Back on Top

It's been a long few months for all of us, and a long several years for many, and it's been a while since we've all felt on top of our games. But this weekend's results on clay helped a couple stars get their footing back under them -- and in a few cases, it was a long time coming.

The moment @RafaelNadal won his 12th Barcelona title! 🏆

The Spaniard ends Tsitsipas' winning streak 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5.#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/DKUyI1h7le

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 25, 2021

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany

I'll start in Germany, where a slew of top-tier talent took the courts for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The draw was so stacked, in fact, that even players like Maria Sakkari, who ended Naomi Osaka's year-plus win streak in Miami, and Australian Open finalist Jen Brady weren't seeded. And the favorites, for the most part, really lived up to the challenge -- while Sofia Kenin dropped her opening match to Anett Kontaveit, even those upsets came at the hands of highly-ranked opponents.

Ultimately, though, it was 2019 French Open champ Ashleigh Barty and recently red-hot Aryna Sabalenka playing for the title. Sabalenka had dealt a pretty one-sided blow to perennial clay court star Simona Halep in the semis, while Barty, who'd proven me wrong emphatically by defending her title in Miami, followed up with a somewhat surprising loss to Paula Badosa in Charleston.

In Sunday's championship, a rematch of their quarterfinal in Miami, Sabalenka got off to the stronger start, taking the first set to build an early lead. But Barty came roaring back, blanking her opponent in the second and taking advantage of both her break opportunities in the decider. For good measure, she also teamed up with Brady to take the doubles crown. As the world #1, the win(s) doesn't technically put her back on top -- she's held the top spot since September 2019 uninterrupted -- but now with three trophies already this season, it certainly shows she's shaken off any cobwebs after that nearly year-long absense.

Serbia Open, Belgrade, Serbia

Things didn't go quite as smoothly for the favorite in Belgrade, though. Novak Djokovic, fresh off a shocking loss in the Monte Carlo third round, came to his homeland event -- playing on a court named for him -- looking to make up some ground. And while he got off to a better start than he did last week -- he beat his first two opponents in straightforward fashion -- he did run into a hiccup against 2021 breakout star Aslan Karatsev.

The workhorse Russian, who followed up his Cinderella run in Melbourne -- where he lost to Nole in the semis -- with his first career title at the age of 27 in Dubai, claimed the #3 seed in Serbia, but played well above that level in Saturday's rematch. The win, his third over a top-ten player this year, earned him the chance to play for a second title, not bad for someone who'd spent most of his time on the Challengers and ITF circuits before this year.

But his run would eventually stopped by second seeded Matteo Berrettini, who'd been struggling a bit since his own breakthrough season two years ago. The 25-year-old Italian had a fairly unimpressive follow-up, winning only one match in 2020 before the lockdown and getting upset by players like Tennys Sandgren, Marcos Giron and Daniel Altmaier. He seemed to be pulling things together this year, beating Dominic Thiem and Roberto Bautista Agut at ATP Cup, before injury sidelined him again.

He was back in form this week, though, scoring an early win against one-time French semifinalist Marco Cecchinato in his opener and then surviving a test from lucky loser Taro Daniel on Saturday. Against Karatsev in the title match, he held strong too, firing off nine aces and winning more than 80 percent of his first serves. In just under two and a half hours, he was the one left holding the trophy, his third on clay and his first in nearly two years.

TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championship, Istanbul, Turkey

It'd been a much longer drought for Sorana Cirstea, the one-time French Open breakout star who'd won her first and only tour title back in 2008 when she was just 18. Since then she's struggled with form and injury -- shoulder troubles in 2014 helped push her out of the top 200 for some time -- and while she did briefly claw herself back into the top forty, she's been in low double digits for most of the last few years.

She seemed to be getting her bearings back recently though -- she upset Johanna Konta in the second round of the U.S. Open last year, and beat both Belinda Bencic and Petra Kvitova during this year's Melbourne swing. Still ranked outside the top sixty, Cirstea caught a little bit of luck in Istanbul -- the first two seeds she was slated to meet, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Petra Martic, both lost in their first rounds, and the other seeds in her section lost early too. So it wasn't until the final against top seed Elise Mertens that she would be truly tested.

It should have been a straightforward win for the world #17, who's been one of the most consistent players on tour since the lockdown eneded -- Mertens has made the quarters or better at eight events during that period, picking up one trophy and notching wins over the likes of Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina, Jessica Pegula and others. But Cirstea was able to get the upper hand over the heavy favorite Sunday, running away with the first set easily and holding tough in the second to win the tiebreak.

The win not only earned her that long-awaited second title, but gave her a third win over a top-twenty player this year. If she can keep it up, she might just be able to make her own way back there as well.

Barcelona Open, Barcelona Spain

And then, of course, there's the win we all knew was coming, but often feared might not.

After his own shocking loss last week in Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal knew he had to get back to the drawing board if he was going to continue his dominance on the clay this season. Sure, he'd won the title in Barcelona eleven times before, but we know how tenuous even history like that can be, and when he came within one set of notching back-to-back losses on the surface for the first time since 2002, we knew there was a real danger.

He was tested a bunch early, after all, needing three sets to take out two-time champ Kei Nishikori as well, but seemed to be back on track in later rounds. Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw, Monte Carlo champ Stefanos Tsitsipas was keeping his streak going strong, dispatching three seeds in a row without losing a set and reaching his second final in as many weeks.

He appeared primed to assert himself as a real contender for the French Open too when he came out with an early break and had multiple chances to increase his lead in the first. But Nadal roared back to claim the first set and had a couple of match points in the second, before Tsitsipas managed to force a decider. The two stayed close in that one too, with the Greek managing his own match point before Rafa scored the decisive break. And after more than three and a half hours of hard hitting tennis, he was finally able to seal the deal and earn his first title this season.

