When the Pressure's Off

Of course it's not that little known names or rising stars can never make a splash at the Grand Slams, but sometimes it helps when the spotlight's turned slightly away, allowing players who might have buckled a bit on the big stages a chance to redeem themselves. And this weekend, just seven days removed from the end of the latest Major, we saw a couple champions seem to easily shake off some less-than-stellar results from the previous fortnight.

Young Anna Schmiedlova has had some success at the high-profile events, and even picked up her maiden title in Katowice a few months ago. And though she did get a big upset over Timea Bacsinszky in Marrakech, this year she seemed to struggle when it really counted -- she dropped her opener in Roland Garros and at Wimbledon fell in straight sets to Cinderella Coco Vandeweghe. But she seemed to regroup on the clay of Bucharest -- still ranked outside the top sixty she managed a low seventh seed and, with Roberta Vinci and Julia Goerges both handed early exits, didn't have to face another favorite until the final. And even against top seed and former French Open runner-up Sara Errani in Sunday's championship she was unintimidated -- having lost to the world #19 earlier this year in Rio, the twenty-year-old this time got the upper hand in the tight two sets. Despite solid serving from her opponent and losing serve herself three times, Schmiedlova was able to close out the match in just over two hours, scoring her second career title and pushing herself up to her best yet ranking at #44. And if she can keep her confidence up, might just be poised to climb even higher.

Sweden's Johanna Larsson was a little farther off her best game when she took the court in Bastad. A finalist here twice before, she was still looking for the first trophy of her career. She'd made some nice runs this year, stunning Lucie Safarova in Miami and reaching the semis in Rio, but she'd also dropped a bunch of first rounds -- Daria Gavrilova in Paris, Christina McHale at the All England Club -- and came to her homeland's tournament at a #73 ranking. But that didn't stop her either -- she got a bit of a break with Serena Williams, the woman who beat her here in 2013, pulling out with an elbow injury and second seed Sam Stosur getting drubbed early, but she did get a solid win over last year's comeback kid Barbora Strycova on her way to the final. She was the underdog there, too, but again didn't let that get to her -- on Sunday against fourth seed Mona Barthel, a woman who'd won all three of their previous meetings, she grabbed the opening set and didn't look back. And to add to Larsson's success this weekend, not only did she break the seal on the singles' circuit, she picked up a doubles crown in Bastad as well. And at #46 in the world now, perhaps she can add more to that total.

Off the radar American Rajeev Ram, meanwhile, has had most of his success on the doubles tour, picking up eight titles with partners like Scott Lipsky and, most recently Raven Klassen. But he's struggled a bit more on his own -- since picking up his only previous trophy in Newport a full six years ago, he's spent most of his time in the triple-digit rankings and has only won three main draw matches at the Majors. This season, he's had some success on the Challenger's Tour, but was 0-0 when playing with the big boys and was down at a ranking of #161 in the world. A flip must've switched when he came back to the Hall of Fame tournament, though -- after taking out top seed John Isner in his opener, he scored big wins over Adrian Mannarino and Aussie upstart John-Patrick Smith. In the final against another big-server, last year's runner-up Ivo Karlovic, he was again the clear underdog, and even though he was the only one of the pair to drop serve during the match, after holding tough in both the first and third set tiebreaks, he was the one eventually crowned the winner. The win helped Ram nearly halve his ranking, but maybe more importantly proved he could still hit with the top dogs in this sport. And if he's planning to stay relevant past thirty-one years of age, making a statement like that could be huge.

Of course there's only a so much time before this weekend's winners are joined on the courts by the brightest stars, and only a few more weeks before the stakes are raised even higher. But hopefully their momentum will continue when the pressure gets turned up. Winning in the shadows of a Grand Slam event may do a little to boost confidence, but if they keep it up they might be able to accomplish so much more.

A Shot at Redemption

This year's Australian Open was one of many storylines -- from young stars' breakthroughs to reversals of long losing streaks, from huge upsets to near misses. And this weekend as the first round of Fed Cup gets underway, the ladies have an opportunity to follow up on their performances in Melbourne, and maybe even go one better.

Italy vs. U.S.A.

