2015 U.S. Open: Ten to Watch

With just days to go before the start of this year's U.S. Open, we all know that we could be on the verge of making history. Serena Williams has the rare opportunity to complete a calendar year Grand Slam -- an achievement that even she, with all her career accomplishments and honors, has never even had a chance to claim.

But as much as that would mean for the world #1 -- and the sport itself -- there are certainly other story lines to follow in New York. And, more specifically, other players to keep an eye on too. Some have been a little quiet of late and are looking to launch a bit of a comeback, others are hoping to capitalize on a summer during which they were really able to shine.

And while most headlines will likely focus on just a couple of favorites, any one of these guys could make a splash of their own in Flushing Meadows.

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The Women

Caroline Wozniacki

Last year's Cinderella made a stunning run to her second Major final while ranked just #11 in the world and rode her success to one of the best comebacks of the year. It's not that she's done badly this season -- she was a runner-up in Auckland and Stuttgart and even picked up a title in Kuala Lumpur, which was enough to keep her in the top five on Tour. Still her summer's been a little less than spectacular -- she squandered her top seed in Stanford, fell in her Toronto opener to eventual champion Belinda Bencic, and lost in Cincinnati to Victoria Azarenka for the fourth time this year. This week she hit the courts among a crowded and talented field in New Haven -- a place where she's had a lot of success in the past. She started out strong, though, dropping just two games to Alison Riske in her opener, and if she can at least gather some momentum, she might just be able to keep her success going in Flushing Meadows.

Jelena Jankovic

JJ is another former top-ranked player who knows what it's like to come in second in New York, but her trip to the final came a long seven years ago and she's had more than a little trouble recapturing that glory. While she managed to stay in the top ten for a few years, even finishing 2013 at #8 in the world, it's been a while since she's been a relevant feature at the Majors -- in the last five years she's only made it to the quarterfinals once and she's fallen in the first round five times, twice this year alone. She's also put together long stretches without any kind of title -- after making a surprise run to the Indian Wells crown in 2010, it took more than three years before she picked up a trophy in Bogota, and since then she only scored a 125K championship in Nanchang last month, without facing a player in the top hundred to do it. Still, with all her struggles, the Serb has shown some signs of her old self this season -- she made it back to the final in the California desert and last week scored her first top ten win of the year, taking out Karolina Pliskova in Cincinnati. She did eventually lose in the semifinals, but her performance may have reminded us of the kind of damage she can do on a hard court if she's at her best.

Sloane Stephens

I don't think I was the only one who wrote off the former Australian Open semifinalist a few months ago -- after her stellar start to the 2013 season, she had a hard time following through. Last year she lost four matches to players ranked in the triple digits and with a 2-4 record to start 2015, she saw her own position fall out of the top forty. But she's been getting her game back together more recently, it seems -- in Indian Wells she scored upsets over Angelique Kerber and Svetlana Kuznetsova, and even took a set of Serena Williams in the fourth round. She rode her momentum to the quarters in Indian Wells later that month and went on to score upsets over Coco Vandeweghe in Strasbourg, Venus Williams at Roland Garros and Carla Suarez Navarro in Eastbourne. It wasn't until the start the summer hardcourt season, though, that she really hit her stride -- unseeded at the Citi Open in Washington, the American took out both Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sam Stosur to claim her first Tour title without dropping a set. While she fell early in Toronto, she was able to put up a nice fight against Ana Ivanovic in Cincinnati, and might just have re-established herself as a contender on the big stages again.

Anna Schmiedlova

The young Slovakian will celebrate her twentieth birthday on the same day the women's champion is crowned, and while it might be a tall order to ask that she's still around at the end of the fortnight, it might not be so far out of the question. After all, we've seen two first time Major finalists already this year, so why not add Schmiedlova to the mix. The former French Open Girls' runner-up has already made a couple big statements at the Slams -- last year she picked up a couple ITF titles on clay and went on to stun Venus Williams in Paris. This year she's proven herself on the WTA Tour too -- after reaching the final in Rio, she picked up her maiden trophy on the hard courts of Katowice and, for good measure, added another crown in Bucharest. Ranked just outside the top forty to start the month, she still had to qualify for the main draw in Cincinnati, but she rode an upset of former world #2 Aga Radwanska all the way to the quarters and a #32 ranking. While she hasn't yet made it out of the third round at a Major, I wouldn't be surprised if this was her chance to change that.

Margarita Gasparyan

Don't worry, you're not the only one who's never heard of the twenty-year-old. The little-known Russian has spent most of her time on the ITF Tour and hasn't gotten much action at all against the sport's elite. But she has quietly picked up a trio of titles on that circuit and put together a 37-8 record so far this year, climbing from a sub-two hundred ranking to #71 now. She even managed to qualify for both the French Open and Wimbledon, playing the first two Major main draws of her career. Her big break, though, came this summer when she took to the courts of Baku -- a lower-tier tournament which has nevertheless boasted champions from Elina Svitolina to Vera Zvonareva. She opened with a solid win over one-time Grand Slam runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and then took out Karin Knapp, who was fresh off a solid showing in Bad Gastein. In her WTA-level final debut, she was challenged a bit by also-unknown Patricia Maria Tig, but came out on top to claim her maiden Big Girls' trophy which might give her the confidence she needs in the Big Apple. Gasparyan has a little work left to do to make the main draw, though -- the top seed in qualifying tournament, she rolled through her opening round opponent on Tuesday, but still could face plenty of challenges, including one-time New York darling Melanie Oudin. But maybe this time she's finally primed to get that all important win when it counts.

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The Men

Marin Cilic

It's not often that the defending champion is as far off the radar as this Croat is, but the man who unexpectedly ran off with his maiden Major title twelve months ago has had a hard time keeping the momentum going. Though he did manage to pick up another title at the end of the year in Moscow, he lost all three of his round robin matches at his first year-end championship and was forced to skip the first Grand Slam of this season with injury. Since he returned to action at Indian Wells he's lost in his opening round four times and racked up a barely break-even 18-13 record. There have been some glimpses of what he's capable of, though -- he reached the quarters at Wimbledon and put up a nice fight in a rematch against Kei Nishikori in the Citi Open semis. Still he's got a lot to lose in his return to New York, and if he's not truly back in form he could potentially fall well down the rankings by the time this fortnight is over. But if he can put together even a decent run -- which we know he can -- he might just be able to set the stage for an even bigger rebound down the road.