What it means as we head into the last few weeks before Roland Garros has yet to be seen -- after all, Tsitsipas's performance certainly proved he could be a contender in Paris. But for Nadal to reassert himself on the clay shows he is far from ceding control to the next generation.

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Obviously these wins will have different impacts on all these players, but whether they came to those who've been trying to get their footing back or to those who wanted to remind us of how how big a force they are, they all made some big statements to the rest of the fields.

And here's hoping we see a lot more of all these guys winning in the months to come.

Breakthroughs and Comebacks

It seems to be a common occurrence in the weeks right after a Major, where the pressure is a little off, that we see players who've been struggling with form come out swinging. And yesterday we saw a couple champions crowned after what seems like a long, long time out of the spotlight, and, in come cases, completely out of contention.

We've seen Bernard Tomic climb and fall in the rankings -- and in life -- for years, surging into the low twenties after a Cinderella run to the Wimbledon quarters four years ago, dropping well out of the top hundred at this time last year, and grabbing as many headlines for his off-court behavior as for his play. But despite all the distractions, the one-time Australian wünderkind came to Bogota to defend a title at near his highest career ranking. He wasn't without his challenges though -- the second seed dropped sets against little-known Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and triple-digit ranked Michael Berrer, and even was tested by underrated Adrian Mannarino in the final. The Frenchman, who'd avenged a loss to Newport champion Rajeev Ram in his opener and scored a huge win over big-serving Ivo Karlovic in the semis, was able to push Tomic to a third set, but ultimately succumbed. Tomic's win gives him his third career title but may have also proved he's an even bigger threat when he seems most down-and-out.

Sam Stosur had climbed even higher than her compatriot during her heyday, but the former Grand Slam champion has seemed well off her career best the last few months. She hadn't won more than three matches at any Major since 2012 and had spent most of this year ranked outside the top twenty. The thirty-one year old veteran had picked up a title in Strasbourg in May, but was pushed to a decider in her last three matches and didn't play a top-forty player during her campaign. On paper her draw in Bad Gastein may not have been much more intimidating, but she nevertheless did face off against some heavy-hitters -- she dropped just one game to recent star Klara Koukalova and ended Anna Schmiedlova's impressive run in the semis. In the final against Karin Knapp -- a woman who was playing her second double-header of the week, having taken out top seed Sara Errani earlier on Sunday -- she was arguably better rested, but nonetheless challenged again. The Italian won the first set and took the second to a tiebreak, but Stosur didn't give up -- she ploughed through the third set and come out the winner in the two and a half hour match. It earner her a eighth career title and pushed her back up to #21 in the world -- if she keeps it up on her favorite summer hard court season, the former U.S. Open titleist might just be able to make a case for another strong showing in New York.

Dominic Thiem is much earlier on in his career so doesn't have quite the same spoils to show for his efforts -- but the young Austrian is certainly coming into his own this year. He'd been a little quiet since breaking the title seal in Nice, winning just three matches between that and his trip to Umag last week, but the twenty-one year old was able to turn things around in Croatia. After winning his first two matches by retirement, he scored a solid comeback win against tournament favorite Gael Monfils, setting up a championship bout against barely unseeded Joao Sousa. The Portuguese workhorse had already taken out Andreas Seppi, Fabio Fognini and Roberto Bautista Agut on the way to his first final of the year and may have been a little spent by the time he met up against Thiem. The fourth seed powered through a tight first set, but then rolled over his opponent in the second for his third straight win over Sousa and his second crown of the year. Now at a career-high #24 in the world he may be in a position to really make a statement at the big events now -- and if he can put up the same kind of performances against the very top players, it won't be long before the more prestigious titles start coming too.

Elsewhere on Tour a couple players were trying to make their first big impressions on championship Sunday. Lesia Tsurenko had picked up a couple ITF titles during her career, but had never reached the final on the Big Girls' circuit. The twenty-six year old Ukrainian did make a great run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals with wins over Genie Bouchard and Andrea Petkovic to name a few, but only won three matches since then and was ranked outside the top seventy when she hit the courts in Istanbul. That didn't seem to phase her much, though -- after taking out a tough Daria Gavrilova in her opener, she trounced both Daniela Hantuchova and Kirsten Flipkens. Meanwhile Urszula Radwanska, well off her career best since dealing with a slew of injuries the last few seasons, was also going for her first title -- she'd made the final in Den Bosch three years ago -- and stood a pretty good shot at picking one up earlier in 2015 than her more decorated older sister. She'd taken out Jelena Jankovic to start and then powered past a strong Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarters. She put up a fight too on Sunday, but Tsurenko proved the more ready -- after a 7-5 first set, she ran away with the second, closing out the match in just over ninety minutes. The win rocketed her into the top fifty for the first time in her career may just make others sit up and take notice the next time she takes the court.

Up in Bastad a one-time top-thirty player was trying to prove he's still worth paying attention to. Benoit Paire had topped out at #24 in the world early last year but since dropping into the triple digits spent a lot of time this season on the Challengers' and Futures circuit. He did manage a win over Fabio Fognini at the French Open and over Mikhail Youzhny at Wimbledon, but he came to the Swedish Open an unseeded #62. Still, he impressively stopped David Goffin, who was coming off quite a successful Davis Cup showing over the weekend, and then took out an often overlooked Pablo Cuevas in the semis. His biggest test waited for him in the final, though, where veteran Tommy Robredo was seeking his third crown at this event. With a much lower ranking and having lost the pair's only previous meeting -- and, not unimportantly, playing his first career championship match -- Paire was a heavy underdog. But he didn't let that trouble him -- after eking out the opening set in a tight tiebreak, he scored the only break of the match in the second and clinched the first really big win of his career. Now back in the top fifty, he's still well off his best. But after seeing him finally power through a draw like he did last week, he might finally be able to push his way higher.

