Time to Get Crackin'

The 2015 Grand Slam season may be in the books, but that doesn't mean there isn't more ball to be played. And a couple ATP stars that came up a little short at the U.S. Open seem to be taking the opportunity this week to turn things around.

Not everyone was successful of course -- in St. Petersburg top seed Tomas Berdych, who fell in the fourth round in New York, didn't make it even that far and dropped in straight sets to Simone Bolelli -- but others may fare a bit better. Milos Raonic, who's had some trouble coming back from foot surgery earlier in the year, opened with an easy win over Evgeny Donskoy. And Dominic Thiem, winner of back-to-back titles to start the summer but was dismissed quickly by Kevin Anderson at the Open. He seems back on track in Russia though, scoring his fourth straight win over compatriot Andreas Haider-Maurer to start his run. But perhaps the player under the most pressure to rebound is last year's standout Roberto Bautista Agut, who in 2014 boasted wins over the likes of Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro but this season only has one win over a top-twenty player, and that by retirement. Earlier today against hugely talented Teymuraz Gabashvili he saved match points before closing out the win in an over two-and-a-half hour match. Next up he faces young Lucas Pouille, who's had some big wins himself over the past several months -- but if the Spaniard recovers in time, he might just be able to end this year on a higher note.

Over in Metz a couple more heavy hitters are looking to make up ground. Some didn't have terrible showings at the U.S. Open -- surprise French Open titleist Stan Wawrinka made it all the way to the semis but ultimately lost in a quick three sets to countryman Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a semifinalist in Paris, took defending champ Marin Cilic to five sets in the quarters. But both have been tested this week though -- top-seeded Wawrinka came back after dropping his first set to Dustin Brown and Tsonga needed two tiebreaks and a decider to take out qualifier Mischa Zverev -- and will want to show they haven't lost any steam. But the player really looking to recoup is Gilles Simon who, despite climbing back into the top ten, has been on a bit of a lull this summer. He'd won just two matches since Wimbledon and was stunned in his New York first round by a resurgent Donald Young. But he finally stopped his losing streak in his homeland, taking out Edouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets earlier today. He's slated next to face off against Gilles Muller, who had a promising start to the year and already took out seventh seed Fernando Verdasco -- he's won the pair's only previous meeting about a year ago, and there's no reason he can't do it again and perhaps put himself on course to ultimately claim the title.

After all there are still a couple more months left in the 2015 season, and plenty of big titles still up for grabs. And while these guys may have been a little quiet of late, there's plenty of time to turn up the volume now.

The Comeback Kid

It wasn't very long ago that I, and probably a lot of the tennis world, was ready to totally write off David Goffin.

The 2012 French Open standout had reached the fourth round as a qualifier and went on to beat Bernard Tomic in his Wimbledon opener and reach the quarters at Winston-Salem. He rose as high as #42 in the world that season, and at just twenty-one years of age looked primed to take the tennis world by storm.

But the young Belgian fell victim to quite the sophomore slump in 2013. He lost the first round of every Major he played and had to qualify for most of the summer hardcourt events. By the end of the year he'd fallen into the triple digit rankings, and kicked off this season with a similarly unimpressive start. After losing in three quick sets to Andy Murray in his All England Club opener, it seemed he'd lost all the pep in his step.

Something changed in Goffin after that loss, though -- very quietly he went on a twenty-five match win streak, picking up three straight Challengers titles and then stunning up-and-coming star Dominic Thiem in Kitzbühel for his first Tour-level trophy. He successfully transitioned off the dirt too -- he made the third round in New York, even bagelling Grigor Dimitrov in the first set, and won both his Davis Cup rubbers to get Belgium into the World Group next year.

And he kept his streak going this past week at the Moselle Open. Still just barely seeded in Metz, he won his first few matches easily but really shone in his third round against world #12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, rebounding after losing the first set 1-6 to take out the two-time champion in a two-hour slugfest. He was the on-paper underdog in the final too -- Joao Sousa, who'd taken out U.S. Open almost-spoiler Gael Monfils in the semis, had also made the final in Hamburg, but only won two matches since. But Goffin had momentum on his side -- he fired off ten aces, losing just six points on first serve, and wasn't broken in four attempts by the man from Portugal. After just seventy-four minutes, Goffin was hoisting the trophy, becoming the fourteenth multi-title player of the year.

But Goffin's victory is about more than the prize money and ranking points -- now at #32 in the world, he's at his career high. It's about his resurgence at a time when he could easily have fallen by the wayside. It's still too early to know whether he'll eventually crack the top ten, win a Grand Slam trophy or go down in the record books -- but he's certainly made sure even the greats take notice of him in the months ahead. And with a brand new season just around the corner, there's no better time for him to stand up and make his statement.