Nick Kyrgios

I haven't spent a lot of time writing about the scandal that overtook the young Australian -- and kind of the entire sport -- the last few weeks, and while I have absolutely no desire to get into the details here, I can't help but wonder what it will mean for his performance in New York. The twenty-year-old had been putting together a more-than-impressive season through the start of the summer -- he reached the quarters at his homeland's Major and reached his first career final in Estoril. More impressively, though, he took out 2014 semifinalist Milos Raonic at Wimbledon and two-time champion Roger Federer in Madrid. His early successes got him all the way to a career high #25 ranking in early June, but he's taken a bit of a tumble since then. After grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons in Montreal, he lost his next match in straight sets to John Isner, and a week later in Cincy, he only managed to take three games off Richard Gasquet in his opening round. He's now fallen out of seeding territory for the U.S. Open, which could make him vulnerable from the get go -- and while he only has third round points at stake in his return to New York, if he's not able to shake off the stink that's been cast over him this month, he might be an easier target this time than he would be under other circumstances.

Alexandr Dolgopolov

It was about this time last year that the Ukrainian star's season began to implode -- after a year in which he'd stunned Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells and took out recently crowned Grand Slam champ Stan Wawrinka in Miami, he'd re-established himself as a legitimate force on Tour. But knee surgery in July kept him out of the draw in New York and off the courts until late September, since when he only won one match the rest of the year. It took a while for him to get his footing back this season -- after failing to defend points during the spring hardcourt sweep he fell to #80 in the world and had to qualify for the Rome Masters event. Things got a little better in the summer though -- he took out four higher ranked players on his way to the semis in Nottingham, and after qualifying again for Cincinnati last week, was two points away from defeating Novak Djokovic for a spot in the final. He may have run out of steam a bit in Winston-Salem though -- still unseeded, despite his post-Ohio boost, Dolgo lost two tiebreaks to young Thanasi Kokkinakis -- but perhaps that will give him the time and rest he needs to make a real push in New York.

Marcos Baghdatis

As much as I always root for the veteran Cypriot, I can hardly believe myself that he's still alive and kicking these days. A finalist at the Australian Open nearly ten years ago, the former world #8 has dealt with one injury after another, falling out of the top hundred several times since hitting his peak. In fact at the start of 2014 he'd gone as low as #155 in the world. But he's nothing if not resilient -- after a second round loss at Wimbledon last year, he picked up a trio of Challengers' titles to end the season and this year pushed Grigor Dimitrov through a long five sets in their Melbourne third round. He continued his momentum with a semi run in Zagreb and even beat David Ferrer in Nottingham. Back in the top fifty again after a trip to the All England Club, he made his way to the final in Atlanta, his first Tour-level championship since 2011. He too had a bit of a hiccup this week in Winston-Salem, losing to qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert in his opener, but given how he's pulled his game together this year, there's no reason to believe he won't be able to rebound again.

Denis Kudla

As we Americans wait (and wait) for the next big star to take over the reins from Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi and even Andy Roddick, there have been a couple names that have come up as potential contenders -- John Isner, Sam Querrey, and, what now seems like a long time ago, James Blake. And while a couple of the young guns surely still have an opportunity to make a splash, this year it could be someone way farther down the radar that causes a stir. The twenty-three year old Kudla put up a huge fight against Feliciano Lopez at the Australian Open and then endured a couple more five-set marathons on his way to the fourth round at Wimbledon, the only man from the U.S. to get that far. He kept up his success at the start of the summer, too, qualifying for the main draw in Atlanta and beating compatriot Jack Sock on his way to the semis -- where he, incidentally, took a set off eventual champion Isner. He qualified for Montreal and Cincy too, and managed to climb to a career high ranking of #74 in the world at the start of this week. While he may be a little older than his contemporaries were when they made their first impact in New York, he might just have the experience and maturity now to make a more lasting impression.

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Bonus Round
Okay, I know I've been limiting these lists to five men and five women all year long, but with the U.S. Open being the final Major of 2015, this is the last chance players have to make any sort of real statement this season. So I'm expanding the field this one time to include a couple athletes who might not be quite on the radar in New York, but nevertheless could prove to be big spoilers.

Roberta Vinci

The two-time quarterfinalist in the Big Apple has fallen well off the radar in the last several months -- both on the singles circuit and on the doubles Tour, which she and former partner Sara Errani dominated for years. After a disappointing 2014, she began this year barely ranked inside the top fifty and notched surprising losses to players like world #113 Tatjana Maria and #168 Veronica Cepede Royg. Though she made a somewhat surprising run to the final in Nürnberg, she lost four straight matches after that, even going 0-3 during her traditionally strong grass court run. But something seemed to click one the seasons turned -- she took out a strong Daria Gavrilova to make the elite eight in Toronto, and earlier this week as a qualifier in New Haven, trounced former Wimbledon finalist Genie Bouchard in a barely hour-long opening match. Though she'll now face off against three-time champion Caroline Wozniacki, she's certainly shown she still has the capability of pulling off big upsets and could keep proving that for a few more matches to come.

Mardy Fish

Now I realize the veteran American hasn't made as big an impact at the Majors as others, but as the one-time world #7 gets ready for his last U.S. Open run, you can't help but appreciate all he's accomplished. Long a middle-of-the-road player, he had a breakthrough in 2010 -- dropping some thirty pounds, a fact many commentators seemingly could not get over, he soared to new levels in the game, stunning Andy Murray three times in a row, in Miami, Queen's Club, and Cincinnati and racking up a slew of other top-ten wins. He cracked the single digit rankings himself less than a year later, rode his momentum to a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon and surpassed Andy Roddick as the top-ranked player in the U.S. But just as he was peaking, Fish was dealt an unfortunate blow -- diagnosed with severe anxiety and a heart condition that required surgery, Fish skipped the entire 2014 season and has only played three singles matches since his return at Indian Wells -- winning just one last week in Cincinnati -- but that might not be the worst harbinger. Remember how well a struggling Andy Roddick did after announced his retirement a few years back? Of course, it'll be much tougher for Fish to put together a big run, but with the crowd certainly behind him in the Big Apple, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a little splash.

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Well there you go -- ten or so players who may not be super high on the radar this year at the U.S. Open, but nonetheless could stir things up a bit. And while we're all so focused on the favorites, any of these guys could surprise us while our eyes are trained elsewhere.

Of course, with a few days left before the draws are released, who knows yet how challenging any of their roads in New York will be -- but there's no reason one or more of them can't rise to the occasion.

After all, with this being their last big opportunity to make a name for themselves in the 2015 season, expect all of them to put up their biggest fight now.

The Comeback Kids

Despite some recent high-profile exits at this year's U.S. Open, the theme hasn't so much been that of a "Farewell Tour" as it has been a "Comeback Tour." And those comebacks come in all shapes and sizes -- through four days of play nine men have rebounded after losing the first two sets and more than a couple players in both draws have had to regroup after squandering big leads. It might not always be pretty, but, as we've come to expect from action in New York, it certainly shows us how exciting this sport can be.

