, but the upsets were also more striking. Last year's French Open champion Schiavone dropped her opener to Vera Dushevina and talented, if not slightly spotty, Marion Bartoli fell one round later, giving American doubles specialist Vania King her first ever top-ten victory. That opens the door for remaining seeds like Dominika Cibulkova who, at twenty-two -- in rank and in age -- still hasn't claimed that maiden title. She's shown signs of brilliance, of course, beating world #1 Caroline Wozniacki twice this year and scoring victories over Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva to boot, but she has yet to really shine. If she can make it past the quarters, though, this could be her turn.

Unfortunately for Cibu, she's in the same half of the draw as a girl who's having her own breakthrough this year. Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva has been pro for nearly a decade, but hadn't spent a lot of time in the top hundred -- consistent performances on the ITF Tour and upsets of several top-thirty players, though, has pushed her to a new level. She isn't seeded in Seoul, but pulled off wins over Ekaterina Makarova and veteran Iveta Benesova already on her way to the quarters. She next faces Dushevina, not an easy task, as she's lost four of their five previous meetings, but certainly less intimidating than the Slam titleist she should have met.

There aren't many more weeks left in the 2011 season, and as the ladies wrap up there is a chance for some to prove they belong with the big girls and others to make a name for themselves. There's no telling yet who'll ultimately end up on top, but those who swing the hardest now may be the ones who hold the advantage.