What a Way to Start

We didn't waste any time getting down to business, did we? With just a week of action in the books so far this 2015 tennis season, players were out to make some real statements -- and with the Australian Open around the corner there's no better time.

There were lots of surprises at the Hopman Cup, with Lucie Safarova emerging as a silent killer during her round robin matches and once-threatening Fabio Fognini struggling with form and losing all three of his round robin matches, one against world #239 Adam Pavlasek. Ultimately the U.S. and Poland emerged as the top teams of the pack, but even with top-ranked Serena Williams looking a little uneasy earlier in the week, you had to give her and partner John Isner the upper hand in yesterday's final. But Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska had other plans -- the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up hadn't won a set off her opponent since that day at the All England Club, and after coming out on the wrong end of a marathon rematch against of last year's final in Perth Alizé Cornet on Friday, she might have been a little fatigued. But the fifth-ranked woman on the WTA Tour came out swinging in the championship match-up -- she grabbed the first set and even had a shot at serving out the second. Though she was pushed to a decider, she rolled over the Williams in it, going 6-1 for her first ever win over the American. Isner evened the score with a win in his singles rubber, but Aga paired with Jerzy Janowicz for a thrilling doubles victory, sending the Poles to their first Hopman Cup championship, and perhaps the sweetest title of her career.

Things went a little more according to plan in Shenzhen, but it wasn't all smooth sailing for the favorites. Second seeded Petra Kvitova, coming off the best year she's seen in a while, did well early but was stunned in the semis by a resurgent Timea Bacsinszky, who reached her first final since 2010. But the top half of the draw was dominated by world #3 Simona Halep, who seemed eager to continue the breakthrough season she had in 2014. After dropping opening set of her campaign, she didn't look back and won eight straight sets on her way to the final. Against the young Swiss on Saturday she didn't allow a break opportunity and picked up her ninth career title in just over an hour. And her relentless play all week should bode well as she makes the trip down to Melbourne where the stakes are even higher.

Stanislas Wawrinka certainly knows it's possible to parlay momentum from one win into a bigger one -- last year the then-#8 ranked player in the world claimed his second title in Chennai and then then stunned both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on the way to his first Grand Slam in Australia. He went back to India this past week looking to repeat his luck, and though he was the top seed his fate was far from sealed -- he survived a test from upstart teenager Borna Coric in his opener and staved off a threat from comeback kid David Goffin in the semis. Meanwhile in the bottom half of the draw qualifier Aljaz Bedene, ranked just #156 in the world, had taken out three favored Spaniards in quick succession, toppling 2014 standout Feliciano Lopez in the second round and then ousting Guillermo Garcia Lopez and Roberto Bautista Agut to make his own first Tour-level final. But Wawrinka was fair warned in Sunday's championship -- the twenty-nine year old Swiss took advantage of the far-less-experienced Slovenian, winning more than seventy percent of his service points and claiming the title in straight sets. If he keeps it up he could make a real play for defending his title Down Under too.

It had been a little longer since former world #1 Venus Williams tasted Major glory, but the thirty-four year old veteran has remained more than relevant, claiming a title in Dubai and a win over sister Serena last year to climb back into the top twenty. The 2014 runner-up in Auckland was not about to rest on those laurels though, and returned to New Zealand on a mission -- in her first four matches, in fact, she delivered two bagel and two breadstick sets to her opponents. Still the third seed was the underdog in Saturday's final -- Caroline Wozniacki had been on fire the last several months and, despite a slight hiccup in the semis, seemed primed to start the new year off the way she finished the last one. But Venus had other ideas -- after dropping the first set she rallied hard in the second and ultimate closed out the match in just under two hours, keeping her record against the Dane a perfect 6-0. It might be a tough ask to call for the champion to make a deep run in Melbourne later this month -- but we should all know better by now than to put it past her.