The Big Fight

Okay, I realize that most eyes will be trained on one particular bout in Vegas tonight, but the face-off between Pacquiao and Mayweather isn't the only one worth mentioning these days. And for a couple players contesting this weekend's championships, the opportunity is just as great.

Tomorrow's final in Munich pits two players who've had very different seasons so far against each other. Top seeded Andy Murray, fresh off his second final of the year in Miami, is back at #3 in the world and finally seems in contention again at the big events. Veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber, on the other hand, was struggling to win many matches at all -- he's lost three opening round matches, all to players outside the top fifty, and before this week had a losing record on the year. He's been able to turn things around this week though, taking out Bucharest runner-up Jiri Vesely in his first round and then notching an upset over David Goffin in the quarters. He'll certainly be the underdog against the Scot on Sunday, with his only win coming more than five years ago -- but he does, surprisingly, have a chance. He took a set off Murray a few weeks ago in Indian Wells, and pushed him for four long hours at Roland Garros just last year, barely losing 12-10 in the fifth. If he can find that game again, he just might be able to capitalize on this chance to turn his season around.

The German's run in his homeland may have been unexpected, but the draw in Estoril shook out even less predictably, with both top seeds falling in their opening rounds. Instead Richard Gasquet, a little quiet this year despite a title in Montpellier, took out an on-the-rebound Nicolas Almagro and finally ended the impressive win streak of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the semis. And young Australian Nick Kyrgios, this year's Cinderella in Melbourne, managed his way to the first ATP final of his career. He hasn't had to face any real challenge though -- both Feliciano Lopez and Gilles Muller were eliminated before he had to meet them -- so tomorrow's match will be his be the first test he has all week. And with the specter of his maiden trophy looming over him the pressure will surely be on -- but I wouldn't be surprised to see him come out on top this time, and there's no telling what that could lead to for the rest of his season.

There's a little more experience on the court in Istanbul, though, where world #2 Roger Federer will be going for his awe-inspiring eighty-fifth career title. Having already picked up two crowns this year, he's rebounded nicely from an early loss in Monte Carlo and, despite challenges from Daniel Gimeno Traver and even Challenger heavyweight Diego Schwartzman, made good on his top spot in Turkey. The bigger surprise happened in the bottom half of the draw where wholly under-appreciated Pablo Cuevas stunned second seed Grigor Dimitrov in Saturday's semi. The Uruguayan my be flying way under the radar, but he has won the last three finals he's contested, and with an impressive 10-4 record on clay this year, he might be more at home on this surface than his opponent. It's always a tough ask to try to beat Roger, of course, but Cuevas has been slowly making a name for himself too and might just have the motivation to pull off what would easily be the biggest win of his career.

The ladies, meanwhile, have already crowned their champions, but even these favorites were given some unexpected challenges. At the reinstated Prague Open the upsets started early and kept going all week long -- second seed Lucie Safarova was eliminated by world #65 Tereza Smitkova in her opener while Svetlana Kuznetsova, Alizé Cornet and Belinda Bencic all fell quickly after. Only Karolina Pliskova was able to live up to expectations, surviving some early challenges to make her eighth final in eighteen months. The big surprise though was the performance of Lucie Hradecka, mostly known as a doubles star, but after stunning Ana Ivanovic in Melbourne, really making a name for herself on the singles circuit too. She ousted former stars like Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Klara Koukalova on her way to the final, and even took the opening set off Pliskova in the championship match. She did lose eventually, but may have given herself the confidence she needs to really break out in the solo game this year.

There were surprises too in Marrakech where top seed Garbiñe Muguruza and red-hot Timea Bacsinszky both lost earlier than they would have liked. Instead a different Timea -- Hungary's Babos, who made a stellar run to a title in Monterrey more than three year ago -- took out Mona Barthel, Flavia Pennetta and giant-killer Kristina Mladenovic, marking the first time all year she'd won more than one main draw match at a single event. She would ultimately face off against fourth seed Elina Svitolina -- the former French Open Girls' champion has been slogging through the WTA Tour, picking up a couple titles in Baku and even taking a set off Serena Williams Down Under. Babos put up a fight against the heavy favorite, too, dropping the first set in a squeaker and pushing the Ukranian to a tiebreak for the second. It may not have been the result she wanted, but after years spent languishing in the rankings, it might finally be the push she needs to make a real move into the elite.

Not all of this weekend's finalists will come out as winners, of course, but for the underdogs, especially, who were able to deliver a couple big blows to their opponents all week long, they might have just put themselves on the road to bigger and better things the rest of the season. And maybe sometime soon they'll be the ones handing out the knock out punches.

The Rebirth

I have to admit I was pretty impressed by the action we saw on the tennis courts last week.

Sure we still haven't hit the sweet spot of the summer hardcourt season and most of the sport's top athletes were not yet in action. But we saw more than a couple players carry success through from one week to the next, and a few players long missing from the winner's circle made triumphant returns to glory that could right their paths for the rest of the year.

