A Week to Remember

There are still a couple weeks left for the guys this tennis season, but as we've learned it's never too late to make a stand. And this week, even the men who came in second place have something to be proud of.

It's been a bit of a disappointing year for 2014's unexpected U.S. Open winner -- after taking a few months off to nurse an injury, he spent some time getting his groove back. Though he made a couple deep runs at tournaments here and there, and even got all the way back to the semis in New York, he didn't score one win over a top-ten player all season and was utterly dismantled by Novak Djokovic in Flushing Meadows. But this week he had a chance to put that all behind him -- returning as the defending champ in Moscow, the Croat had one last opportunity to reclaim a title this year. He stumbled early against Denis Istomin, but got through later rounds without much of a struggle, ultimately reaching his first final of the year on Sunday. There he met second seed Roberto Bautista Agut, another man who's had his own troubles following up his breakthrough 2014 and has seen his ranking fall from a career-high #14 this time last season to out of the top twenty-five now. He had a decidedly tougher route in Russia too, facing off against an always-tough Philipp Kohlschrieber in the semis, but he too got through the challenge to set up a repeat of last year's championship match. And Cilic took the lead this time too -- grabbing the only two breaks of the match, the top seed was able to finish off his opponent again in straight sets and capped the year the way he must have hoped to have started it. And if he's able to stay healthy this time, there's no reason he won't be able to make up ground in the months that come.

Over in Vienna David Ferrer also capitalized on his top seed -- after dealing with his own injuries this year, the one-time Roland Garros runner-up seems to have more than gotten his form back. Since skipping Wimbledon and losing in the third round in New York, he picked up career title #25 in Kuala Lumpur and reached the semis in Beijing. He dropped a set early this week at the Erste Bank Open, but nevertheless made it to his fifth final of the year without breaking a sweat. But the real story here might have been the surge we saw from eventual finalist Steve Johnson -- the young American has long been on the outskirts of the sports elite, but this year has finally been making a play to get some more consideration. He made it to the semis in DC with wins over Bernard Tomic and Grigor Dimitrov and took out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Winston-Salem too. This week, still outside of seeding territory, he stunned U.S. Open standout Kevin Anderson and took out a seemingly-revived Ernests Gulbis on Saturday. In his first ever ATP final he even ran off to an early lead against Ferrer, grabbing the first set off the heavy favorite -- but even though he did eventually lose the closer-than-you-might-imagine championship match, he might have finally proved he's got what it takes to hit with the big boys. And as he starts to prep for the new year, there may never have been a better time for him to do it.

Second place didn't seem so bad in Stockholm either. Top seed Tomas Berdych prevailed here too, picking up his second title of the year and solidifying his case for another post season appearance. But the bigger breakthrough in Sweden came for another young American, Jack Sock -- the twenty-three year old may be more decorated in doubles, but he's also making a stand on the solo circuit, winning his first career title early this season in Houston and putting up a nice fight against Rafael Nadal this year in his French Open fourth round. He'd risen up the rankings enough to earn himself a seventh seed this week, but he outdid even those expectations, staying strong against an always feisty Fernando Verdasco before taking out two heavy favorites, Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet, to make Sunday's final. Like his compatriot in Austria, he also put up a fight in the championship, getting a break early to start the match. And while he wasn't able to keep his momentum going quite so long, he certainly shown he can give the top guys a run for their money. And if he can take that confidence with him into the new season, there may be many more -- and bigger -- rewards to come.

Final Statements

The field may be set for this year's WTA Finals, but that doesn't mean the large majority of players who didn't make the cut aren't still trying to end their season with a bang. And whether they're hoping to recapture former glory or soar to new heights, this week a couple ladies could show us they're worth watching too.

There was only one player in Luxembourg who had an outside shot at qualifying for Singapore, but Timea Bacsinszky, whose meteoric rise this year brought her two titles, a top-ten ranking and a first Grand Slam semifinal, retired in the first set of her opener. But the beneficiary of that withdrawal has certainly capitalized -- twenty-seven year old Laura Siegemund peaked at a barely double-digit ranking just last month and only made the main draw here thanks to Lucie Hradecka pulling out. And after she got the win over the top seed, the German scored a solid upset over Kirsten Flipkens to reach the quarters. She's actually the on-paper favorite versus her next opponent, world #165 Stefanie Voegele, and with the other seeds in her half of the draw already eliminated, she stands a pretty good shot at reaching the final. Of course there's a bigger challenge in the bottom section of the bracket -- former #1 Jelena Jankovic is coming off her fifteenth career title in Hong Kong and her second trophy since the U.S. Open. She's kept her win streak going this week too and, as the highest ranked player left, she might just be able to gather up the momentum she needs to return to the elite in the new season.