Turning It Up

With so many of the sport's biggest stars dominating the headlines the last few months, it's been difficult for those in the second and third tiers to make a statement. But this week's winners brought their best game when they needed it most, one returning to the winner's stand for the first time in a while, the other getting there for the first time.

Over in Metz defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was trying to put his year back on track. After ending last season with some of the best wins of his career, the Frenchman has been a little quiet in 2012. Though he fought through injury to make the semis at Wimbledon, he lost his opener in Toronto and in the second round of the U.S. Open. It took a while to get back into the swing of things in his home country -- he got down breaks to Jesse Levine in the quarters and was forced to a decider against Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday.

But against tough-to-crack Andreas Seppi in the final, Tsonga didn't seem to think twice. He was practically untouchable on serve, dropping just one point on his first attempts and allowing his opponent -- the man who took a 2-0 set lead over Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, you might remember -- just six return points in total. Tsonga didn't allow the Italian one break opportunity, and in under an hour lay claim to his second title of the year. And with just a few months in the season, it might not have come at a better time.

To the northeast of the action in France, a slightly less-decorated crew were vying for the title in St. Petersburg. Of the eight seeds only two had ever won titles before, but that didn't mean the field wasn't fraught with lots of talent looking to make a leap. Third seeded Martin Klizan, winner of four Challengers events this year and, appropriately, the man who took Tsonga out in New York, rode to the fourth round at the Open and climbed to a career-best #45 ranking by the time he came to Russia. He spent almost four hours on court Saturday with top-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, but eventually took out the former world #8 in the break-filled grind.

The bottom half of the draw was a little more interesting. Fabio Fognini, who'd made a legion of fans himself in New York, taking a set from Andy Roddick during his farewell tour and emerging as one of the more likable characters of the first week, was the only seed to survive the first round. After losing his first set to Tobias Kamke he rebounded strongly, winning the next eight to make his second final of the year. But there was not much he could do against Klizan in the final -- the Slovak rebounded well from his semifinal marathon, won more than two-thirds of his points on serve and broke his opponent five times. This match just took him an hour, but he closed out the win and sealed in the first Tour trophy of his career. It might not be enough to make him a household just yet, but if he's able to continue his run into next season, it might just give him the confidence he needs to really break through.

Neither of this week's winners got to the top without a few struggles. They lost serves, games, matches -- but when it really mattered they were able to turn up the heat on their opponents and really shine. If they keep finding a way to do that, I wouldn't be surprised to see either start making waves, even among the most elite in this sport.

Before Moving On...

This week the men begin their tour of Asia in the last leg of the 2011 season. But before traveling to the other side of the globe, a couple spent this past weekend getting in their last blows in Europe, and those that prospered most are on their way to ending their year on the highest note.

On the red clay of Bucharest -- that's right, we're still not done with the dirt -- some players were right at home. Defending champion and top-seed Juan Ignacio Chela made his way to the semis without dropping a set, but he was eventually bested by Casablanca winner Pablo Andujar. On the bottom half of the draw, Munich finalist Florian Mayer, who survived a close call to Carlos Berlocq in his opener, eventually reached his fifth career championship match, playing in top form.

Mayer's experience eventually got the better of the Spaniard as he survived a trade-of-breaks in the first set and capitalized on a double fault by his opponent to draw even. He won eight games in a row and ran off to a 5-0 lead in the second, virtually sealing the match. After just over an hour the twenty-seven year old German was hoisting his first ever trophy, proving it's never too late to make a stand in this sport.



A little further west in Metz, the top seeds were again putting on a show. Fresh off a Davis Cup drubbing, hometown boy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rebounded quickly and ran to the final -- his third of the year -- with wins over (lower case) marathon man Nicolas Mahut and rising star Alexandr Dolgopolov. And though world #15 Richard Gasquet was upended in his second match, veteran Ivan Ljubicic made good on the opening to advance to his second final of the year, outperforming his fourth seeding.

But things again proceeded as the numbers suggested. Tsonga got off to a quick start, taking the opening set in under forty minutes, but squandered a break lead in the second as the Croat forced a tiebreak and a deciding set. The Frenchman regained control, though, forging ahead early in the third and finally closing out the match. It was his first title since 2009, but more importantly it bumped him up the World Tour Finals rankings, where he now stands at #7. If he holds on, it would be his first appearance at the year-end championships since 2008, and the way he's playing recently, could be his best chance yet to make a big statement.



While most other players in the sport were traveling to Asia, it seems the decision to stay in the Western Hemisphere has behooved both of this weekend's champions. And as the season winds down there could be no better time to take advantage of every opportunity. Because once they make it over to the other continent, everyone should be put on notice.

Remember Me?

With all the hoopla surrounding the successful summer of Rafael Nadal and the comeback of Juan Martin Del Potro this week, it's easy to have missed two champions who put their names back on the radar on Sunday.