Mona Barthel was one of the standouts of the 2012 season -- a qualifier in Hobart that year, she shocked four seeded players to claim her first career title and a year later she took out Marion Bartoli and Sara Errani in her trophy run at the Paris Indoors. She peaked at #23 in the world that March, but ended the season with four straight first round losses and fell out of the top eighty for most of this spring. It wasn't an easy road for her in Bastad either -- with all but one seed losing their opening matches, the young German upset just one favorite on her way to the final, but lost a set to qualifier Gabriela Dabrowski in her second round and had to come back from 2-4 down against Sylvia Soler-Espinosa in the semis. Against Chanelle Scheepers Sunday, another woman who'd been struggling before making the trip to Sweden, she was tested too, finding herself in a 3-5 hole in their second set. But Barthel was able to stay strong and ultimately closed out the match in straight sets, capturing her third career crown and reminding the field what she's capable of.

Bernard Tomic seems to have been missing from the spotlight a little longer. Once hailed as the Next Big Thing in the sport, he hadn't won more than two matches at any tournament since losing the Sydney final -- he'd won his only previous title there a year before -- and dropped out of the top hundred after a second round loss at Wimbledon, his lowest ranking in over three years. He was unseeded in Bogota, positioned behind little-known players like Alejandro Gonzalez and Victor Estrella Burgos, and just barely eked out a win over the latter in the semis, needing three tiebreaks and nearly three hours to score the win. He ran up against big-serving Ivo Karlovic on Sunday -- the Croat was playing his second final in as many weeks, and as the second seed was the on-paper favorite this time too -- but even without converting a break opportunity, Tomic was able to secure the win in tiebreaks. It was just his second career trophy, putting him a little behind expectations, but may have been just what the young Australian needed to kick him into gear.

Over in Istanbul another former champion -- albeit one who's got a little more hardware on her mantle -- took a huge step in putting herself back on the map. Caroline Wozniacki fell out of the top ten early this year and struggled with injury, etc., for most of the spring. She was somewhat redeemed by making the semis in Eastbourne and her fourth round showing at the All England Club, but she really proved she was back this past week at the reestablished Istanbul Cup. The top seed in Turkey, she opened with a double bagel against rising star Belinda Bencic, and though she dropped sets to early opponents, ultimately made her first final of the year with a straight set win over another of the year's standouts, Kristina Mladenovic. In the final against Roberta Vinci -- playing her second straight final despite her inauspiciousstart to the year -- she took control again, never dropping serve and taking five games off her challenger. It took just over an hour to win her twenty-second trophy, but after the year she's had, it sure seems like she put up an even bigger effort than that.

Things went down a little differently in Hamburg, where unseeded Leonardo Mayer was looking less for reawakening than for a first launch. The twenty-seven year old Argentine only made his first singles final in February and had spent most of the last five years in the low double-digit rankings. He did manage a win over world #16 Tommy Robredo in Viña Del Mar, but before last week -- even with a fourth round run at Wimbledon -- he was a whopping 0-16 against top ten players. He cracked that goose egg in Germany though -- after taking out tenth seed Guillermo Garcia Lopez, he battled past a couple young guns and earned the right to meet last year's French Open runner-up David Ferrer for the title. It didn't look like it would go his way at first -- the veteran Spaniard had ceded a total of three games in his quarter and semifinal matches and came back from breaks down to take the opening set on Sunday. But Mayer rebounded in grand style, finally scoring that elusive win over an elite player and taking home that all-important maiden trophy.

And while Mayer may have just broken the seal of tennis champions, he and the rest of this weekend's victors have all recaptured the feeling of being at the top of their game. And if they can keep it up there's no telling how much more success we'll see from them down the road.

Keep It Up

It's no surprise that tennis schedules can be grueling -- and unless you're part of the super-elite class of players, we often see athletes put up a big performance one week and then, whether because of physical fatigue or emotional letdown, fizzle out immediately after.

But something seems a little different on the courts this week, and many players who had breakthroughs just days ago -- not the ones we're used to succeeding one tournament after another -- have kept their momentum going. And while they might not walk away with the trophies this weekend, their recent consistency tells me there's a lot more to come from each of them.

Young American Grace Min has spent most of her time on the ITF circuit and only won her first Tour-level match last year. She hadn't done much this season, but last week easily ousted Karolina Pliskova in Bad Gastein and even took a set off eventual champion Andrea Petkovic in her first WTA semifinal match. This week in Bastad, she scored an even bigger win in her opener, ousting second seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in barley over an hour. Her run didn't last much longer, unfortunately -- she lost today to Alexandra Panova in straight sets -- but she is at a career high ranking of #114 in the world. And with this win over a top twenty-five player, it looks like she's poised to rise even higher.

Sixteen-year-old Ana Konjuh wasn't in action last week, but isn't much further removed from her surprising run to the Wimbledon third round. Ranked barely inside the top two-hundred before, the former top-ranked Junior battled through qualifying rounds and then dismissed one-time world #12 Yanina Wickmayer to notch her second straight win at the All England Club. This week in Istanbul, where she was also a qualifier, she came back after losing the first set to Magdalena Rybarikova and followed up with a win today over Japan's Misaki Doi. She'll face fellow teenager Elina Svitolina for a spot in the semis, but win or lose it looks like the young Croat is destined for even bigger wins.

Roberta Vinci, on the other hand, has seemed a little past her prime this year. Part of the world's best doubles team -- she and partner Sara Errani completed their own Grand Slam with a trophy at Wimbledon -- she was just outside the top ten in singles a year ago, but she went 0-6 to start the year and didn't get to the third round of any event until May. She's held onto a top thirty ranking, but even as the second seed last week in Bucharest I was surprised to see her make a run to the final -- she lost in straights to 2014 standout Simona Halep. She joined Konjuh -- incidentally, her first loss of the year in Auckland -- in Istanbul this week and will meet qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru later today. But now that she's got the monkey off her back, she stands a much better shot of living up to expectations than she did just a few weeks ago.

