The Pressure's On

We're counting down the days to the start of the first Grand Slam of the year, and while a couple players are taking every chance they get to make a case for themselves at the Australian Open, a few others haven't quite put up the numbers they'd hoped for. And with so much at stake in Melbourne, they may need to take the next couple days to regroup and get themselves on a better track for the New Year.

The top couple seeds haven't yet seen action in Hobart, but they're going to want top hope for better results than the other favorites have seen so far. Former Aussie semifinalist Sloane Stephens has had some of her best results Down Under, but after a disappointing 2014 season, she's fallen a bit down the rankings. She lost her second round last week in Auckland after a battle with fellow American Lauren Davis, and this week fell just as early, this time to Heather Watson in straight sets. And Klara Koukalova, who at this time last year was having a bit of a career resurgence -- she was defending runner-up points in Hobart this week -- has yet to win a match in 2015. After marking a first set bagel against Kurumi Nara, she only won three more games. She doesn't have too much on the line in Melbourne -- she lost to Sam Stosur in her opener -- but if she wants to reassert herself again this season, she'll want to turn things around pretty quickly.

Over in Auckland, where more than a couple favorites pulled out just before the event started, second seeded Ernests Gulbis took the courts for the first time since October and things got off to a rough start. Last year's semifinalist in Roland Garros has never made it past the second round of the Australian Open broke into the top ten on the heels of his performance, but an injury-hampered summer and fall kept him from accepting an alternate's ticket to the year end finals. And he wasn't dealt a very easy draw at the Heineken Open either -- starting off against 2014 breakout star Jiri Vesely, he managed to force a third set, but ultimately fell 6-1 in the third. And Roberto Bautista-Agut, who had a promising run to the semis last week in Chennai, retired down a set and a break to Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday, becoming the sixth seed to lose in Auckland before the quarterfinals. Hopefully he'll be able to manage whatever's ailing him in time for his Major campaign next week.

Stakes were even higher in Sydney this week where six top ten women were originally entered in the draw, but not everyone lived up to expectations. Ekaterina Makarova, who's traditionally done well Down Under, struggled with injury at the end of last season and had to withdraw from the season-ending Tournament of Champions in Sofia. She had a tough road in her comeback, though -- her first two opponents will both be seeded in Melbourne -- and after taking the first set from Carla Suarez Navarro eventually lost her two-plus hour second round. Far more disappointing, though, was the performance of Dominika Cibulkova, last year's runner-up at the Australian Open. After losing twelve first round matches in 2014, she kicked off the new season with yet another, dropping her opening round in Brisbane to teenager Madison Keys. This week she managed one win before losing to wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova on Tuesday, but she's going to want to do a lot better than that when she heads back to the site of her greatest success.

The men in Sydney may have a little less star power in their ranks, but there are plenty who were still hoping to make a point this week. Nick Kyrgios, another young standout from last season, is often talked about as Australia's next best hope to bring home a Major, and after making the quarters in Wimbledon last year it looked like there was something behind that. He put up a good fight against slightly higher-ranked Jerzy Janowicz in his opener this week, too, rebounding to take the second set after losing the first handily, but ultimately lost, bringing his record since the All England Club to a less-than-stellar 4-5. And top seed Fabio Fognini has been just as mediocre, losing in successively earlier rounds at each of last year's Grand Slams. He finished 2014 with only one win after the U.S. Open, and went oh-for-three in round robin matches in Perth. This week at the Apia International he took the first set off comeback kid Juan Martin Del Porto before finally falling to the one-time U.S. Open champ. It's not a loss he should be ashamed of, to be sure, but it surely isn't the argument he wants to make so close to a Major.

Hopefully all these guys and girls will be able to turn things around in the coming days and weeks -- after all so many other players will be waiting in the wings ready to take advantage of any weaknesses on their parts. And if they're not careful, there's no reason some of the underdogs won't be able to capitalize.

Not to Be Forgotten

Last year was one which saw plenty of stars rise, but just as many fall, as a couple of rising stars seemed to hit a roadblock in 2012. But while this season may have just begun, it seems that more than a few of them have made a point of turning things around this week.

Dominika Cibulkova didn't have a precipitous fall from the top -- since winning her breakthrough title in 2011, she's only "fallen" to #15 in the world -- but her results last season still feel somewhat less-than-stellar. She lost to three players ranked close to triple-digits to start the year and, after stunning Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros, only beat one top ten player through the rest of the year. She didn't quite live up to my expectations for her, but with her performance this week in Sydney, she might be making a case for herself this year. She opened with a drubbing of one-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova and earlier on Wednesday delivered a similar blow to 2012 stand-out Sara Errani. She faces one more top-ten player in the semis, Angelique Kerber, but she's won bigger matches before and she might just be able to do it again.

The ladies' draw in Hobart featured a lot of new rising talent, but last year's most improved player Su-Wei Hsieh and last week's surprise Shenzhen finalist Klara Zakopalova both dropped matches early. Instead Monica Niculescu, in the top thirty less than a year ago, has taken the opportunity to battle back -- after a straight-set win in her opener, the Romanian fought back from a set down to defeat Shuai Peng and make the quarters. It'll get harder from here, with Kirsten Flipkens waiting in the wings, but now's as good a time as any to prove what she can do. But even more impressive this week has been the comeback of Jarmila Gajdosova, whose 1-11 record since last May pushed her well into the triple digit rankings. She did beat Roberta Vinci in Brisbane and with two straight-set wins this week, she's put herself in her first quarterfinal since this time last year -- and if she can get past Elena Vesnina on Thursday, there's no reason she can't make a play for the title in her homeland.

Meanwhile in Auckland Gael Monfils, sidelined in the middle part of 2012 with an on-and-off knee injury, continued making strides to climb back into the elite. He made the quarters last week in Doha, but since he was unable to defend runner-up points, he saw his rank drop to just inside the top hundred. Eager to get in more court-time before the first Grand Slam, he's back in action in New Zealand and after surviving a scare early he's back in the quarters here too. He'll next battle third-seeded Tommy Haas, another veteran who's struggled with injury throughout the latter part of his career. The two haven't met in over four years, so there's no telling what will happen here -- but if Monfils makes a stand, it could set him up well for his trip to Melbourne.

The Cinderellas of Sydney may be flying a little further under the radar, but some big wins this week could do a lot to change that perception. Bernard Tomic, who couldn't break even in 2012, saw his ranking drop from top thirty to sub-fifty in just a few months. But he started this season with a huge upset of Novak Djokovic in Perth, and came back to his homeland rejuvenated. After an upset of fifth seeded Feliciano Lopez today, he earned himself a quarterfinal date with more-than-beatable veteran Jarkko Nieminen. But Ryan Harrison, just as disappointing last year, may have pulled off the bigger feat -- after qualifying for the main draw, he notched a win over top-seed and #1 American John Isner in straight sets. It's no easy road from here, but all the top players have been eliminated in his half -- if Harrison wants to make a bid for the title, this could be his chance.

There's still a lot left to play at this week's tournaments -- even more left the rest of the year -- and there's no guarantee that these winners will continue their runs. But after the slumps they've each endured over the last few months, it's nice to see them shaking things up now. And with some solid reminders they're all still in the game, it sure bodes well for the rest of their years.