The field was a little more stacked in Moscow where the original entry list boasted six players contending for the final four spots in Singapore -- but it's been those a little below the radar who're causing the biggest stir. Defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had fallen out of the top forty at times this year, but started regaining ground in the second half, defeating Belinda Bencic on her way to the Washington final and taking out U.S. Open champ Flavia Pennetta in Beijing. Last week she ran off with the title in Linz, dropping just one set, and then got right back to work in her homeland -- unseeded in Russia, she took out French Open finalist Lucie Safarova and rising star Margarita Gasparyan. In the semis she'll face Daria Kasatkina, last year's Juniors champ in Paris, but might just have what it takes to keep her run going. But perhaps the bigger story here is that of veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova who, after a fairly lackluster season, stands to win her first title of the year this week. She hasn't faced a seed yet, and certainly will be challenged by a talented Lesia Tsurenko for a spot in the championship match. But if she can use her experience to her advantage, there's no reason she can't prove that she's still more than just a contender.

Finish With a Bang

With the 2014 ATP almost wrapped up, there was not a lot of time left to nab the last few spots left at the London finals. But this weekend a couple guys on the cusp, who'd been a little more quiet than usual, made a real play for the year-end championships, and one clinched his first ever trip to the O2 to cap off what's so far been the best year of his career.

Tomas Berdych was looking to make up for some middle-of-the-road results throughout most of the year. The world #7 had picked up a title in Rotterdam early in the year, but he lost the couple other finals he played this season, one inexplicably to sub-fifty player Carloq Berlocq in Oeiras. But this week in Stockholm, he was one of the few favorites to survive some early carnage -- Kevin Anderson lost his opener to Bernard Tomic and Alexandr Dolgopolov was taken down too by Adrian Mannarino. And even though the top seed did reach Sunday's final, he was sure to be challenged by Grigor Dimitrov, who'd been staging quite the coming-out party all year. The Bulgarian actually took the first set, but Berdych rebounded strong in the next two, never allowing a break opportunity and dropping just a handful of points on serve. After just under two-and-a-half hours the Czech had ended what seemed like a long losing streak and finally came out on top again, holding his spot as #7 on the London leaderboard, and taking one more step toward his fifth straight appearance at the year ends.

Andy Murray has had a longer history at the London finals, but for most of the year it seemed like he might not make it here. Having skipped the event last year after surgery he had a slow-for-him start to the year, fell out of the top ten after the U.S. Open and didn't pick up his first title of the year until last month in Shenzhen, even then almost losing to Tommy Robredo in the final. He had a much stronger showing this week in Vienna, though -- somewhat luckily meeting each of his opponents right after they struggled through long three set matches. He did drop the first set to David Ferrer in the final too, risking another loss to the man who knocked him out of the Shanghai Masters just a week earlier, but he too rallied from the early deficit and battled through a break-filled decider before ultimately scoring the win. Now eighth in the race to London, he's in the best position he's had all year to qualify for his seventh season championship.

Marin Cilic has come close to qualifying for London in the past, but after the stunning year he's had in 2014, this seemed to be his best opportunity. The world #8 lost the final in Rotterdam to Berdych, but won titles in the weeks before and after. His real victory, of course, came just a few weeks ago when he shocked Roger Federer and then Kei Nishikori to take the U.S. Open crown, his first Grand Slam title, propelling him into the sport's elite. In Moscow this week, he was the second seed, but became the favorite once Milos Raonic fell in his opener. And in the final against Roberto Bautista Agut, another of the year's breakthroughs, he rose to the occasion again -- the only one of this weekend's champions who wasn't pushed to a third set in the final, he denied the Spaniard on all six break opportunities and closed out the win in under ninety minutes. The proved the Croat wouldn't be satisfied resting on his New York laurels and sealed his entry to his first London final. And given the way he's played all year, there's no reason to think he won't be a force in it.

This weekend's winners may not have had the most consistent results all year long, but they sure knew how to up their game when it counted. Rounding out the season with a couple big wins put their names back on the map as time ticks down to the London final. And with just a few weeks left in 2014, there may have been no better time to do it.