Like Vinci Lukas Rosol has been around the block a few times and even picked up a title last year in Bucharest. He made it back to the final this year, but his single biggest win, of course, came on the grass of the All England Club two years ago. Still he's been a fixture in the top fifty for most of the last sixteen months and beat three higher ranked players on his way to the Stuttgart final last week. He ultimately lost in three sets to another of the season's breakthroughs, Roberto Bautista Agut, but he's rebouned well this week in Hamburg. Still unseeded at the bet-at-home Open, he's already caused two upsets during his campaign, ousting world #20 Tommy Robredo in straight sets today. He wouldn't have to face anyone ranked higher than that until at least the final, so there's no reason we can't see more from the Czech upstart.

A little more surprising has been the sudden rise of veteran Samuel Groth, who played his first Futures matches way back in 2005. He'd won a handful of Futures event during his career and one Challengers' title, but never cracked the top hundred until this week. That's thanks to a semifinal run in Newport, where he dethroned defending champion Nicolas Mahut on the way. This week he survived his Bogota opener against Juan Sebastian Cabal by the skin of his teeth, needing two tiebreaks and over two hours to get the win, so he's going to be stretched in his second round versus top seed Richard Gasquet. But the twenty-six year old Australian has more momentum than he's had before in his career and might just be ready to make a break for it.

These players are all at different parts of their careers, but by following up one successful week -- not just one successful match -- with another seems to show none of them are going anywhere anytime soon. And with the big summer hardcourt season just around the corner, there's no telling how much further their recently momentum can carry them.

Full Circle

I'm not sure if anyone was predicting a different result at this year's WTA championships. In a season full of comebacks, breakouts and breakthroughs, at the end of the day it was the most experienced who survived. And after the results we've seen the last four and a half months, it was exactly what we should have expected.

Serena Williams began the year with some interesting results. After being stunned in the Australian Open fourth round by Ekaterina Makarova, ranked out of the top fifty at the time, she lost in the Miami quarters to Caroline Wozniacki -- arguably the only notable win she's had all year -- retired from the Rome semis and then, shockingly, inexplicably, earth-shatteringly, fell in the first round at Roland Garros. After that, though, things turned around, and quickly. She won the three biggest titles left for the year, and only dropped one match in the meantime, climbing technically to #3 in the world, but easily holding the spot of favorite in Istanbul.

Serena took some time off after the U.S. Open, and she looked a little shaky to start at the year-end finals. She got less than half of her first serves in against Angelique Kerber, incidentally the only woman to beat her since the French Open, was broken five times by Na Li, and was even tested by New York rival Victoria Azarenka all in the round robins. But she nevertheless make it through without dropping a set. She was relentless against Aggie Radwanska in the semis, though, taking advantage of the three-and-a-half hour marathon her Wimbledon challenger went through on Friday and making her first Tour final since 2009.

Meanwhile fellow veteran Maria Sharapova was working through her section of the Istanbul draw. The young Russian had put together what might be the best season of her career, making her way to final in four of the first five events she played this year, finally winning a title in Stuttgart. Her year culminated when she completed the career Grand Slam in Paris and reclaimed the #1 ranking for a few weeks in the spring. She did well after that, too, winning Silver in London, making the semis in New York, and getting to the final in Beijing.

At the year-end's she dominated the round robins, dropping just a set to Aggie Radwanska and winning a solid 63% of the games she played -- better even than Serena. And in Saturday's semi against year-long rival Victoria Azarenka -- she'd previously lost four of five matches to the world #1 this year -- she raised her game even higher. She kept her opponent to just about fifty percent on serve and converted four break opportunities. It took her just over ninety minutes, but finally the Russian earned herself a rematch of the 2004 final, the only one she'd won in her decorated career.

But Serena was just too much for Sharapova to handle on Sunday. The two-time year-end champion came out swinging and, while both were able to hold serve early, eventually broke her opponent in the fifth game of the match. Maria stayed close for a time, keeping herself from falling too far behind in the set, but after finally losing the first she was immediately broken to start the second. Serena controlled her serve from the start, never allowing even a break opportunity to the returner, and firing off four winners in a row during the last game to seal the deal. It wasn't enough to boost her ranking any before the next season starts, but with the way she's played since June no one -- even those ranked higher -- will want to see Serena Williams in her path.

After her victory, Serena was asked if this had been the best year of her career and, acknowledging the rocky start, she had to concede that she might have had better. But as she's improved her play throughout the season, it sure seems like the thirty-one year old has come back to the point at which she can handily dominate anyone in her path. And now that she's back where she started her run over a decade ago, there's no telling how much longer it will last.

Old vs. New: 2012 WTA Championships Preview

It's all come down to this for the ladies on the WTA Tour -- ten months of comebacks, breakthroughs and victories have left us with eight women fighting for the year-end championship. Some have been here before, a couple seem to be missing and a few are here for the first time. But the way these ladies have played all year, you can be sure we'll be in for some fireworks.

The Also-Rans

There are a couple players who'd been fixtures at the year-end tournament left out of the action entirely this time around. Former world #1 Caroline Wozniacki, runner-up in 2010, fell a little too far the rankings to qualify. And Vera Zvonareva, whose injury-marred season kept her to just twenty matches on the year, still isn't quite in fighting form, much less ready to compete at this level. But there are a few players whose hope for competing may still be alive.

Moscow runner-up Sam Stosur finished the regular season just outside the Elite Eight, so after two years of making the Final Four, she'll have to settle for an alternate ticket to Istanbul. It's tough, really, to gauge her performance this year -- she didn't defend a lot of points, most notably at the U.S. Open, but she did get back to the semis in Paris and put up her best fight yet against Victoria Azarenka in New York. Several things would have to happen for the Aussie to see any playing time at all this week, but if she sneaks in, there's no reason to believe she won't make an impact.