Fabio Fognini is no stranger to five set matches -- his two-day 2010 French Open second round against Gael Monfils was one of my best of the year -- but when he got down two-sets-to-one to Edouard Roger-Vasselin after less than ninety minutes of play in his first round, it didn't seem like he'd be able to pull it off. But somehow the twenty-five year old Italian was able to pull himself together, taking advantage of his opponent's weak second serve in the third set, and eventually pushed him to a decider. After more than three and a half hours on court, he finally walked away the winner, scoring just his second career win in New York.

The one saving grace for Fognini is the fact that his next opponent, Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, endured a similar battle on Tuesday. Against tenth seed Juan Monaco, a man who'd won four of their five previous meetings, the world #68 needed just an hour to go down two sets. But the Argentine's serve fell apart in the third and despite winning one more point in the fourth, couldn't get a win in the tiebreak. Garcia-Lopez finally closed it out in an eighty-one minute decider -- again winning fewer points -- earning only his second top-twenty victory of the year. It could be ugly when the two tested players meet later today, but with each of them vying for their deepest run at the Open, it seems likely they'll both put up a fight.

While these underdogs might have been able to eke out the improbable wins in their early matches, some favorites have had to claw back from the brink. Janko Tipsarevic, defending quarterfinal points from last year, looked like he might be heading straight for the door when world #129 Guillaume Rufin took the first two sets from him, and American Mardy Fish, himself a standout here in 2011, had trouble getting a handle on Nikolay Davydenko in their second round. Tipsy was able to turn things around and Fish dropped just five games once he got his bearings -- if they want to go further, though, they'll need to raise their game further. Tipsarevic will meet quickly-rising Brian Baker, who'll have the crowd support in their second round, and Mardy's got a date with sixteenth seed Gilles Simon. Hopefully the long early rounds will serve as valuable prep as they continue forward.

The ladies haven't been immune from the drama either. World #2 Aggie Radwanska comes to New York with mixed expectations -- on the one hand, she's fresh off her first Grand Slam final, holds her highest career ranking and is one of the few women who could be #1 at the end of this fortnight. But she's only won a handful of matches since Wimbledon and retired from her New Haven opener with a shoulder strain. She breezed through her first round in New York, but against petite Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro yesterday she got herself in a world of trouble. She fell behind early and pulled even, only to be broken again in the first set and was a point away from going down two breaks in the second. But as CSN's game fell apart, Radwanska's was raised. She won five straight games to force a decider and blanker her opponent in a twenty-six minute third. Her win earns her a third round meeting with former U.S. Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic, and though the one-time #1 has been solid in her first two matches, we all know how easy it is for her to lose leads these days. If Aggie can keep her cool she might be able to overcome her doubters and make a run into the second week.

But so far nothing can compare to the fight we saw last night between two true stars of the sport. In what might be the best match of the tournament yet, and what is arguable the only real battle Arthur Ashe Stadium has seen so far this year -- at least at night -- sixth seeded Angelique Kerber took on two-time champion Venus Williams in a rematch of their Olympic third round. The German has been one of the standouts over the last twelve months, climbing from a rank of #92 at last year's Open -- where she had to qualify -- and beating the likes of Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams this season. Venus, meanwhile, is clearly at the tail end of her career, but with five top-ten wins this year and a run to the semis in Cincinnati, she certainly can't be counted out.

The pair's second round match didn't start out well for either woman -- Kerber opened with a break of serve but immediately gave it back. In fact, no one held until the sixth game, and after about half an hour the German seemed to have all the momentum. When she was up a set and 2-0 -- a ten-game stretch during which Venus hadn't held serve once -- things began to turn around. The veteran pulled even and ahead, and though Kerber got a break back, Williams finally forced a decider after more than a seventy-minute set. She had a break in the third, too, but Kerber, one of the best fighters on Tour this year, rebounded again. With the all-American crowd clearly pulling for her opponent, Angelique stayed the slightest bit stronger and finally earned her first match point after nearly three hours of play. Her win late last night -- early this morning -- sets her up against world #67 Olga Govortsova, who's coming off her own long second round. But with this section of the draw open wide, and her biggest threat already dispatched, things are looking good for Kerber to at least repeat her run from 2011.

The first few days of the U.S. Open certainly haven't fallen short in the drama department, and hopefully that won't wholly exhaust the stars who've survived this far. If they can keep up their level of play it could bode well for what we'll see in the next week.

And their comeback performances could give hope to all the others who find themselves down and out -- after all, in New York we know that anything can happen.

Goodbye, A-Rod

There must be something in the New York water.

Just about a day after Kim Clijsters' singles career ended in the second round of this year's U.S. Open, Andy Roddick announced he would retire after his run at the tournament was over.

Yes, it's been a while since the thirty-year-old was at the very top of the sport -- he ceded the #1 spot to Roger Federer in early 2004, making himself the last champion in the era before the current trifecta of Fed-Nadal-Djokovic took over. But he never went far -- Roddick finished the year in the top-ten every season from 2002 to 2010 and only dropped out of the top twenty late last year. He's won at least one title a year since 2001, including two in 2012 when many thought he was no longer relevant. He's played a handful of Grand Slam finals, winning the 2003 U.S. Open and coming oh-so-close to winning that elusive Wimbledon title just three years ago. Even as his career was winding down, he kept pace with the top guys -- he beat John Isner on his way to the Atlanta title in August and stunned Roger Federer in March with a third round win in Miami.

Roddick's resume may not be quite as decorated as some of his contemporaries -- his thirty-two trophies compare to seventy-six for Roger Federer and only tops Novak Djokovic, five years his junior, by one. But he remains the last American man to win a Major and has been instrumental in developing the young U.S. players of this sport. A fixture on the Davis Cup team for years, he's ushered in the likes of John Isner, Sam Querrey and Ryan Harrison, and leaves them in the still-capable hands of Mardy Fish and James Blake. And his foundation focuses on improving the lives of children on and off the court, so his influence on the sport is sure to last a good deal longer.

It's not entirely a surprise to see Roddick announce his retirement. At thirty years of age he's one of the tennis old guard, and while players like Roger and Serena have defied Father Time recently, Roddick has been plagued by various injuries for years. He said he would know by the way he played his first match in New York if he'd be able to continue past the Open, and he knew that he could not.

Like with Clijsters before him, the outpouring of emotion on hearing of Roddick's coming retirement was heavy:

But we're not quite done with him yet. Tomorrow night, under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Andy Roddick will take on Australian teenager Bernard Tomic in his second round match. It would be interesting if two veterans' careers were ended by members of the next generation, but this New York crowd will be sure to do everything it can to keep their son's run going just a little while longer. And with so many new players now making their mark on the courts, us old folk will want to treasure that little bit of nostalgia we have remaining.

So the only question left is, "Who's next?"