Eleventh Hour Surge

The 2014 WTA season is close to wrapping up, but that hasn't stopped a couple young and largely unknown players from making some big statements at the last events of the year. And while they might not all be able to ultimately bring home the trophies, a couple might have successfully put their names on the map to stay.

More than a couple seeds had trouble gaining traction in Luxembourg, with German favorite Andrea Petkovic falling in the first round and several others not doing much better. Wimbledon Cinderella Barbora Zahlavova Strycova was one of just two seeds to reach the quarterfinals, and the only one to make it farther. A lot of that upheaval came at the hands of young Denisa Allertova, a young Czech who, at #145 in the world, is only a hair off her career high ranking. She has had quite a year on the ITF Tour though, picking up seven titles on that circuit this year, notching wins over the likes of Ksenia Pervak, Andrea Hlavackova and Lesia Tsurenko. She still had to qualify for Luxembourg, but she really made the most of her entry -- after stunning former All England runner-up Sabine Lisicki in the second round, she followed up by taking out fifth seed Varvara Lepchenko one match later. She finally ran out of steam today, winning just a game off Annika Beck in the semis, but with such a strong finish to the season, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot more of her in the next.

Meanwhile in Moscow another couple upstarts caused a stir. Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova had a Singapore alternate ticket in her sites, and all she needed was one more win to secure her spot. But Vitalia Diatchenko had other plans -- playing in her hometown, the Russian qualifier held strong after losing the first set and took out the recent top ten star in the second round. She even pushed compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to the limit today, forcing the sixth seed to three sets before ultimately losing their quarterfinal meeting. Another qualifier, though, had slightly better luck -- Katerina Siniakova, who'd only won one main draw match at the WTA level all year, followed a one-sided defeat of Elena Vesnina in her opener by slaying this season's giant-killer Kristina Mladenkovic. Earlier today she came back from a set down against rising star Camila Giorgi to reach her first career semifinal. She'll meet Pavs for a spot in the final, certainly no easy challenge, but the way she's playing, there's no reason we can't see her pull off yet another upset.

Sure, at this point these ladies' efforts may seem like "too little, too late," but some big results as they close out 2014 could give them real momentum as they prep for the new year. After all we've seen plenty of big talent emerge this season, and if this week's standouts can keep it up, they might just be the highlights of 2015 too.

Closing Arguments

The field for the ladies' year-end championships is set already, but with a few weeks left for the men, some of the sport's top players are making their final push to qualify. And a couple made quite a case for themselves this week.

Andreas Seppi may not be in contention for one of the eight spots in London, but after the year he's had already it might not be long before he is in that conversation. The twenty-eight year old took a set from Roger Federer in Doha and beat John Isner in Rome. He won a title in Belgrade -- the second of his career -- but perhaps his biggest accomplishment came at Roland Garros. Ranked #25 at the time and already having endured two five-set matches to make the fourth round, he took a two-set-to-one lead on top-seeded Novak Djokovic, before finally succumbing.

And this week in Moscow he brought exactly that kind of game. He lost just a handful of games in his first three matches, facing his biggest challenge in his opener against Igor Sijsling. Against Malek Jaziri in the semis Seppi needed just eighty minutes to get the win and reach his fourth final of the year. Meanwhile Thomaz Bellucci, trying to claw his way back up the rankings, went almost two-and-a-half hours on Saturday against big-serving Ivo Karlovic. The effort didn't seem to affect him in today's final -- at first. The Brazilian fired off eight aces to take the first set from Seppi, but his service game started to struggle in the second. The second-seeded Italian took advantage to force a tiebreak and, eventually, a deciding set in which he really raised his game. Dropping just four points on serve, Seppi kept his opponent off his game and finally closed out the win.

A little further east in Vienna Juan Martin Del Potro was doing his part to make his first year-end final since 2009. The tall Argentine started the year by re-cracking the top ten after a quarterfinal run in Australia. He followed it up with a final in Rotterdam and a title in Marseille. He made a couple other Major quarters, but the highlight of his season might have been a Bronze medal at the London Olympics, a feat he achieved after a heart-wrenching loss to Roger Federer in the semis. Now back at #8 in the world -- his highest ranking since dropping U.S. Open points in 2010 -- he is poised to make a real stab at the elite again.