Marion Bartoli certainly made use of her alternate spot last year -- though she only played one match, her first at the WTA Championships since 2007, she did hand Azarenka her only loss in the round robins. And several months later she dealt out the #1 player's first defeat of the season. The Frenchwoman also had a solid showing in New York, but with a weak 12-30 career record against the eight qualifiers, it might be hard for her to make any impact here should she get the chance to play.

The Old Hat

The women who actually did successfully qualify for Istanbul this year span quite a range, from age to origin to experience. And a couple who've been making the trip since practically the turn of the century are back this year, trying to return back to the winner's podium they occupied several years ago.

Maria Sharapova made her first trip to the year-end championships in 2004, the breakthrough year during which she won Wimbledon and saw her ranking rise from #32 in the world to #4, and the then-seventeen year old stunned the world with another win over Serena Williams in the final. Sharapova's ups and downs since then have been well documented, but this year was the first in which we finally saw her really take back the reins. She made at least the semis of every Major event, and even completed the career Grand Slam in Paris. She may have ceded the #1 ranking she'd regained for a few weeks during the spring, but she's finally performing well, week after week again. And with a solid 11-8 record against the rest of the field this year, no one should expect to walk over her.

But the more intimidating figure might, as usual, be six time Tour finalist Serena Williams. Currently the holder of two Slam titles she's lost just four matches in total this year -- only once to a player in this field. Yes, she suffered a shocking loss at the French Open and yes, her opponents have been able to squeeze a little water out of the rock during those finals. But playing her first year-ends since 2009 -- which, incidentally, she won -- she's certainly going to bring her best to the table this time around. And with the way she's been playing all season, there doesn't seem to be much that will stop her.

The Breakouts

But while experience may be on the side of a few, there are a couple others who've been around the block before and might have just thrown their hats into the mix this year.

Agnieszka Radwanska is playing her fourth Tour Championships but, twice an alternate, it's only the second time she's qualified for it outright. But what a qualification she had -- through mid-May, the only player who could beat her was Victoria Azarenka, and her unexpected run to the Wimbledon final was only surpassed by the amazing fight she put up in it. She won three top-tier titles this year and climbed to #2 in the world during the summer. Injuries marred the second half of her season, though -- she had a disappointing hardcourt season, retiring in New Haven and looking pained at the U.S. Open. She did make her way back to the Tokyo final, but failed to defend titles there or in Beijing. But if she's back in fighting form and has her confidence back, she should be able to get in a few punches to cap off the best year of her career so far.

But the woman who's had Aga's number all year might have something to say about that. World #1 Victoria Azarenka qualified for her fourth straight Tour final in 2012, on the heels of a season that may have finally put to rest doubts over her stamina and attitude. After her runner-up finish last year, she won twenty-six matches and four titles in a row to kick off this season, including that first Grand Slam in Australia. She went relatively radio silent during the summer months, losing four big matches to Serena Williams. But her amazing showing in the U.S. Open final was followed by thirteen straight wins and another two titles to cap the year. She has a more-than solid 14-5 record against these ladies this year and, it seems, if she can finally get the best of Serena, she might have more than a shot at this title.

The Encores

Mixed in with the ladies who've made the post-season year after year are those with slightly less experience. But we've seen in the past that even first-timers can do a lot of damage here.

Petra Kvitova, for example, won the whole enchilada in her debut appearance last year without losing even a round robin match. Her play dropped off a bit this year -- it wasn't until August that she won her first title in Montreal, and with just five wins against the rest of this field in 2012, it seems top players might have finally figured her out. She's also 1-2 since the U.S. Open and may have a hard time repeating her success from last year. Still, she made at least the quarters in her first three Slams this year and her solid summer may have diminished concerns that arose after her post-Wimbledon slump last year. If she can find the power that brought her so close to the top of the game in 2011, she might surprise a couple players in Istanbul.

Veteran Na Li didn't have the same success in her first year-ends, winning just five games in her two round robin defeats last year, but that wasn't terribly surprising. The thirty-year-old won just a handful of matches after her breakthrough French Open last year, ending the season in a slump that seemed, at the time, impossible to get out of. But a new coach helped her regroup to start 2012 -- she made the final in Sydney, the quarters in Indian Wells and Miami and took the title in Cincinnati with a stunning win over Angelique Kerber in the championship match. Proving her performance last year was no fluke, the diminutive Chinese doesn't have much to lose in Istanbul -- if she comes out swinging, she certainly has a chance to get out of the early rounds.

The Fresh Blood

Even further down the experience list are a couple ladies few -- if anyone -- expected to still be around when the season started.

Sara Errani, the only woman playing both singles and doubles in Istanbul, had ended the last four years out of the top forty -- always spunky, she'd never made it past the third round of a Major, hadn't claimed a title since 2008 and won just sixteen matches off the clay last year. Her quarterfinal run in Melbourne to start 2012 kind of seemed like a fluke -- she didn't face anyone in the top thirty -- but when she hit the dirt this season, there seemed to be no stopping her. She more than doubled her trophy count with titles in Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest, and then shocked the world by making the Roland Garros final with wins over three former Grand Slam champions on the way. Despite some missteps -- she was, after all, on the losing end of Yaroslava Shvedova's infamous Golden Set at Wimbledon -- the tiny Italian proved herself off clay too, making the semis in New Haven and even at the U.S. Open. Still it'll be a tough order for Errani to do much in Istanbul -- she's only 4-23 versus the rest of the field her entire career and has only notched one win against them off clay in 2012. It would be amazing to see her do something big her first time out, but something tells me her better chance lies on the doubles court.