The Graveyard

The summer hardcourt stretch is usually one of the more brutal periods of the tennis season -- it's hot, it's humid, it's hard on your body. But players, at least the top ones, usually get more of a chance to pick and choose events, take a week off to recover here and there, and pace themselves better between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. This year, on the other hand, the calendar has been especially rough, and more than a few high-profile casualties have been claimed.

Of course there was an Olympic elephant in the room, jamming the back half of the summer with three big tournaments back-to-back-to-back just before the final Grand Slam of the season. The London event isn't wholly to blame, of course, but the tight and tense schedule has taken a toll on the field. So far in Cincinnati, four players have retired mid-match, this after the likes of Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and John Isner pulled out of the draws entirely. And that's not even the worst of it -- Rafael Nadal yesterday disappointed a legion of fans when he announced he wasn't fit enough to play in New York, and earlier today Gael Monfils, absent from Tour since early May with knee issues of his own, did the same.

It does make you wonder, then, if everyone's efforts are worth it. Tommy Haas, left off the German team in London, has played every week since Wimbledon -- every week but one in fact since Roland Garros -- but fell in the second round in Cincy. And Olympic Bronze medalist Juan Martin Del Potro, who dismissed Haas Wednesday, battled a wrist injury today to get a three-set win over Viktor Troicki -- makes you wonder if he can last another round here. Even Serena Williams, riding a three-title win streak, was nursing a back strain on Tuesday and had trouble closing out against world #121 Eleni Daniilidou. In her match against Urszula Radwanska today, she was broken four times -- by comparison, she lost serve just once at the Olympics.

But while these guys struggle, there are of course those looking to pick through the remains of these fallen and broken stars and come out on top. Montreal titleist Petra Kvitova has already won more hardcourt matches this summer than she even played last year, suggesting she might have found a way to lick the asthma that plagued her in the latter half of 2011. And reigning U.S. Open champ Sam Stosur, two-and-four since Wimbledon, slogged through a nearly three hour match against Anabel Medina Garrigues Tuesday. Up a set and a break on Ekaterina Makarova now, she might be making that late-August push as she preps to defend.

A few men are also looking to take advantage of their opportunities. Mardy Fish, hobbled by illness for much of the first half of the year, seems to have found his groove again. He's dropped a bit in the rankings, but notched his only top-ten win of the year last week in Toronto. He's only been broken once in his first three matches year and looks poised for a quarterfinal meeting against Roger Federer -- the four-time champion is already up a break on Bernard Tomic in his third round. That's no easy draw, of course, but Fish has given the Great Fed a challenge more than once recently, so the outcome is far from certain.

More impressive, however, might be the run of Nikolay Davydenko in Cincinnati. The former world #3 has fallen well out of the spotlight the last few months, making it past the second round of a tournament just once since late March. Now almost out of the top fifty, he fully dominated DC champ Alexandr Dolgopolov in his opener, converting five of ten break chances and winning almost two-thirds of all the points. He followed it up with a similarly one-sided victory over Florian Mayer and will tonight face last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic. Clearly he's the underdog in that match, hasn't beaten the recent #1 since 2009, but the Serb has been pretty busy this summer and could be caught off guard.

As usual some players are primed to pounce on any chance created for them, and with so many falling by the wayside, the opportunities are particularly plentiful. For a few looking to turn their seasons around, it's a chance to get in a couple big wins before the year's last Major. And if they can do it, there might be a hugely different dynamic in place when we get to New York.

Making the Switch

It's been a rough couple days for the sport's best players as they've tried to make the relatively late shift to the American hardcourt season. With so many staying on Wimbledon's grass for the Olympics last week, there wasn't a lot of time to adjust for the first big events of the U.S. Open Series.

Players like fourth-place finisher Maria Kirilenko and runner-up Maria Sharapova skipped the Rogers Cup in Canada entirely, while Gold medalist Andy Murray withdrew after his first match. And a couple who were hoping to stick around fared no better -- five men's seeds, including Bronze winner Juan Martin Del Potro, were upset in Toronto on Wednesday and top players like Sam Stosur and Petra Kvitova had to fight back from the brink in Montreal.

But that does open the door for other players still in the draw -- both those who have been slogging it out on the surface the last few weeks while the favorites were otherwise occupied, and those who didn't last quite as long at the All England Club as they might have hoped.

Aggie Radwanska's run to the final at Wimbledon solidified her spot as one of the sport's top athletes, but her opening loss at the Summer Games threatened to halt her momentum cold. She got herself in a bit of danger her first match in Montreal, dropping her first set to rising German Mona Barthel. But perhaps helped by a couple rain delays, the Pole regrouped in the second and finally closed out the match. Traditionally strong this time of year, she might be able to take advantage of any holes left in the draw.

Sara Errani, too, hasn't done much off the clay since spring -- she's won a match here and there on grass, but with an infamous golden set against her record she might have been aching to get on a surface more to her liking. She's never won a Tour title on a hardcourt, but with a run to the Australian Open quarters, you know she can cause some waves. She was dominant in her opener against Jana Cepelova, but will have to raise her game against Na Li, a woman who's proven she's still relevant on both Errani's best grounds. If she can score the win, though, it could bode well for the Italian the rest of this week.

It's not just the favorites, though, that stand to gain in Montreal. Hometown favorite Aleksandra Wozniak has been rebuilding her game all year, winning an ITF title in Nassau and cutting her ranking basically in half. She survived a close call against unseeded and recovering Daniela Hantuchova in her first round and followed up with a one-sided victory over former #1 Jelena Jankovic on Thursday. She'll be the underdog again against Christina McHale in her next match, but with the American going three sets in her early rounds, Wozniak might be the fresher contestant. And the way her section of the draw is shaping up, there's plenty of reason to believe she could keep on going.

The men in Toronto have seen their bracket busted wide open over the last few days, and while favorites like Novak Djokovic and Canada's own Milos Raonic have survived, the possibilities for others may be stronger. Mardy Fish has a chunk of points to defend in the coming weeks, and while his contemporaries bided their time in London, he got in a couple practice shots in the U.S. He's only played one match so far at the Rogers Cup, but his drubbing of his Indian Wells vanquisher Matthew Ebden -- he lost just seven points on serve and needed less than an hour to advance -- suggests he's in good form. If he can make it past new top-tenner Juan Monaco next, certainly no easy task, he could make a good and deep run here.

Tommy Haas has also spent the summer rebuilding his game. Back in the top thirty thanks to a title in Halle and runner-up finishes in Hamburg and Washington, he's already survived two tough opponents -- veteran David Nalbandian nearly ousted him early while ninth seeded Gilles Simon provided relatively little resistance. He'll next face Radek Stepanek, who on Wednesday scored a big win over Juan Martin Del Potro and won their most recent meeting in Miami. But Haas is a different player these days and might just be the favorite this time.