There was a little bit of luck on DelPo's side this week in Austria -- seeded Benoit Paire and Robin Haas both lost their first round matches, and hugely volatile Jurgen Melzer bowed out in his opener a round later. DelPo was nevertheless tested in his campaign -- in a three-hour, three-tiebreak, sixty-two ace, no-break match against qualifier Daniel Brands, it took everything in him to notch even one win. Two rounds later he was challenged again, this time by tricky Gilles Muller who put together another ace-fest -- this time with a relative piddling thirty-three -- but again prevailed to reach his second final in Vienna. On the bottom half of the draw, though, qualifier Grega Zemlja was establishing himself as quite the giant killer. He'd taken out Xavier Malisse, recently resurgent Tommy Haas and world #9 Janko Tipsarevic on the way to his first ever championship match, each in a three-set match. But his run finally ended Sunday afternoon -- the Slovenian kept things close to start, but eventually DelPo's experience won out. Winning over eighty percent of his first serves and allowing just one break conversion, the top seed made good and marked his most prolific year since winning the U.S. Open.

In the meantime a couple other World Tour Final hopefuls were working their way through the draw in Stockholm. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended last year on quite a high note, winning a couple titles after the U.S. Open and making the finals in Paris and London. He's won a few trophies this year too, but only posted one match against a top-ten player all season. Tomas Berdych, on the other hand, has put together a more impressive 5-11 record against the sport's elite, including a stunning victory over Roger Federer in New York. Just last week he put together a straight-set win over Tsonga in the Shanghai quarters -- the match was close though, sixteen aces, eighty-plus percent of first serves won, just one break. In Sweden Tsonga was out for revenge, but it would all be for naught.

The two top seeds in Stockholm worked their way through the draw with little drama. Tsonga didn't drop a set until the semis when Marcos Baghdatis pushed him to a decider before the Cypriot retired. Berdych faced a couple more seeds on his route and only lost serve once -- against world #11 Nicolas Almagro in the semis he didn't allow one break opportunity and converted three of his own. The Czech fell into a deficit in the final, losing the first set to Tsonga in just their fourth career meeting and then getting down a break too. But he rallied to take the second and kept things close in the decider. He had a couple chances to break for the title, and though Tsonga was able to save two match points, he ultimately double-faulted away the game and the match. The win put Berdych a little closer to securing his third straight trip to London, and kept Tsonga on the sidelines for just a little while longer.

Clearly not all of these winners will make the trip to London, and only a couple might have any legitimate shot at winning there. But their triumphs this week certainly do a lot to prove just how strong they really are and, if they can keep it up as the season winds down, there's no telling just how many more wins they have left in them.

Ending on a High Note

It's the last week of regular-season play for the ladies of the WTA, and while the Elite Eight going to Istanbul have already been decided, that's no reason for everyone else to stop fighting. And the players doing just that this week may actually have even more at stake.

The Luxembourg draw seems to be full of players who haven't been uber-present this year. A foot injury took Daniela Hantuchova out of action in April and May and several early-round losses since has pushed her ranking out of the top thirty-five. She's unseeded at the BGL Open, but was able to survive a feisty Arantxa Rus -- she who made the fourth round at the French Open and stunned Sam Stosur at Wimbledon -- and today stayed just tough enough against recently surging Kirsten Flipkens to prevent the upset. It'll be Dani's first quarterfinal since February, and with her next meeting set against veteran Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino, a woman to whom she's never lost, she has a real opportunity here to prove she's back in fighting form.

The same can be said for Andrea Petkovic, who's injury-marred year has pushed her ranking down to #182. Since her return in August, the popular German has won a match here and there, but hasn't recaptured the glory that led her to be my New Year's pick to win the U.S. Open. But this week in Luxembourg she's shown she may be on the way back -- she survived a scare against qualifier Garbine Muguruza in her opener, but today exacted revenge against her Beijing vanquisher and sometimes-doubles partner Jelena Jankovic. After handing out a second set bagel, she's earned the right to a quarterfinal against also-recovering Ksenia Pervak, the woman who beat her last year at the All England Club. But if Petko's truly got her game back, she might be able to continue doing damage throughout this draw.

Venus Williams is looking to accomplish just as much. Since returning to the singles scene in March, she's already done some damage -- she took out three seeds on her way to the Cincinnati semi and has put together an impressive 5-7 record against top ten players this year. She had no problem this week against wildcard Belinda Bencic in her first round and is currently up a set on recently-struggling Mona Barthel. It might be a lot to ask for her to make a run for the title -- it's been more than two years since her last one, and the top two seeds are both still alive -- but there's no reason the American legend couldn't pull it off. She's certainly got the talent to do so.