A more realistic spoiler might be Angelique Kerber, who followed up on her Cinderella semi last year in New York with clear aplomb. Ranked #32 at the end of last year, she won the first two titles of her career in 2012 and broke the top ten after making the semis in Rome. Now at #5 in the world, she's scored ten wins over women who've held the top ranking and is the only one in Istanbul who's beaten Serena Williams this year. She can be spotty at times, but unlike some of her colleagues she's not one to get intimidated by anyone in this field. And with some of the most experience against these ladies this season -- she's faced off against them eighteen times, third only to Vika and Maria -- she's certainly gotten accustomed to playing the sport's elite. If she keeps her game up all week, she really could do some damage.

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The mix of ladies contesting the WTA Championship this year seems to be refreshingly diverse. Clearly the players who've been here before have shown they know how to win, but the newbies are more than capable of catching the favorites off guard. And with so many hotly contested battles among this group there's potential for some real fireworks in Istanbul.

But whoever ultimately lays claim to the title will surely have to put up a fight to get there.

A Banner Year

If at the start of 2011, someone had said then-#34 Petra Kvitova would be a Grand Slam and WTA champion by the end of the year, few would've believed it. But the twenty-one year old Czech has spent the last ten months honing her game, moving up the rankings, and earlier today capped off the best season of her still-young career.

She kicked off the year in style, defeating four higher-ranked opponents to capture the title in Brisbane and several weeks later dominated Kim Clijsters at the Paris Indoors final. Of course that was all small potatoes compared to her stunning victory at the All England Club, which ultimately announced her arrival in the elite.

Kvitova struggled a bit since July, winning just two matches during the summer hard-court season and losing in the first round at the U.S. Open. But with a run to the semis in Tokyo and a title in Linz, it looked like momentum was back on her side, and when she got to Istanbul for her first ever appearance at the year-end championships she was at the top of her game.

She got off to a good start in the round robins, taking out two-time Major finalist Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, avenging her loss at the Pan Pacific Open. She followed it up with a straightforward win over world #1 Caroline Wozniacki and completed her rout of the Red Group by taking out Aggie Radwanska on Friday. She lost her first set of the tournament to Sam Stosur in the semis, but rebounded from the 5-7 deficit to take out the U.S. Open winner after just over two hours of play.

Over in the White Group Victoria Azarenka was trying to cap off her own career-best year. The twenty-two year old had won a trio of titles in 2011, highlighted by reclaiming the trophy in Miami, and put up her deepest run at a Major with a semi showing at Wimbledon. But some consistent play throughout the year -- she's often faded out after a strong spring -- helped her climb to a high ranking of #3 in September, and got her on the radar of pundits looking for the Next Big Thing in women's tennis.

In Istanbul, her third consecutive appearance at the year-end championships, Vika was quick to get off on the right foot. Previously unable to get out of the round robins, the Belarusian came out swinging against Sam Stosur, notching the win in just over an hour. The next day she reversed her recent record against Na Li, who'd knocked her out at both the Australian and French Opens, to secure her spot in the semis. Though she lost her third match against Marion Bartoli -- a replacement after Maria Sharapova withdrew with injury -- Azarenka posted an easy win over Vera Zvonareva Saturday, setting up her third meeting with Kvitova this year. She'd lost on both previous occasions.

The match-up between the two young stars certainly lived up to its potential. Kvitova came out firing and built up an impressive 5-0 lead in the first set. But an increasingly consistent Azarenka somehow managed to draw even, thwarting the Czech on two attempts to serve out the set. Petra broke again in the twelfth game to regain the lead, but Vika didn't back down. They traded breaks early in the second, but ultimately a better service game and more aggressive return from Azarenka brought things to a tie again and forced a deciding set, even earning herself three break chances to start the third. But that's when Kvitova came alive -- after denying Vika on four opportunities that game she immediately broke again and never looked back. Finally after two and a half hours of play, it was Kvitova, in her Tour Championship debut, that came away with the title.



For her efforts, Petra Kvitova will end the year as #2 in the world and go into the 2012 season as a legitimate threat, really on any court -- considering the girl was ranked outside the top fifty just eighteen months ago, that's quite an accomplishment. She's proven that she can hit with the big girls and will likely beat them more often than she loses -- something other players in the top ten can't always say.

And if she can keep up her play, there's no telling what she could do next year.

The Teenybopper

While most of us American tennis fans turned our focus to the series of tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open this week, there's still a bunch of action going on in Europe, and this week the world's top-ranked teenaged tennis player made us all aware that she's still one to beat out on the courts.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova began making a name for herself at the end of last year when she beat Venus Williams in back-to-back tournaments, once as a qualifier in Tokyo. This year she made her first Tour championship in Monterrey, winning two matches on that final Sunday to claim the crown. Earlier today she won her second trophy, rallying from a set and two breaks down to beat compatriot Elena Vesnina for the Istanbul title. Now ranked twenty-ninth in the world at just nineteen years of age, Pavlyuchenkova is easily the youngest woman in the top thirty and she seems like she's only going to get better from here.



It's funny when you think of it, that there are so few teens in the top echelons of tennis these days. I remember being somewhat shocked about all the hype around Melanie Oudin received during her run at the U.S. Open last year -- then seventeen years old, she was almost a full year older than Maria Sharapova when she won Wimbledon in 2004 and two years senior to Martina Hingis who won the Australian at just sixteen.

It's no question that the game has changed from even those relatively recent days. There are certainly some young standouts -- Caroline Wozniacki is just out of teen territory and Victoria Azarenka, whose impressive performance in Stanford today won her a fourth career title, took her first three when she was still nineteen. But by and large its the veterans -- Serena and Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Sam Stosur -- who are really dominating. It could be the age limits, restricting the number of tournaments a Pro plays until she turns eighteen, or it could be that the established players are so strong that "kids" can no longer keep up with them like they could just fifteen years ago.