Thirty-one year old Juan Ignacio Chela has never been one skirt controversy. Once ranked as high as #15 in the world, he was suspended for three months in 2003 for using steroids in Cincinnati and once almost spat at Lleyton Hewitt during an Australian Open match. But since he was sidelined with a herniated disc two years ago, he hasn't made much of a dent on the Tour. This year he finally broke a three-year title drought in Houston, and handily beat Nikolay Davydenko in Umag back in July.

This week in Bucharest, the fourth seeded Argentine was nearly flawless. He lost only a game in his opener against Simon Greul and capitalized on his opponent's long quarterfinal match when he took out top seed Albert Montanes in the semis. Playing in only his second final since 2007 today against qualifier Pablo Andujar, he should have been the easy favorite, but after the two traded breaks to begin the match it looked like it could be a close one. Ultimately, though, the veteran was able to raise his play in the second set and took less than ninety minutes to capture his sixth career title.

It hasn't been quite as long since Gilles Simon has been out of the tennis elite -- the twenty-five year old spent much of last year in the top ten, but hadn't reached a Tour semifinal since Lyon last October. A persistent knee injury kept him from playing in Australia this year and the entire European clay court season, including the French Open. He had a disappointing summer as well, losing in the first round in both Toronto and Cincinnati, but started to show signs of his former greatness by helping France to a 5-0 drubbing of Argentina in the Davis Cup semis.

Having fallen out of the top forty for the first time since 2007, Simon came to Metz as the eighth seed. He had a solid first round, but struggled against qualifier Igor Sijsling and veteran Xavier Malisse in the quarters. But when he met Mischa Zverev in his first final since Bangkok last year, he was back in form. The five-foot-eleven Frenchman fired off nine aces and won more than eighty percent of his first serve. Saving the only break point he faced, Gilles took just over an hour to record the win, his first over the German who'd beaten him two times before, and lift the seventh title of his career.

It might be a little late in the year, but there's still plenty of action left in tennis, and it's nice to see these guys reasserting themselves on the court. And with a couple more trophies on each of their mantlepieces, both Chela and Simon have reminded us of just how big a force they can -- and probably will -- be again.

A Long Time Coming

You may know Gael Monfils for his crazy cornrows, his eccentric victory dances, his bulging muscles. But for the most part, you do not know him for the mountains of trophies on his mantle.

True, as a junior, he'd been #1 in the world, capturing the Boys' championships in Melbourne, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But until this week, the funny Frenchman had only won one Tour title, the lightly contested Polish clay court event at Sopot in 2005. He's made more than a couple of finals since then -- Doha the next year, Poertschach in '07 and Vienna last year. Just in February he lost to Nicolas Almagro in Acapulco, where he took less than forty percent of his second serve points.

Regardless, his showing south of the border propelled Monfils to a career-high ranking of #9. He followed that up with a win over Andy Roddick in Paris, but an injured wrist kept him out of Wimbledon. At the U.S. Open he put up a huge fight against Rafael Nadal, even taking the first set, before succumbing in four.

Clearly he's had hisups and downs.

This week, however, he returned to his homeland with something to prove. At the Open de Moselle in Metz, Gael had the top seed. He hadn't played the tournament since his breakout year when he made it all the way to the finals, beating a few familiar names and a couple highly-ranked players in Richard Gasquet and Dominik Hrbaty before eventually losing to Ivan Ljubicic.

In 2009 Monfils had little trouble making the championship match again -- he defeated vet Sebastien Grosjean in just over an hour, serving ten aces and winning almost eighty percent of his first serves. He benefited from his opponent's retirement in the third round and was on point in a rematch against Gasquet in the semis.

Today Gael faced second seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, a strong German who's had some success this year, but hasn't yet been able to score a big win. After losing the first set of the tournament to Bjorn Phau, Philipp had a similarly easy time making the finals, defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu to get there.

The first set was nearly perfect -- Monfils didn't drop a single point on his first serve and Kohlschreiber stepped up on all six break points he faced. Ultimately, though, the top seed prevailed in the tiebreak. Philipp regrouped in the second set to tie things up, frustrating Gael a bit -- it can't be easy to have only one title after seven finals.

It wasn't until the sixth game of the deciding set that Monfils finally earned his first break point. He brought up his second serve percentage (which had fallen to a dismal twenty-seven percent in the second set) and kept his cool, eventually taking another break and winning the two-plus hour match.



After a long wait, and many close calls, Monfils finally gets to bring home his second Tour trophy.

Speaking of long waits, Kimiko Date Krumm gave herself an early birthday present by beating second seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in straight sets at the Hansol Korea Open. A day shy of thirty-nine years of age, she became the second oldest woman to win a Tour title -- Billie Jean King was almost eight months older when she took home the Birmingham championship in 1983. And after going twelve years without a trophy, she might just have been the hungriest person in the circuit.

But not anymore!



Congrats to all this week's winners!