Both these teams are missing their top players in this tie so the result is truly up in the air, but for a couple athletes there's a huge opportunity to make a big statement. American Alison Riske, ranked #46 in the world, reached the third round Down Under with wins over Elena Vesnina and Yanina Wickmayer -- her third straight Major with at least two victories. She's never played Fed Cup before, so this will be a good test for the rising talent. But eyes might be slightly more focused on Karin Knapp this weekend. The largely unknown Italian burst into the spotlight when she showed she wouldn't give up against Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open second round, and somehow found the strength to withstand a three-and-a-half hour match in grueling heat. With teammates like Sara Errani and Flavia Pennetta sitting out this round, she'll get top billing on the roster, and there may be no better time to prove that loss is behind her.

Spain vs. Czech Republic

The Spaniards have plenty of talent on their side of the court this weekend, and Carla Suarez Navarro, who'd been my dark horse pick for Melbourne did bow out a bit early. But she might find herself hard-pressed against the wily Czechs, Fed Cup champions two years in a row, especially with Lucie Safarova champing at the bit for revenge. The world #28 was the only one to give eventual Aussie champion Na Li any kind of trouble last month, running through the first set and holding match point in their third round match. She hasn't been back on court since that heartbreaking loss, but if she can regroup and rebound now, she could make quick work of her opponents -- if only to prove she has what it takes in the clutch.

Slovakia vs. Germany

This tie has some of the most potential for fireworks this weekend, with Sydney finalist Angelique Kerber and back-on-the-radar Andrea Petkovic leading a strong German team. Even Julia Goerges, down substantially from her career high ranking, is fresh off an upset of Sara Errani in Melbourne and a run to the semis in Pattaya City. But watch out for Dominika Cibulkova, the Cinderella runner-up in Australia who barely broke a sweat as she beat four top twenty players back to back. She had a disappointing end to what was by far her best Grand Slam run, unable to get on the board in the second set, but she's more than proven she can hit with the biggest hitters out there and could use this opportunity to make up for the trophy now missing from her mantle.

Australia vs. Russia

Last year's runner-up Russian squad has lost a bit of its luster for this first round -- missing Maria Sharapova as well as consistent stars like Maria Kirilenko, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and others, only one player, little known #158 Victoria Kan, is ranked in the top two hundred in singles. That's going to open the door wide for the Australians, but veteran Sam Stosur may not be the one to beat here. Though she hasn't had a terrible start to the year, the standout for the Aussies may be Casey Dellacqua whose fourth round showing at her homeland Slam brought her back up into the top hundred. Most of her Fed Cup wins have come in the doubles rubbers, but now that she's proven herself on the solo court too I wouldn't be surprised if she became the clincher this weekend.

World Group II

It's not all about the Fed Cup main draw though -- the teams vying to play for the trophy next year also have a lot on the line. Sweden's Johanna Larsson, who put up quite a fight against Victoria Azarenka in their opening round in Melbourne will take on a Polish team helmed by Agnieszka Radwanksa, probably still smarting from having missed a second Major final. And Junior Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Belinda Bencic, who won her first big girls' match at a Slam against uber-veteran Kimiko Date Krumm, makes her debut on the Swiss team against a French squad led by always spunky Alize Cornet and mixed doubles titleist Kristina Mladenovic.

But perhaps the highest profile woman to hit the courts this weekend will be Melbourne breakthrough Eugenie Bouchard, a semifinalist in her first trip Down Under. The young Canadian was certainly helped as her colleagues cleared the field for her, but she stayed strong against an injured Ana Ivanovic in the quarters and was able to avoid a rout by Na Li a round later. Now ranked in the top twenty, pressure is on to prove her run Down Under was no fluke, and she has a fairly good shot at doing so. She and her Canadian teammates take on a Serbian team which is missing stars like Ivanovic, world #8 Jelena Jankovic and always-tricky Bojana Jovanovski. With the biggest threat on the other side of the net a triple-digit ranked Vesna Dolonc, Genie has ample opportunity to boost her confidence before facing off against bigger foes -- and if her performance in Australia is any indication, there will certainly many more of those in the future.

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Of course there is a lot more at stake in Fed Cup than each individual player's scoreline -- this, unlike other tournaments, is a team effort. But any one of these ladies can put in a showing this weekend that not only boosts her nation to the next level, but does the same for herself, as well. And after the fight they each showed over the past month, I'd expect nothing short of the best from all of them.