Meanwhile in Russia, a couple other players are trying to restore their relevance. Maria Kirilenko has been flying under the radar most of the season, but somehow snuck to a career high ranking in August. Titleless since 2008, she nevertheless made the quarters at Wimbledon, the semis at the Olympics and the final in New Haven. She struggled with a back injury last month, though, and hadn't won a match since the U.S. Open until she came to her native Moscow. The seventh seed at the Kremlin Cup, she's had a tough draw, opening against Elena Vesnina and then battling through a tough Yaroslava Shvedova earlier today. She'll meet recent giant-killer Sofia Arvidsson next, but if she can keep her play up it could help her make another push into the sport's elite.

Reigning Moscow champion Dominika Cibulkova has had a slightly less stellar year. Though she was able to capture her second career title in Carlsbad and did score a massive defeat of world #1 Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros, she's still barely above 50% on the year. Dealt a tough draw too, she's already taken out Ekaterina Makarova and Tsvetana Pironkova to make the quarters, but she'll have to raise her game against Caroline Wozniacki if she's going to make another trip to a semi --she did beat the former #1 last year at Wimbledon, but still trails their head-to-head by 3-8. A win would certainly give her confidence a boost and put her in a good place to make another run for the title.

Sam Stosur may have even more to prove. The recent U.S. Open winner has had some big wins this year -- she put up a huge fight against long-time nemesis Victoria Azarenka in the New York quarters and earned one of her few victories against Maria Sharapova in Tokyo. But she's also had some bad losses, most recently to world #134 Kai-Chen Chang in Osaka, the site of her first career trophy three years ago, and was relegated to alternate status for the year-end Championships. Later today she opens her Moscow campaign against Alize Cornet, a woman who's taken her to three sets the last two times they've played -- and beat her in their only other meeting. But it's been a long time since those matches, and if Stosur wants to show us how much her game's improved, now's a good time to do it.

Whether these ladies are able to keep up their performances remains to be seen, but they've certainly given us cause to believe they're still capable of pulling out some big wins. As their years wind down wit's nice to see them making a last push for a win -- and whoever comes out on top might be able to change the conversation in the year to come.

It's About Time

It was quite an eventful week in Moscow as the ladies wrapped up their regular season events and the men put in last-ditch efforts to qualify for London. But for the players who made it to the end, their rewards may have longer-lasting impacts than just the one title.

It's been a banner year for Janko Tipsarevic -- fresh off a big win over Andy Roddick at the 2010 U.S. Open and a Davis Cup trophy, he was poised for big things. Though he failed in attempts to capture his first title in both Delray Beach and Eastbourne, he nevertheless climbed to a career-high ranking on the heels of a run to the semis in Cincinnati and quarters in New York. And in his fifth appearance in a championship match, he finally did one better than runner-up when he took the crown in Kuala Lumpur. He came to Moscow as the top seed and, though he stumbled slightly in the first set against Igor Kunitsyn, he quickly rebound and dominated the way to his fourth final of the year.

There he met his friend and compatriot Viktor Troicki, incidentally the winner here last year. The third-ranked Serb had been moving up the rankings himself this year, but with four first round losses in his last five tournaments, momentum was not on his side. He had a tough road in Russia, needing three tiebreak sets to get through Alex Bogomolov in the quarters, but ultimately returned to the finals to set up the first all-Serbian title match in ATP history.

But ultimately the defender, who had won their only previous meeting here three years ago, wasn't able to get the better of the on-paper favorite this time. Though Troicki was able to overcome a service deficit early and did out-ace his opponent in the first set, Tipsarevic finally got the go-ahead break in the ninth game and did serve it out. He stayed aggressive early in the second, pressuring Troicki in his first service game, and broke again a few games later. By then it was all over, and it was London-hopeful Tipsarevic hoisting the trophy this time.



Things weren't quite so smooth in the women's draw in Moscow. Top players Vera Zvonareva and red-hot Aggie Radwanska both fell early in the week. In fact Linz finalist Dominika Cibulkova was the only seed to make the semifinals -- after stunning Vera in the quarters, she smashed through doubles specialist Elena Vesnina on Saturday to make her second championship match in as many weeks.

In the other half of the bracket Kaia Kanepi, who's fallen substantially from the career high #16 ranking she held earlier in the year, was putting on an impressive display herself. Unseeded here, she was nevertheless able to upset French Open runner-up Francesca Schiavone and two-time Major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in back-to-back matches. Having won a title last year in Palermo, she may not have been the favorite, but she was surely the more comfortable on this stage.