But the sleeper in this draw might be Jeremy Chardy who notched his first top-ten victory of the year over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday. The Frenchman barely has a winning record on the year, but by making the third round here, he looks to be changing that. He'll next meet Spain's Marcel Granollers, a man who's technically a favorite, but with just two wins on hardcourts so far this year, he might not be quite up to snuff. Chardy did win the pair's only previous match about a year ago, too, so history could be on his side.

The switch to hardcourts seems to have had different effects on players this week, taking some victims, allowing others redemption, and rewarding those who've remained loyal to it the last few weeks. Whether players can keep the momentum they've captured so far in Canada as we head to the final Grand Slam of the year remains to be seen. But performances so far bode well for these players, and with a more wins they might just change the conversation at the U.S. Open.

It's Not All About the Gold

Now that all the excitement around Olympic tennis has died down it might be a good time to step back and look at the other action that went on last week. It's easy to have been distracted, but for the tennis players who passed on or were left out of the Summer Games, this was a great opportunity to get some momentum for the fast-approaching U.S. Open. And the results in DC certainly provided more than a few surprises and some real chances to shine.

The ladies' draw featured more than a few players who could have played in London last week. Top seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has seen her ranking drop slightly the last few months due to injury though and, at #34 when the Olympic players were determined, was only the sixth-highest Russian in the field. And South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers hasn't played for her Fed Cup team since 2005, so was ineligible to make the trip herself. Instead they made their way to the U.S. hardcourts along with a crop of other players looking to make a bold statement or a strong comeback.

Success came unevenly of course -- Scheepers dropped her first round quickly, back-on-the-upswing Melanie Oudin dropped a long three setter to one-time #15 Aravane Rezai, whose own comeback was stopped just one round later. Meanwhile Americans Vania King and Sloane Stephens, each at or near their career-high singles rankings, lived up to their rankings to make the semis while Pavs herself reminded the tennis world she was still relevant, making her first final in over a year.

Unfortunately for the former world #13, she was full out of gas -- her semi with King went nearly three hours -- when she met unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova in Saturday's match. The young Slovakian was well off her best ranking, having dropped out of the top hundred and compiling an unimpressive 5-11 record on Tour this year. But she took no prisoners in Washington last week -- she ousted Scheepers in just over an hour, stunned a strong Sloane Stephens in the semis, and took advantage of an exhausted opponent in the championship match. With Maggie's every ball finding its mark -- she made just seven errors in the match -- she dismantled the #1 seed in another hour's time, handing Pavlyuchenkova her first loss ever in a final and earning her own third career trophy.

The stakes for the men in DC might have been even higher -- with five hundred points on the line, the champion would receive a bigger boost than Federer got from taking Silver in London. Perhaps that helps explain why stars like Mardy Fish, Kevin Anderson and re-ascendant Sam Querrey were all in the bracket.

They weren't immune from upsets of their own, though -- only five seeds made it out of the second round with James Blake ousting Pablo Andujar in their opener and Xavier Malisse, strangely left off the Belgian team at the Olympics, taking care of Jeremy Chardy a few days later. On the other hand Fish, struggling with injury all year, rebounded after retiring in Atlanta and losing the first here to make his first semi of the season. And Querrey, a stone's throw from a seeding in New York, scored a solid win over Anderson in the quarters to make the final four himself.

Both their runs were stopped though -- one by a veteran who's been rebuilding his form throughout 2012, the other by a youngster who'd so far failed to repeat his successes from last year. Tommy Haas, who in January was ranked just #205, proved he wasn't going anywhere when he stunned Roger Federer to take the Halle title back in June and made the final a few weeks later in Hamburg. In a solid service performance he took out Fish in Saturday's semi, dropping just two points on first attempts and denying all three break opportunities. Meanwhile Alexandr Dolgopolov, a standout at last year's Australian Open, had failed to defend many points this season. He dropped three opening matches in a row during the spring and lost in the semis of Umag, the lone title he'd won in 2011. But he was back in the groove in Washington. He only struggled briefly against James Blake in his early rounds and got past Querrey without allowing a break of serve.

The final last night was not without drama -- a long rain delay late in first set gave Haas the advantage in the tiebreak, but the Ukrainian rebounded quickly and got a late break in the second which he did not cede. The tide swiftly turned after that and Dolgopolov built a solid lead in the decider, finally closing out the match as the German's serve faltered and his own confidence grew. The win vaulted him nine spots up the rankings, and with his solid play all week, reminded future opponents he was no one-season wonder.

This weekend's champions may not have had the honor of playing for their countries, but perhaps the boost they got in winning was worth a little more to them individually. With confidence restored they can play with -- and defeat -- the big guns, there's no telling what they can do the rest of the year.

Road to the Final Four

This weekend, the best teams in men's college basketball will compete for the 2012 national championship. After a long, grueling winter and some shocking post-season upsets, there are only four teams remaining in the contest.

The season is far from over in tennis, of course, and there are still a few battles left before rounding out all the semifinalists in Miami, but the event hasn't been fraught with any less drama, and winnowing the field as far as we have -- plus what's still to come -- could really change the tenor of the year.

In the bottom half of the bracket, semi staples Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have already secured their spots in the final four. Both endured near-three hour, three set matches on Wednesday, Murray going down a set to Janko Tipsarevic and Rafa dropping his second to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Prior to that neither had been much tested in Miami, but they both have the motivation to go one further -- the Scot, champion here in 2009, wants to remind the world he can compete with the big guys, while Nadal is looking to add one of the few trophies still missing from his mantle. In the clash of these two titans, the victor might be able to hold onto bragging rights for some time to come.

The third men's quarterfinal will be fought this afternoon and pits Mardy Fish, looking to make the semis here for a second straight year, against veteran Juan Monaco, who's felled both Gael Monfils and Andy Roddick in his last two matches. Fish's performance so far has been somewhat of a relief -- after ending last year at his highest-ever ranking, he failed to win more than one match at any event before reaching Miami. He withstood big-serving Kevin Anderson, himself on a roll after winning Delray Beach last month, and got past Nicolas Almagro in the fourth round -- his first win over anyone in the top twenty since last August. Monaco, meanwhile, may have avoided a clash with red-hot Roger Federer, thanks to Roddick, but with a one-sided two-set drubbing of the resurgent American, proved he shouldn't be ignored. I still like Fish's chances to get the win today, but it won't be an easy fight.

World #1 Novak Djokovic and always-feisty David Ferrer will decide the final men's semi spot later today. Nole came to Miami with a slightly less perfect record than he had this time last year, but he still hasn't dropped a set yet. The Spaniard, meanwhile, has already racked up three titles in 2012 -- none quite as big as his opponent's Australian crown, of course, but enough to keep him firmly ensconced in the top five. He pulled off an impressive victory over Juan Martin Del Potro on Tuesday -- a match that should have been much closer than the 6-3, 6-3 scoreline suggests -- and was able to put one of the very few losses on Nole's tote board last year in London. You can't expect he won't put up his best fight to get in one more win.