Deep Seeded Anxiety

After the rampant bracket busting we saw at Wimbledon this year, we can't really be surprised by the upsets that have come in the weeks that followed. In fact, only one favorite won a title this past weekend, while everyone else broke new ground on their way to the winners' circles. Their performances show just how deep the talent in the fields has become, and may make even the biggest stars a little nervous.

The only top seed to survive the week's action was, maybe not surprisingly, Serena Williams. Playing for the first time in Bastad, Sweden, the world #1 was able to redeem herself after a shockingly early exit at the All England Club -- though she didn't face a player in the top thirty, she did make her way to this title without dropping a set, defeating 2011 runner-up Johanna Larsson in under eighty minutes during Sunday's final. It was Williams' fifty-third career title, her seventh of the year, and should do a lot to erase the memory of a disappointing run in London as she preps for the hardcourt season. But we've seen so often this year that nothing is certain on these courts -- and all the other winners this weekend prove that not all top seeds are safe.

That was quite apparent in Bad Gastein, where world #33 Mona Barthel retired while down a set to Austrian wildcard Lisa-Marie Moser, and up-and-coming German teenager Annika Beck won just a game in her quarterfinal match. Karin Knapp, something of a Cinderella at Wimbledon a few weeks back, was the only seed to make the semis, and even she couldn't cut it against eventual champion Yvonne Meusburger. The twenty-nine year old veteran reached her second straight final, having lost last weekend to Simona Halep in Budapest. But this time against doubles specialist Andrea Hlavackova, playing in her first ever singles championship, the hometown girl had the advantage. After surviving a tight first set, Meusburger won her first career trophy, reached her highest career ranking and proved some things do get better with age.

That sentiment is also true for Ivo Karlovic, who'd been struggling to come back from injury almost a year before being struck by illness in April. The big-serving Croat came to Bogota ranked out of the top hundred-fifty and title-less for over five years, and at thirty-four seemed unlikely to change that. But he withstood some tough challenges in Colombia -- he played five tiebreaks on his way to the final, only dropping one set to second seed Kevin Anderson in the semis. Meanwhile twenty-nine year old Alejandro Falla, himself ranked in triple digits and coming off a win over world #14 Janko Tipsarevic in the quarters, was playing his first ever title match. But Karlovic proved too much for the relatively untested local -- in a quick two-set match which brought his ace total above a hundred for the tournament, nearly three hundred for the year, Dr. Ivo landed his first crown in half a decade and put him back on the radar for the rest of the field.

On the radar too, now, are the two finalists in Hamburg, each of whom pulled off some of the biggest wins of their careers to make the title match. Young Federico Delbonis had won a handful of Challenger events before heading to Germany, but had only spent a total of one week inside the top hundred -- he hit #98 in the world after winning in Barranquilla. But he began his campaign last week with a win over Tommy Robredo and followed up by defeating recently resurgent Fernando Verdasco in the quarters. His biggest triumph, though, was over a much bigger fish -- in the semis he took on four-time champ Roger Federer and, against all odds at the bet-at-home Open, came out the winner. Meanwhile Fabio Fognini, long an also-ran in this sport, took out hometown hero Tommy Haas before ousting clay court specialist Nicolas Almagro to make his second final of the year. And ultimately the Italian's experience won out -- after dropping the first set and saving three match points in a tiebreak, the twenty-six year wrapped up the tightest final of the weekend, extending his win streak to ten matches and two titles since Wimbledon. Suddenly a top-twenty player, he's proven that even underdogs have a little bite to them.

Whether this weekend's results show that the favorites have lost a bit of their sparkle or that the longshots have upped the ante remains to be seen. Certainly a loss this week doesn't mean a career is over -- nor that momentum will last in the months that come. But with even the most unheard-of players proving they can hit with the big guys, it sure will be fun watching them all fight it out.