And it seemed Kanepi's experience would win out early in the match. She broke the diminutive Slovak in the fourth game of the match before taking the first set and stayed strong after losing break point in the second to force a tiebreak. But Cibulkova won seven straight points to push the match to a decider and after failing to consolidate a break twice in the third set, she finally held serve when it counted most and was able to capture that elusive first title. And after the year she's had -- wins over Zvonareva, world #1 Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova -- it was certainly quite well-deserved.



As the season winds down for all these athletes, it's nice to see them bringing their best play even at the end. And especially for two newly minted champions who've waiting a long time to bring home those maiden trophies, it's the best way to cap off the year. Now that they have the confidence that comes with success, there's really no telling what they can do in 2012.

The Power of Perseverance

Back in the spring I was astounded when Caroline Wozniacki got right back on court after a devastating fall in the Charleston semis and not only stayed entered in every event on her schedule, but made the quarterfinals in Paris.

A few months later Caro's good friend Victoria Azarenka suffered an even more frightening collapse on the tennis court when a combination of extreme heat and a possible mild concussion sent her out of the U.S. Open second round in a wheelchair. After previously having retired from four matches already this year, I have to admit, I again thought that would be the end of her season.



But all evidence to the contrary, Azarenka might just be tougher physically than she is mentally -- often one to vent her frustration when a match isn't going her way, she's been able to bounce back from injury and illness rather remarkably. One of my favorites to win the title in New York made the semis at her first tournament back in Tokyo and just yesterday took home her second title of the year in Moscow with a solid 6-3, 6-4 showing against her doubles partner Maria Kirilenko.

It was a great way to cap of a week that also saw Azarenka gain admission to the year-end Sony Ericsson championships which begins tomorrow -- her first round squeaker against Andrea Petkovic notched her enough points to take Serena Williams' place. It'll be her second consecutive appearance in Doha, and though she's ranked lower than she was last year she might actually have a better chance than in 2009 -- in the same group as Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic, she's actually had decent results against her opponents in their recent match-ups. It's clearly the tougher round-robin group in Doha, but a couple good early results could yield some strong momentum for her.

Vika's victory in Moscow was important for another reason -- it was the first time she's been able to extend her win streak this late in the year, usually prospering in the late winter and early spring. Last year, for example, she only reached one quarterfinal after Wimbledon, and given her spotty stamina even before that fateful day in New York, it's nice to see her get back to being healthy at this point in the season.



In a year of ups and downs for Azarenka -- and more than a few scares -- maintaining form to win the Kremlin Cup and qualifying for the championships in Doha bodes well for this young talent. Sure she's still got a lot to learn but I wouldn't be surprised to see her make a dent in some Major draws next year.

After all, if she can bounce back from a such a defeat as she felt in New York, nothing should be able to stop her.

Does Size Matter?

It's easy to forget that the tennis season is comprised of much more than just the four Major tournaments that players plan their years around. But these smaller events at the end of the year can be just as important, not only for the potential purse they carry or additional ranking points, but also for the confidence they can bring a player as they round out their year.

Take Viktor Troicki, a talented Serb who's career was previously highlighted by a stunning comeback against Andy Roddick on his way to the 2008 Washington finals. But a gutsy five-setter against his friend Novak Djokovic in the first round of this year's U.S. Open made the tennis world sit up and take notice, and he's been eager to back up the hype. He played a solid semifinal against Rafael Nadal in Tokyo and soundly defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round in Moscow earlier this week. It took him two more matches, both of which he won without dropping a set, to make his third career championship round.

In today's final he met Marcos Baghdatis, a former Australian Open runner-up who's having his own comeback year. The Cypriot won their only previous meeting in Sydney this past January, and has scored wins over Nadal and Roger Federer already this year. The fourth seed had his path to the title match fairly cleared and didn't have to face any player ranked higher than him all week.

The on-paper favorite got off to a quick start, securing the only break in the first set, but Troicki raised his level in the second, winning every one of his second serve points and never allowing a break opportunity. In the third and deciding set, Viktor stayed strong, saving an early break opportunity and eventually converted against his opponent to secure the lead and his first career title. It might not have been the grandest stage on which to make a statement, but after plugging away all year, it certainly was a well-deserved payoff for all his work.