But even with the amazing displays we've seen in the men's draw over the past week, some of the most exciting matches may have come from the women. In the bottom half of their bracket, Maria Sharapova continued doing what she's been doing all year -- proving she's still one of the elite in this sport, coming back from deficits against Shahar Peer in her opener and ending a four-match losing streak to Na Li.

If she's going to make the final again this year, though, she'll have to get through the woman who, a round ago, pulled off the win of her career. Caroline Wozniacki, who spent much of the last eighteen months as a tormented #1 -- her biggest wins during that time came over middling top-tenners like Francesca Schiavone and Jelena Jankovic, neither playing at their best -- has now fallen out of the top five. But apparently all the pressure on her shoulders dissolved with that ranking, and on Tuesday she finally got what everyone's been clamoring for. In her straight-set victory over Serena Williams, she proved she does have the stuff to take it to the real powerhouses of the sport, and though it may not have been an on-paper upset, I'm sure it silenced a lot of her critics -- at least for now.

The ladies' other half was no less shocking. Victoria Azarenka, who'd so far put together a season that might have surpassed Djokovic's 2011 start in its impressiveness, was riding a twenty-six match, four-title win streak and had come back from the brink in their fourth round.

But Marion Bartoli was not intimidated. One of only two losses on Vika's record since last October, she had confidence on her side and came out swinging. After winning the first four games of the match she hardly looked back -- down a break in the second, she rattled off five straight games and won the match in decisive fashion. It's hard to tell who's happier, Bartoli or her semifinal opponent Agnieszka Radwanska, whose only four losses this year have come at the hands of Azarenka. The Pole has been unstoppable herself in Miami, somehow turning her serve into a weapon in her quarterfinal win over Venus Williams. With a solid 6-0 record over the Frenchwoman, she certainly has history on her side and could really have the tennis world sit up and take notice.

Of course, one tournament does not a season make, but as play winds down at the Sony Ericsson Open, all these athletes have a lot to take with them the rest of the year. If they can harness their success, there's no telling what will come next for them. As we've learned, nothing is certain in this sport, and the ones who take advantage will take big steps to becoming real champions.

What a Way to End!

It's not very often that the top seeds in the men's draw of a tournament do not make it through to the end, especially when all the top seeds are entered. In fact, at least three -- and often all four -- of the players in the semifinals of the last three Grand Slams ranked at the top of their quarters of the bracket. We've become accustomed to seeing the best beat the best under the toughest circumstances, so we should expect that to continue, even at the year-end championships.

But something strange happened this week in London. World #3 Andy Murray withdrew after losing his first match Monday, French Open champion Rafael Nadal pulled out a tough win against Mardy Fish and then lost two in a row to end his hopes of that maiden year-end title, and then Novak Djokovic, almost unbeatable for the first nine months of the year, dropped his first match ever to countryman Janko Tipsarevic -- the wildcard entry after Murray's withdrawal -- earlier today, being stopped short of the semis for the first time all year*.

So that leaves a somewhat motley crew in the semis of this years ATP Championships. Roger Federer, five times a winner, is the clear favorite. Though he lost sets to both Fish and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during the round robins, he's been loss-less since the U.S. Open semis, with titles in Basel and Paris to his name. It's quite a turnaround for a man who fell to his lowest ranking since 2003 and went oh-for-four at the Majors this year. For what's ostensibly his least prolific year in quite some time, he might just pull momentum squarely onto his side.

But there are some formidable opponents in his way. David Ferrer will meet Roger in the semis after winning his first five sets in London. He ended up losing earlier today to Tomas Berdych, but the Spaniard, ranked #5 in the world, was relentless against Murray and Djokovic earlier in the week. He's never beaten Federer, only taken one set off him on hardcourts, but Ferrer made the finals at the Tennis Masters Cup in 2007 and has been relentless this week. It might be a harder fought semi than we expect.

In the second semifinal Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will try to make his fourth final since the U.S. Open. The Frenchman has had a more-than-solid autumn, and with wins over Nadal and Fish this week, he's improved his previously mediocre record versus top ten players. He didn't make it out of the round robins in his last appearance at the Championships in 2008, and with the run he's had over the last few months, it sure looks like he can go one better this time.

But he'll have to face Tomas Berdych in Saturday's semi, a man who came back from the brink a few times in London. After enduring a tough defeat by Novak Djokovic on Monday, he found himself in an early hole two days later against wildcard Tipsarevic, a man against whom he had a 1-4 record. Not only did he pull off that win, he repeated the rally today against Ferrer, whom he hadn't defeated since Hamburg in 2005. The Czech has also saved his best play for late in the year, having won a title in Beijing where he incidentally beat Tsonga in the semis, so there's no reason to believe he won't put up a fight again.

It's been quite a reversal of what we've come to expect this year -- the only two men to have won Majors in 2011 won't be fighting for the final title of the year. But for the players left, this is exactly the way they wanted to finish the season, and if they can last just a few matches longer, they'll finally reap that ultimate reward.

* Djokovic withdrew from the quarterfinals in Paris, but did not actually lose a match that tournament.

Not Exactly What You'd Expect

The first set of round robin matches is in the books at this year's World Tour Finals in London, and though we are far from deciding who will take home the prize in the end, the surprises -- and the surprising battles -- we've seen so far make choosing the champion this early a largely futile task.

In a rematch of last week's final in Paris -- and a couple other matches this year -- Roger Federer took on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first singles match of the week. He got off to a quick start, taking the first set while only dropping three points on serve, but the Frenchman wholly reversed the score in the second, losing just two points himself. They kept things close in the decider, holding serve for the first nine games before Tsonga fell to 0-40 in the tenth. Federer failed to convert his first match point, but he was ultimately too much for the sixth seed. After just under ninety minutes, albeit through a bit of a scare, Federer had extended his win streak to thirteen consecutive matches since the U.S. Open and gave himself a further leg up on his competitors.

Rafael Nadal had a slightly tougher time of it on Sunday. Last year's runner-up took on first-time finalist Mardy Fish, and broke the American in the first game of the match. But, like Tsonga before him, Fish got the lead in the second and though he failed to convert break chances on Rafa's serve, he was eventually able to serve out the set and force a third. That's when things got exciting, though -- Nadal broke again early, but Fish pulled back even; Fish got his own lead, but failed to consolidate. After almost three hours of play, the two were pushed to a tiebreak, where the former #1 took control. In a match that ended near midnight, Nadal was the ultimate winner, staying in the top half of his group -- at least for now.