Perhaps we can say the same for David Ferrer, who really seemed to have the wind taken out of him after his "Cinderella" run in Paris in 2013 -- the thirty-two year old fell back into a double-digit ranking after failing to qualify outright for last year's World Tour Final in London. And he was tested from the start this week in Doha -- just minutes after Rafael Nadal was ousted in his opener, Ferrer found himself down a set to Dutch qualifier Thiemo De Bakker. And in Friday's semi versus big-serving Ivo Karlovic, the man who'd just trumped Novak Djokovic a day earlier, he fought off thirty aces and more than twice as many winners in the three tiebreak match, reaching his first final at the Qatar Open. In the championship he faced a relatively well-rested Tomas Berdych, who hadn't dropped a set all week and who, at #7 in the world, was the on-paper favorite. But Ferrer battled from the start, nabbing a two break lead in the opening set and barely looking back. It was his first title in five attempts in Doha and, with an uncharacteristic week off before the Australian Open -- he's played in Auckland the last nine years, winning four titles there -- he could be primed to cause some damage there as well.

So too could Maria Sharapova, who kicked off her 2015 with a more-than-solid showing in Brisbane. The champion in Melbourne seven years ago made good on her top seeding this week and lost just nine games in her first three matches. Meanwhile Ana Ivanovic, squarely back in the top ten for the first time since 2008, looked just as threatening herself -- the champion in Auckland this time last year was coming off her most prolific season yet and, though she didn't meet another seed on her way to the final, seemed in control all week long. And with the pair splitting wins in their four matches last year, this one promised to be a good one -- the ladies didn't disappoint. Ana fought back from an early break and ultimately took the opening, hour-long set in a tiebreak, but Sharapova battled back, denying any break opportunity in the second. Momentum went back and forth in the decider but ultimately the Russian prevailed, claiming her thirty-fourth career title and closing in slightly on the #1 ranking. And with the top spot within her sights, she might be even more motivated to continue her run Down Under.

Roger Federer might do the same -- after his stellar 2014 season, he's also a stone's throw from the #1 ranking and his own showing in Brisbane proved he's nowhere near done trying to reclaim the spot. Like many of this weekend's champions, he had to dust off the cobwebs early, dropping his first set to Aussie wildcard John Millman, but he rebounded in style, dropping just one game to James Duckworth and simply thrashing world #11 Grigor Dimitrov in the semis. On Sunday he met a slightly more tested Milos Raonic for the title -- the young Canadian had just squeaked through his last two matches, going the distance against monster server Sam Groth in the quarters and barely surviving a two-and-a-half hour, three tiebreak battle against rival Kei Nishikori a day earlier. He put up a fight in the final, too, forcing Roger to a third set, but ultimately the great Fed came out on top, earning his eighty-third career title and his historic thousandth singles match win, only the third player in history to achieve that milestone. And with the 2015 season just barely underway, there's no telling how many more landmarks he'll hit this year.

Picking Up Where They Left Off

It may feel like a while since the final balls of the 2014 tennis season were hit, but it sure looks like a couple players kept busy during their time off. In just the first few days of action in the New Year, we've already been treated to thrilling matches and major upsets. But if we were really paying attention the last few months, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised to see who's shining as bright as they are -- and who may still need to dust off the cobwebs a little.

It might not be too shocking to see Victoria Azarenka struggling a bit on her return to tournament play. The former world #1 has played just a handful of events over the past year and was defending runner-up points in Brisbane -- she was under a lot of pressure this week. And though she held match points against Karolina Pliskova in their opener Monday, she wasn't able to convert and ultimately lost the three-plus hour marathon. Slightly more troublesome was the performance of last year's finalist in Melbourne -- Dominika Cibulkova lost to Madison Keys in her first round in Brisbane, notching her thirteenth event in twelve months without a win. One-time Roland Garros #2 Sara Errani didn't fare any better -- she's only won one match since the U.S. Open and this week in Auckland lost in straight sets to veteran Daniela Hantuchova. Fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova put up a bit more of a fight, but after taking the first set off qualifier Lucie Hradecka she ultimately couldn't hold off the underdog.