A little further west a man who is slightly more used to winning the big titles took the court in Stockholm for only the second time in his storied career. Roger Federer last played here at the turn of the century, in 2000 when he was ranked only twenty-ninth in the world and lost in the second round. He's accomplished quite a lot since then, of course, but has been struggling a bit this year, falling short of expectations at the last three Grand Slams he's played. And, for the first time since 2001, he's actually lost more finals than he won.

But in Sweden this week, he was in top form. He came from behind against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinal and held off a tough Ivan Ljubicic in the semis. For the trophy he face Florian Mayer, a man he hadn't met since Australia in 2006. The twenty-seven year old German had dismissed a tough Feliciano Lopez in his opener and powered through hometown hero Robin Soderling a few rounds later. Having only played in two finals before, both on clay courts and both more than four years ago, he might have been a little out of his element today.

Mayer actually was the one with an early lead, however, breaker Federer early to lead 4-3 in the first set, but the all-time Major winner leader rattled off three straight games in response. He was slightly more solid in the second set, winning more than ninety percent of his first serves and never allowing his opponent to make a dent on his games. Roger only had one chance to break Mayer, but that was all he needed. Just slightly more than an hour after taking the court, he walked off with his third crown of the year and the sixty-fourth of his career. Of course, it might not be the most significant win, but in a year which saw his #1 ranking taken away from him, it certainly comes at an important time.

Of course it's nice to win the Majors, capture a Masters title or two. But the smaller tournaments that really make up the year's schedule can be just as rewarding. Troicki has finally let the world know he's a force to contend with, while Federer has reminded us all that he always will be.

After all, no matter how big the trophy, it sure feels good to bring one home.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

This seems to be a common theme in my posts recently -- that once-unstoppable stars seem to be struggling recent months -- and that trend has continued into this week's tournaments across Europe.

It started early in Stockholm, with the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds all losing their opening matches on Tuesday. And Tomas Berdych, who's only won a handful of matches since his stunning run to the Wimbledon finals back in July, followed up with his own first round exit on Wednesday.

Over in Luxembourg last year's most-improved player, Yanina Wickmayer saw her U.S. Open win over Patty Schnyder avenged, falling fairly quickly in her opener. And second seeded Aravane Rezai, a breakout during the clay court season, was trying to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since July. But after a tight win over qualifier Mona Barthel, she was smacked down by veteran Kirsten Flipkens yesterday, only winning one game in the forty-seven minute drubbing.

Then there's Moscow, where today former world #1 Jelena Jankovic, the surprise winner in Indian Wells in March, fell to seventeen-year-old qualifier Zarina Diyas -- ranked #268 -- in straight sets. After beating both Williams sisters on her way to the Rome finals, she hasn't lost to a player in the top twenty since the French Open and hasn't beaten one since May. Her exit comes a day after three-time champ Nikolay Davydenko, one of my favorites to win the Australian Open so early this year, lost two tiebreaks to Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.

Now it's not all bad news for these players. We all know that tennis loves a comeback story -- ask recent Linz champion Ana Ivanovic, suddenly back in the top thirty, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, at a career high ranking after following through on his Bangkok title. And with the 2010 season wrapping up, there plenty of time to reflect on what needs to be worked on and changed next year. None of these guys or girls are at the end of their careers, and they might just need to rework a few kinks.

And I sure look forward to their triumphant returns.

Back on Top

As the 2009 tennis season winds down, most of the players in action these last couple of weeks don't harbor any delusions of making the cut to enter London. Nevertheless a couple of wins this past week certainly did their part to boost the spirits of a few names who've been out of the mix for some time.

Despite a pretty strong field at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the top two seeds -- red-hot Nikolay Davydenko and Victor Hanescu -- both lost early. And that allowed more than a few unknown names make it to later rounds. But eventually it was Mikhail Youzhny defeating Janko Tipsarevic in the finals, earning the Russian his fifth career title.



It hasn't been that long since Mikhail won a tournament -- he took home the trophy in Chennai last year -- but recently he's been more known for his on-court outbursts than his actual skills. He had some success during the spring's clay season, but then suffered six straight losses before hitting the hard courts. But earlier this month he made the finals in Tokyo, beating Gilles Simon and Lleyton Hewitt on the way, before heading to his homeland. And his title in Moscow lifted Youzhny to his best ranking in a year.