The New Class

The ladies' championship at Wimbledon was many things, but perhaps most importantly it served to usher in the next generation of tennis superstars. And some of the players making a statement over the past week prove that Petra Kvitova is not the only young player to watch. In Budapest, twenty-year-old Irina-Camelia Begu has been on a roll. The Romanian had already made a splash this year, making the final in Marbella after taking out then-rebuilding Alberta Brianti and heavy favorite Svetlana Kuznetsova as a qualifier. This week she hasn't had quite as difficult a draw, but in three matches, she hasn't dropped a set -- earlier today she won eight games in a row in her victory over Estrella Cabeza Candela. With a semifinal meeting against veteran Anabel Medina Garrigues she'll be surely tested, but if she's fresh and confident she might be able to get the upset. Sweden's Johanna Larsson has been on Tour for a couple years, but she's only really made an impact in the last twelve months. It started with a win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova last July in Portoroz, and this year she's notched wins over both Na Li and Ana Ivanovic. She came to the Swedish Open, her home tournament, unseeded, but already knocked out Vera Dushevina and Lourdes Dominguez Lino. She was up a break early against Sofia Arvidsson when play was suspended for rain on Friday, but she's got more than a few surprises in her, and could very well keep her run going. In the other half of the Bastad draw, journeywoman Barbora Zahlavova Strycova is trying to initiate her own breakthrough. By far the most experienced of this bunch, she hasn't yet won a singles title on Tour, but she has defeated players like Kvitova, Nadia Petrova and Aravane Rezai already this year. More importantly, this week, she stopped second-seeded Flavia Pennetta's comeback cold on Thursday, battling through a two-plus hour third round to make her first semi since Prague last year. She's scheduled to face a tough but spotty Polona Hercog today, and she's certainly got the talent to keep up her streak. Whether these ladies translate success this week into longer term gains remains to be seen. But as we patiently wait for the next crop of talent to take the reins in women's tennis, any one of them could be up to the task. And as has been true for quite some time, we're certainly open for some new big-hitters to shine.

The Return of Anna?

It's easy to forget that back in the day, Anna Chakvetadze was the number-five player in the world. In 2007 she'd earned herself four titles -- including two big ones in Cincinnati and Stanford -- beating the likes of Daniela Hantuchova, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams in the process. But if you happened to blink during that run, you might have missed her.

After making the finals in New Haven in 2008, Anna hasn't really been able to make a dent at another tournament. Last year she never won more than three matches at any event, and this year she's missed out on even qualifying for a number of others. She suffered a first round loss in Miami in March and subsequently fell out of the top hundred, her lowest ranking in nearly six years. At only twenty-three years of age, it looked like she was already well past the prime of her career.

But then came this week's action in Portoroz, Slovenia, a small tournament which nonetheless attracted top talent like Jankovic and feisty teenager Anatastia Pavlyuchenkova. Chakvetadze, now ranked #103 in the world, was not seeded and so was faced with the prospect of one opponent after another ranked higher than her. In the first round she made surprisingly quick work of Ekaterina Makarova, a fellow Russian who won her first career title in Eastbourne this year. She was similarly impressive against fourth-seeded Sara Errani, taking advantage of the Italian's pathetic service game -- she won barely one in three of her first attempts and one in five of her second -- for another straight-set win.

In the quarterfinals, Anna faced stiffer competition. She'd beaten Vera Dushevina in their only previous meeting, but that was four years ago, and she found herself down early when her compatriot took the first set 6-2. But Anna was able to steady herself and came back to take the next two, making her first semifinal since that run at the Pilot Pen. There she faced Polona Hercog, one of my favorite newcomers this year, who got off too a quick start, bagelling Anna to take the first set in twenty-four minutes. But again, signs of the Russian's champion self began to shine through, and she broke her opponent twice to even the score and got off to a quick lead in the decider.

On Sunday Anna never had to look back -- against Sweden's Johanna Larsson, the seven-time titleist never let herself get behind. Larsson didn't get a break opportunity in the first set and couldn't convert on any of her three chances in the second. After just over an hour Chakvetadze had won her first title in more than two years, beating five better-ranked players in a row to do it.

Does this mean we can expect Anna to continue her momentum in the weeks leading up to the U.S. Open? It's probably too early to tell, but now on her strongest surface, it sure looks like she's back in form. Considering the amount of success she's had before during the American road trip, she's certainly capable of making an impact, but it'll take more than one title win to do it. I've always had a soft spot for Chakvetadze, so I'd love to see her making another run for the top-ten.

And now that she knows she still has it, she just needs to keep it going!