Monday's singles action kicked off with the biggest shock of the tournament so far. Third seeded Andy Murray, a winner of three titles since the U.S. Open, took on David Ferrer, who hadn't captured a trophy since Acapulco in February. The Spaniard, who'd lost his last four matches to Murray, found himself in an early deficit this morning but quickly pulled back even. Though both players had plenty of chances to cause damage on his return games, it was Ferrer who took advantage again to close out the set. Murray was again the aggressor early in the second, but the pair traded breaks throughout with the fifth seed ultimately denying the Brit a tiebreak and notching the win -- his first on a hardcourt, and the first real upset in London.

We were almost treated to another surprise when world #1 Novak Djokovic took on second-time final qualifier Tomas Berdych in Monday's second match. The erstwhile Wimbledon runner-up built a 3-0 lead on the Serb early and held on long enough to take the first set. The Czech's quality of play dropped a bit in the second, getting fewer than half of his first serves in, but got the break in the decider and a 4-2 lead. But Djokovic, who'd only lost one match to a player out of the top five all year, immediately broke back. Berdych earned himself a pair of match points a few games later, but both were rejected. In the tiebreak, Nole took control early and finally closed it out after more than two-and-a-half hours of play.

So there was only one true upset early in this year's World Tour Final, but even the favorites were put through the ringer for their first wins. It just goes to show that pretty much any of these guys is a real contender for the title, and with a lot of round robin bouts still left to go, there's plenty of room for things to turn around -- and quickly.

London Calling

This year's field at the ATP Championships is an interesting mix. Peppered with a mix of veterans and newbies -- relative or otherwise -- and plagued by injury, fatigue and some recent unexpected results, it might be harder to pick a favorite that you'd think. And it might open some holes just big enough to sneak through.

Group A
The first group of round robin matches is headlined by world #1 Novak Djokovic, who comes to London with a two-tournament (three, if you count the Davis Cup semis) losing streak -- something he hasn't had at any other time this year. He continues to struggle with a shoulder injury, and likely exhaustion, but he boasts the only winning record against the others in his group, and as the winner here three years ago, he certainly has the most experience.

For his first round robin match, Nole will play Tomas Berdych, appearing in London for the second straight time. The Czech, who really broke out in 2010, wasn't able to defend a lot of his points in the first half of the year, but picked the perfect time to play well again. He took the title in Beijing and beat three tough players to make the Paris semis. He's lost more than twice as many matches as he's won against the group, but if he's able to get an early jump on his opponents, he could cause damage.

Andy Murray had been riding one of the most successful streaks post-U.S. Open, winning three titles in Asia before losing to Berdych at the Paris Masters. Somewhat surprisingly, he has losing records against two of his three round robin groupies, but recent wins over Nole and his first opponent David Ferrer should give him confidence this week.

Ferrer can't be counted out, though. The veteran Spaniard is playing his third World Tour Final -- he was runner-up to Roger Federer in 2007 -- and has a fairly decent record against the guys he plays early this year. He hasn't won against any of these guys this year, but as one of the few in the field who hasn't been nursing injuries or illness the last few months, he could very well catch someone off guard.

Group B
Group B in London may be slightly more stacked with experience this year, but it's no less impenetrable. World #2 Rafael Nadal is the top seed, but he comes with significantly less momentum than he had this time last year. He hasn't won a title since Roland Garros and lost the last two finals he made. He pulled out of Paris to prep for this event, so hopefully he'll be well-rested, but with some tough challengers to contend with, it won't be smooth sailing.

Mardy Fish, playing in the post-season for the first time in his career, will open against Rafa. He'll be the underdog in London, for sure, but has notched some big upsets over the last two years -- including a win over Nadal in Cincinnati in August -- that should remind opponents he should not be overlooked. But his health remains a question mark -- a hamstring pull forced him to retire after one game in his first match in Basel and he wasn't able to hold on to a lead against Juan Monaco in Paris. It would be a shame if injury forced him to squander this opportunity, though, so I'm hoping the last week and a half gave him ample time to recover.

Defending champion Roger Federer is also in this group, and though he's fallen a few spots from the top he's having the most successful streak of anyone else in the field. Fresh off titles in Basel and Paris, he has a chance to prevent his least prolific year since 2002. Not counting Nadal, he has dominated his group-mates and might be in the perfect position to make a play for his record sixth championship.

But Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who Roger's already played six times this year, might have something to say about that. The Frenchman, in just his second World Tour Final -- his first since 2008, staged a stunning comeback from two sets down to Federer in the Wimbledon quarters and repeated the win in Montreal about a month later. He's had a good fall, winning titles in Vienna and Metz, and though he lost in the Paris finals, he's arguably playing some of his best ball these days. He might be able to cause some real damage in his half of the draw.

With just a few days left before the first balls are struck at the year-end championships, players don't have a lot of time left to prepare. But even the biggest underdog should know everyone out there is beatable. And the one who's able to put the first dent in the field's armor could walk away with something huge.

Sneaking In

It's a strange set of circumstances looming over the Paris draw this week. With three openings at the year-end finals still in play, athletes on the bubble are campaigning to secure their spot. But at the same time, question marks loom over some of the favorites -- so the door ironically could swing wide open for those last to enter the field.

Novak Djokovic has been locked down for London for months, but he's been showing chinks in his armor the last few months. Injury forced him to retire from the final in Cincinnati and his singles rubber at the Davis Cup semis. He was clearly not in top form last week when that lingering shoulder injury seemed to factor prominently in his loss to Kei Nishikori in Basel, only his second defeat in a fully-played match this year, and speculation ran rampant that he might not play in Paris.



Though he took the court earlier today -- and won -- he wouldn't have been the only one to rest up before making the trip to London. Andy Murray skipped Basel as he nursed a hamstring injury, and Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Bercy Masters to prep in a less strenuous environment. Only Roger Federer, reigning year-end champ, and David Ferrer have so far seemed to be in good shape.

So what does that mean for the players who will secure the remaining spots over the next few days? Tomas Berdych, who I'm frankly surprised is so closely in contention after failing to defend points at Miami or Wimbledon, needs just one more win. Unfortunately standing in his way will be fellow London hopeful Janko Tipsarevic who's played three finals since the U.S. Open -- he punches his ticket with a title in Paris, but a far more likely third round win over the Czech would still keep Berdych guessing.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga significantly improved his own chances this fall, claiming titles in Metz and Vienna. He's also a match away from returning to the Masters Cup for the first time since 2008. He might have to get past Nicolas Almagro to get there though -- the world #11 has three titles on the year, but has been relatively quiet off the clay. Like Tipsarevic, the Spaniard needs to win Paris to clinch the season extension -- something that looks less likely as he's just lost the first set to Andreas Seppi in his second round. But he could cause some damage to Tsonga's hopes if he pulls through.