It wasn't all bad news for the ladies, though. Young Ana Konjuh who reached the quarters in Limoges and the semis in Istanbul last year pulled off an upset of eighth seeded Mona Barthel in Auckland before ultimately losing to Elena Vesnina. Over in Shenzhen Aleksandra Krunic, who very nearly defeated Victoria Azarenka in New York last year, is making the most of her qualifying ticket to the main draw, reaching the quarters with a win over Anna Schmiedlova today. And at the mixed-team, round-robin Hopman Cup, under-appreciated Lucie Safarova continued her success from last year -- the Czech was the only player to hold match point against Aussie champ Na Li in Melbourne, reached her first Slam semi at Wimbledon and scored wins over Sam Stosur, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki during the season. This week in Perth she's already stunned Genie Bouchard and notched an impressive win over Flavia Pennetta to help her team to a perfect 2-0 so far.

A couple guys have been able to carry over their strength into the new year too. Andy Murray, who fell briefly out of the top ten in 2014, cut his ranking in half with three titles to end the season. He hasn't had as tough a draw in Perth, but he did score his third straight win over Jerzy Janowicz, a man who stunned him two years back in Paris. And David Goffin, who won four Challenger and three ATP-level titles all in the back half of last year, hasn't slowed down either. The fourth seed in Chennai survived a challenge in his opener, but with the help of twelve aces ultimately dispatched Ricardas Berankis to make the quarters. Young Borna Coric on the other hand, a man who ended 2014 with one of the biggest wins of his nascent career, may not have been able to get the win over defending champ Stan Wawrinka today, but he did manage an upset over veteran Robin Haase in his first round. And wins like that could be just what he needs to make a real dent in his ranking.

It hasn't all been good news for the men though. American #1 John Isner hasn't done much of note for quite some time -- he'd only scored one win over a top twenty player since Roland Garros before making the trip to Perth. There he battled through three tight sets in his defeat of Fabio Fognini but then fell in straights to a still-uncertain Vasek Pospisil. And former U.S. Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny has struggled a bit over the years and started this season out of the top forty for the first time since 2009. He showed some promise of a comeback the last few months, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Cincinnati and Ernest Gulbis in Shanghai, but he also lost to Nick Kyrgios in New York and to #74 Mikhail Kukushkin in his hometown Moscow. This week in Doha he was stunned by little known Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets, his sixth loss to a sub-#100 player in the past year. But of course the big shocker came when Rafael Nadal took the court for his first ATP match since undergoing surgery this past fall. But even pre-appendectomy the Spanish star seemed out of form, losing to two teenagers in the past six months, and his troubles continued in the New Year. Against world #127, veteran qualifier Michael Berrer on Tuesday, Rafa squandered a 6-1 first set and couldn't convert any of five break points in the decider. After two hours on court the defending champ in Doha was sent packing, marking his earliest loss in a season since 2004.

Of course, not everyone started the season the way they ended the last. Peter Gojowczyk had become a virtual nonentity on Tour in the back half of 2014 -- after a stunning Cinderella run to the Doha semis last year and a defeat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Davis Cup play, the twenty-five year old German couldn't qualify for the last three ATP events of the season and only managed an 8-9 record on the year. He seems to have found his stride again though -- he only lost one game to Alejandro Falla this week in Chennai and could be about to turn his luck back around. And even more surprising was the groggy performance of world #1 Serena Williams in Perth. With a 31-3 record since Wimbledon and four titles to boot, you can understand why she'd be a little tired. But this week she actually called for a coffee during her three-setter against Pennetta and then was wholly drubbed by Eugenie Bouchard yesterday. Whether she can rally to get the U.S. into the Hopman Cup semis remains to be seen, but something tells me she'll figure things out once she hits the big leagues again.

Hopefully the players who've put themselves on the right track to start this year will keep things going deep into the season -- and the rest will take this as an opportunity to right themselves. With just over a week left before things get really serious on Tour there's not a lot of time of everyone to show us exactly what they're made of.