Marcos Baghdatis has had a similarly frustating stretch since he finished runner up to Roger Federer at the 2006 Australian Open. While I began the year with high hopes for the Cypriot, a series of first-round losses and a month-long absence due to a left knee injury dropped him to a #151 ranking. He didn't have a great summer, but he was able to capture three challenger events with wins over veteran Xavier Malisse and up-and-comer Denis Ostomin.

Baghdatis opened the If Stockholm Open with a win over third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and benefited when favorite Robin Soderling withdrew with an elbow injury. His ultimate win over Olivier Rochus in the finals gave him his third championship, and his first in over two years, getting him back into the top fifty.



Youzhny will be back on the courts this week in St. Petersburg as the top seed, while Marcos seems to have ended his season on a high note. Whatever the results the remainder of the year, though, both players must be proud of their performances last week -- there's no better way to end the year than with a big win!

Sidebar -- Kremlin Cup Update

I just wanted to write a quick post to congratulate Jelena Jankovic on her win in Moscow this week. For the first time since Nicole Vaidasova did it in 2005, a woman has won three consecutive WTA Tour titles -- in Jelena's case the China Open in Beijing, the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart and now the Kremlin Cup. She's obviously ready to prove that her #1 world ranking is not accidental.

Congrats, girl!

Separately, congrats to Igor Kunitsyn who earned his first title in Moscow this week, beating the much more experienced Marat Safin in three sets, two of which were forced into tiebreakers. It was Igor's first win after five previous losses to his fellow Russian, and his victory continues the more than three and a half years since Safin has won a title -- and allows me at least one more week to smile smugly and revel in Marat's defeat.

No offense, Marat -- but yay, Igor!

See y'all next time!

From Russia With Love

Russia hasn't been the source of the the most inspiring headlines recently. They started a war with the Republic of Georgia, suspended trading in their stock exchange, and offered Venezuela a big chunk of money to buy weapons and develop its military. And that's just since August.

But on the tennis courts this week, Russians were showing off their best stuff.

Men and women were both battling in Moscow's Kremlin Cup where the likes of Dinara Safina, her brother Marat Safin, and compatriots Nikolay Davydenko, Elena Dimentieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and others took their opportunity to seize homecourt advantage.

It's already been a pretty good year for the Russian women -- and little of the good news comes from the country's most recognizable star, Maria Sharapova. They occupy half of the top ten spots, won the Fed Cup last month, and swept the Olympic medals.

Incidentally the Beijing medalists -- Elena, Dinara and Vera Zvonareva -- also took three of the four semifinal spots in Moscow. Dementieva ended up losing a hard battle to Jelena Jankovic, preventing an all-Russian final and frustrating me again, but Vera's decisive victory over Safina puts her in her sixth final of the year.



Russian men on the other hand have struggled a bit more this year. Defending Moscow champion Davydenko holds the highest ranking at #5, but the only interesting title he's earned this year was at the ATP Masters Series in Miami. Nevertheless Russians took five of the eight seeds at the Kremlin Cup, and two will meet in the finals on Sunday -- though not necessarily the two you might expect.

Those who know me know that Marat Safin is far from my favorite player -- I've never quite forgiven him for beating my all-time favorite Pete Sampras in the finals of the 2000 U.S. Open. Since then his career has been a series of ups and downs. He was ranked #1 for six non-consecutive weeks in 2000 and 2001 but fell as low as #104 in 2006. He started this year at #57, dropped to #93 and is currently #40. As further proof of his struggles, Marat hasn't won a single single's title since the '05 Australian Open -- or even played in a final since 2006.

The vindictive side of me is ecstatic that he hasn't been able to regain his former glory -- the objective side is shocked that such a talented and strong competitor hasn't had more success against the top ten players.

In the finals Marat is taking on Igor Kunitsyn, a twenty-seven year old who just broke into the top 100 in May. But he's shown his own mettle in Moscow, beating Dimitri Tursynov, Robby Ginepri and Fabrice Santoro on his way to the finals. A win here would not only be the first ATP singles title of his career, but also rocket him into the top fifty rankings.

You can guess who I'm rooting for.



Sunday's final holds important implications for all players involved. Jelena, I'm sure, is eager to win her third tournament in a row, her first while ranked at the top; a victory for Vera could vault ahead of Venus Williams in the rankings. Marat is hungry for his first championship in almost four years, and Igor for his first ever.

We'll see if two Russians will be able to walk away with trophies in their native land. But in any case this week's play has highlighted the country's drive, ability and talent.

And, love 'em or hate 'em, they sure are fun to watch!

'Til next time, serve well and play hard!