Mardy Fish needs to make the quarters in order to qualify for his first ever year-end championship. It's been a long time coming, but I fear the hamstring injury that forced him to retire last week may hamper his performance in Paris. Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils round out the remaining hopefuls -- the Frenchmen have had something of a resurgence this season, but both need a little luck, even if either takes the Masters title.

All that said, any of the final entrants could take advantage of a weary and wounded favorite field. Of course Federer has been playing top-rate tennis this month and players like Djokovic and Nadal can never be counted out of contention. But with the long ATP season due to take its toll eventually, those making their last push this week could be able to find some holes in the usually impenetrable armors of the elite.

And perhaps one who just snuck in the door could sneak up on everyone and do some real damage in London.

Blogcast: 2011 U.S. Open Preview

For more of Tennis Spin's video content, please click the "Blogcasts" tab above.

And check out my early predictions for the man and woman I picked at the start of the year to bring home the trophies in New York, and see just how far we've come.

The Streak Resumes

It's been a while since we've seen the biggest stars in tennis all take to the courts. And though not all of them made it through the early rounds at the Rogers Cup, the ones who did quickly picked up the momentum that's been with them either since the start of the year or since the beginning of their careers.

Novak Djokovic came to Montreal to play his first tournament since taking over the #1 ranking post Wimbledon. And he was dealt a tough draw too, tested early by former top-three player Nikolay Davydenko and running into a rebuilding Marin Cilic a round later. But with most of his toughest competition taken care of for him, he eventually progressed to his ninth final of the year without dropping a set.

There he faced a challenge from recent U.S.-circuit stalwart Mardy Fish. The top-ranked American has been having a more-than-successful thirteen months, reaching a career-high ranking and notching wins over the likes of Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Andy Murray, to name a few. He had a slightly bumpier road to Sunday's championship, but avenged his LA loss to Ernests Gulbis and withstood a second-set challenge from Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round. For a man who'd never won a match in Canada before, making the final was quite a statement.

Djokovic got off to a good start, saving five break chances in the first set to take the lead. He stumbled a bit in the second, though, as Fish upped his serving percentage from a dismal one-for-three and broke his opponent at love to even the score. The two hard-hitters kept it close in the decider, but the American wasn't able to make much of a dent on Nole's serve. After almost two and a half hours Djokovic claimed his tenth Masters 1000 title, a record fifth this year, and became the first man in three decades to win the first tournament he played after climbing to the #1 spot. With just one match loss on his docket for 2011, he could be poised to restart the streak that got him so much attention to start the year.



A little further west another champion was trying to continue a streak she'd re-kicked off a bit more recently. Since returning to competition in June, Serena Williams won the third event she played two weeks ago in Stanford, and though she was still unseeded in Toronto she played like she'd never been gone. After dominating Julia Goerges in her opener, she survived scares from both Jie Zheng and Lucie Safarova to make the semis. Against world #4 Victoria Azarenka, a woman who'd given her fits in several of their previous meetings, she was convincing in victory.

On the other half of the draw a recently struggling Sam Stosur worked her way through the bracket. Since riding a victory over Serena at last year's French Open to the final, she hasn't seemed to have her feet under her. She'd failed to defend many of the points she'd racked up last year and had lost two first rounds coming to Canada. But she was in good form through Sunday's final, beating this year's Roland Garros champ Li Na in the third round and dismissing Carlsbad winner Aggie Radwanska in the semis.

But Serena was in control from the start against the Australian today. After a fairly close first set she turned up the juice in the second, firing off seven aces and winning all but one point on first serve. Allowing her opponent just one chance to break during the match -- one that was not converted, incidentally -- the former #1 claimed her first Rogers Cup since 2001 and guaranteed her ranking would climb even further out of the doldrums.



Both Serena and Novak have spent the week proving they are not challenges to be taken lightly, as if we didn't already know as much. And as they pick up the runs that were interrupted -- whether for minutes or for months -- they'll be bringing some serious momentum with them to the fast-approaching U.S. Open.

And if anyone else stands a chance against them, they'll need to bring something very special.

Let the Trumpets Sound!

Man, it feels like ages since we've been here! And though some of this week's winners have been missing from the game longer than others, when each announced their returns in championship fashion, you almost expected a full parade.

They all deserved it.

Nadia Petrova hadn't won a title in almost three years. The former world #3 once made at least the quarterfinals of four straight Grand Slams, but some very spotty play pushed her out of the top thirty and sent her home after five opening matches this year. Though she was seeded second at the inaugural Citi Open in College Park, Maryland, it's been so long since I saw her make an impact at any event I largely wrote her off from the start.

But despite her unpredictability, the Russian is clearly a strong hitter -- something she reminded us of early this past week. The twenty-nine year old dropped literally a handful of points on first serve in her opening two rounds and rebounded strongly from a set down to Irina Falconi in her semi to dominate the next two, advancing to her first final since New Haven last year. Against top seeded Shahar Peer on Sunday, she fired off seven aces and broke her opponent five times. After about an hour and a half, she was the one hoisting the trophy above her head, the tenth of her career, and putting herself back on the radar this season.

Over on the west coast, plenty of talent made its way to the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, with top seeded Mardy Fish looking to extend his hard-court win streak a bit longer. And though he slugged his way to a second straight final, he ran into a resurgent Ernests Gulbis on Sunday, and was in for quite a ride. The titleist in Delray Beach last year was just starting to make a name for himself when an injury he sustained at Roland Garros a few months later effectively took him out of contention for a year. He regained a little bit of traction early in 2011, but came to LA with five straight losses since mid-May.

Things turned a corner for him this week, though, as he came back after losing his opening set to Xavier Malisse and then pulled off a one-sided victory over 2009 U.S. Open champion in the quarters, losing just three points on serve in the first set. Against the heavy favored Fish today, he raised his game even higher and survived the nearly three-hour marathon to notch his first top-ten win since he stunned Roger Federer in Rome last year. The victory may have only put a second trophy on his mantle, but the resolve he's shown in his rebuilding phase shows he might live up to the expectations we've all had for him for a long time.

Serena Williams has no expectations to live up to -- she's exceeded them all a hundred times over. Still, since injury, illness and a terrible health scare kept her out of the game for almost a year, dropping her ranking out of the top 150, we were forced to accept the possibility of tennis without her.

But Serena is nothing if not a fighter -- she took less than fifty minutes to dispatch Anastasia Rodionova in her Stanford opener, and though she had a mild hiccup against Maria Kirilenko a round later, she proceeded to the final in the days following with little drama. And though she found herself down a break early to Marion Bartoli on Sunday, she quickly rebounded for a straight set win -- her first non-Slam victory since 2008. But judging by the look in her eyes, it certainly meant just as much to her.

It sure is nice to see all these players back on top of the winner's podium. Whether they're new to it or decorated pros, whether it's been a few months or a few years, their victories herald the return of a new season.

And the future sure looks bright.