But the Juniors circuit certainly provides some clues as to who might be a future star. Pavlyuchenkova won three Major girls' titles in 2006 and 2007. More recently, players like Laura Robson and Sloane Stephens are beginning to make strides in the main draws of tournaments after already making names for themselves in the ITF events. Some go off to great things -- Azarenka and Wozniacki were also Junior champions just a few years ago -- some you might not hear of again -- anyone remember Angelique Widjaja who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in her day?

And if Pavlyuchenkova's performance on Tour so far is any indication, she could be one that comes out on top. With plenty of years left in her career, she's certainly already established herself as a contender, and today's come-from-behind victory just confirms that fact.

Back in Action

This week marks the return of some superstars to the tennis courts -- whether they'd been gone for weeks or for years, in body or in mind, many came out in the last couple days to begin their training for the year's next and last Grand Slam.

Some have met with less success than others -- Ashley Harkleroad, who left the Tour in 2008 to have a baby and pursue, um, other ventures, fizzled out of her first round in Stanford, losing to defending champ Marion Bartoli in straight sets. But others at the Bank of the West Classic have a chance to do a little more damage.

Elena Dementieva, who heart-breakingly retired from her semifinal match at the French Open, makes her return after that calf injury forced her to pull out of Wimbledon. She'll take on Kimiko Date Krumm in her opening round, a veteran fighter who's now beaten former #1 Dinara Safina twice in a row. She could give Elena a fight if she's not in top form yet.

Roland Garros finalist Sam Stosur has also been absent from the circuit of late -- after her defeat in Paris, she was stunned by then-world #100 Ekaterina Makarova in Eastbourne and lost in the first round at the All England Club. As the top seed in Stanford, she faces qualifier Christina McHale in her first match. It should be an easy day at the office, but she'll need to regain the momentum she'd harnessed all spring if she's going to be a contender in New York.

The woman who stopped Stosur dead in her tracks, of course, was Francesca Schiavone, who captured her first Major title at the French at twenty-nine. She hadn't won a match since then, however, until she came to Istanbul this week, handily beating Anne Keothavong in the first round. She should be able to advance at least a few rounds further, but with rising stars like Tsvetana Pironkova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the field, she could have a run for the money.

On the men's side it's been a story of long, hard slogs back from injury. Previously red-hot Nikolay Davydenko pulled out of Roland Garros with a wrist injury and has only won a handful of matches since returning in Halle. He's the top seed in Umag and faces a less-than-intimidating Stephane Robert in his opener. But the field only gets tougher from there, with Ivan Ljubicic, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Jurgen Melzer all in the way of an ultimate title.

Ernests Gulbis had climbed to his highest ever ranking after a stunning clay-court season which included wins over Mikhail Youzhny and Roger Federer. But he hasn't been on court since a hamstring strain forced him out at Paris. He survived his first round in Los Angeles, but with the likes of Alejandro Falla and Andy Murray in his near future, it could be difficult in the coming days.

In the same field is my dear James Blake, who's been battling physical and mental demons for a while now. Ranked outside the top hundred, he hadn't won a match since Miami and now has a losing record on the year. Happily, he was able to beat Leonardo Mayer, the man who took him out of the French first round last year -- are you seeing a pattern here? -- and maybe, maybe if he can keep his head in the game, he'll be able to get a few more wins in.

Over the last few weeks, as the top-most stars have taken a break from the game, we've seen emerging talent start to make a dent in the rankings. But now that hardcourt season is back in full swing, you can expect to see some reversion to the norm. Whether these guys will be able to resuscitate their successes immediately or even in time for the U.S. Open is stil to early to tell.

But it sure will be good to have them back!

Triumph of the Underdogs

I have to admit that most of my focus has been on the West Coast tournaments this week, as some of the best men and women take to the courts of Los Angeles and Stanford, respectively. But I didn't mean to ignore some of the great matches still going on in Europe -- especially a couple of new faces making their mark.

Brazil's Marcos Daniel has already won three challenger events this year, and now in Gstaad he's trying to make his mark on the Tour. At thirty-one years of age he's not exactly a stranger to the circuit, but in the twelve years since he's gone pro he's never really made a dent. But last week in Indianapolis he avenged a loss to Taylor Dent at the Hall of Fame and he began his quest in Switzerland by notching a tight win over eighth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu and following it up today by defeating Julien Benneteau.

It marks only the second time this year he's scored back-to-back wins in a main draw. Next up for Daniel is Frenchman Florent Serra, a man who beat him easily in Memphis earlier this year. Obviously it will be a challenge for the #73 player in the world, but stranger things have happened.

Take, for example, the recent ascendancy of German Andrea Petkovic, the twenty-one year old who won her first Tour title last week in Bad Gastein. Before that tournament, she'd only won three matches in the big leagues -- ironically, all in Majors: the 2007 French and U.S. Opens and this year's Australian. But in Austria she won five in a row, only dropping one set to seventh seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

This week she's been equally impressive, losing only four games in her first two matches in Istanbul -- today she beat Paraguay's Rossana De Los Rios in under an hour, winning seventy percent of the points. Though she'll have to face her first seed of the tournament in the quarters, I'm not sure there's any reason for her to be intimidated by Olga Govortsova -- actually ranked lower than Andrea, Olga has lost both their previous matches and should be a fairly easy opponent.

It may be premature to call for her second straight title, but if Petkovic ever had an opportunity, this might be it.

Good luck to all!