For Love of Country

We don't waste any time in tennis, do we? The New Year barely even started before eight teams of players traveled Down Under to represent their countries at the Hyundai Hopman Cup. And so far we've had some pretty interesting -- and encouraging -- results.

For those unfamiliar with the action in Perth, it's not your usual Davis Cup/Fed Cup play. Until the Olympics adopt the discipline next year, it's the only professional, non-Slam event which includes mixed doubles -- and probably the only one in which it plays a Major part. Players endure a series of Round Robin ties which include men's and women's singles and mixed doubles, and every match, every set, every game carries equal weight. It's sort of like World Team Tennis, all smashed into one week -- but there's a bit more of a nation's pride on the line.

The unique format emphasizes the team aspect in a sport which is so centered around the individual. And while players don't earn any ranking points at the tournament, it's nevertheless been able to attract some of the world's greats from Steffi Graf to Serena Williams to Roger Federer, each of whom paired with a compatriot to bring home the trophy.

This year's field boasts three top-ten athletes and another three former #1's. Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic headline the top-seeded Serbian team, with Andy Murray, Francesca Schiavone, Justine Henin and Lleyton Hewitt each leading their own pairs. And while it shouldn't be too surprising that the Serbs have so far compiled a perfect record, a bit more shocking is that the unseeded Americans John Isner and Bethanie Mattek-Sands currently lead Group B with a tidy 3-0 record.



But it only gets harder from here. Ivanovic faces her first big test since staging her recent comeback when she faces Justine Henin, a woman she's never beaten, and Mattek-Sands should have a much tougher time against French Open and Fed Cup champion Schiavone. And though Isner has beaten top-ten players in the past, he's only faced Murray once before and hasn't taken a set off him.

Of course there's a lot of game left to be played, but early results sure must give these two nations -- both of which have been struggling in the sport in one way or another the last few years -- a little bit of hope. And what better way is there to kick off a new year?

The Importance of Defense

It's been a weird week for Andy Murray.

Now I know that I've never been his biggest fan, but some funky math has made his Australian Open chances a little hairier. Don't get me wrong, he's still one of the favorites -- it's just that his draw just got a bit tougher, almost through no fault of his own.

Murray spent the week in Perth, Australia, where he and compatriot Laura Robson were fighting for the Hyundai Hopman Cup -- a sort of combination between Davis and Fed Cup competition, and the only non-Major tournament with a mixed doubles category. He did fairly well, winning all of his Round Robin singles matches and helping his team to reach the finals against Spaniards Tommy Robredo and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

That's where he began to struggle a bit. After taking the first set from Robredo, 6-1, Murray found himself under pressure on his service game in the second, and ultimately dropped the match, 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, his first loss to the Spaniard since 2007. When Robredo and Sanchez Martinez then coupled for the doubles win too, Great Britain -- and Andy -- ceded the trophy to the now three-time champions.



That wasn't necessarily the worst result, but because players aren't awarded ranking points for their appearances at the Hopman Cup, all of Murray's wins earlier in the week do nothing for his position. And when you consider that a year ago he'd won the title in Doha -- not the biggest tournament, but certainly one that attracts the top talent -- he was actually losing points this weeks, regardless of his results Down Under.

And that means when the latest rankings come out tomorrow, former world #2 Andy Murray will now be in fifth place, just five points behind U.S. Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro, a man he's beaten in all but one of their six meetings. And now that he's out of the top four -- the first time since August, 2008 -- he could face Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the quarters in Melbourne!

Even I admit that somehow, it doesn't seem right.

Just one match win in Qatar would have kept him where he was, but because Murray didn't defend his title, his road to the Final Four isn't quite so clear. Of course, brackets seldom progress as seeds suggest they should, and there's no reason anyone should not consider Andy a threat. But things certainly have gotten a little more interesting as we head to the first Grand Slam of the year.

And I have a feeling we're in for a few more surprises!