On the Court...and Off

Earlier today, Russia's Daniil Medvedev made an eleventh hour move to get his season back on track, picking up the title in Paris, his third Masters trophy, in the last big event before the year-end championships in London.

"It’s great, I’m really happy. As I always say, I don’t celebrate after the match but I’m really happy to win matches."@DaniilMedwed's third Masters 1000 title proved why his 🏆 collection is just getting started 👇
#RolexParisMasters

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 8, 2020

Of course the story that really captured everyone's attention this week was that of his final opponent Alexander Zverev, who late last month was accused by his ex-girlfriend Olya Sharypova of physical and mental abuse. (If you haven't read her account of what happened, please do.) Another ex also revealed she's having his baby and seemed to suggest he'll have no part in raising the child.

I don't often talk about the off-court lives of players here, but this instance seems especially poignant. Zverev has denied the accusations, but after today's loss gave commentary that probably won't win him any fans:

"I know that there's gonna be a lot of people that right now are trying to wipe a smile off my face but under this mask I'm smiling brightly. I feel incredible on court [...] everything is great in my life. The people who are trying can keep trying."

It's only the latest scandal to hit Zverev this year. A mainstay on Novak Djokovic's ill-fated Adria Tour over the summer, he was caught on video partying, maskless, after so many players he was with had tested positive for COVID. A few months later, after his fourth round loss at Roland Garros he admitted he played despite a hundred degree fever and cough, raising questions again of whether he'd exposed others to the deadly virus.

But this accusation hits in the gut so much harder. Sure, we haven't heard Zverev's side of the story -- only that the relationship ended a long time ago, which I'm sure I'm not the only one to point out isn't really a reponse -- but what we've read already has inspired a flood of support for Olya and calls for the ATP to suspend Zverev from the Tour.

So far the allegations haven't seemed to distract him from his game -- he was able to manage a win over Rafael Nadal in the Paris semis and, thanks in part to his first Major final in New York, will be returning to London for the fourth time. But the mood around him there -- even with no audience in attendence -- has certainly soured.

And for what it's worth, I'm hoping Olya's the one that comes out of this stronger.

What's Your Number? Take Two

A couple weeks ago we were all excited about the number 20...or 13...or 100, depending on your preference. And as striking as those accomplishments were for Rafael Nadal, since then he's laid claim to a couple more milestones that might be even more impressive.

"That means that I am old."@RafaelNadal jokes and delights about his historic 1000th career victory 👇#RolexParisMasters

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 4, 2020

Just yesterday, the long-time king of Roland Garros made history on a different Paris court, scoring his thousandth career singles win with a three set victory over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez -- he picked up #1,001 earlier today, by the way. That puts him in rarified air occupied by just three other men: Roger Federer, of course, as well as Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors. And it further distances him from Novak Djokovic, nearly seventy wins behind him, and Pete Sampras, who retired with a relatively middling 762.

It's especially notable given how long we worried Rafa's aggressive style of play would wear him out early in his career and limit his time at the top. And sure, not every stretch of a hundred wins was as as easy to come by as the rest -- he went from 200 to 300 in fifteen months, but in part thanks to the lockdown, it's taken more than two years to get the last hundred. 800-900 took a while too. But Nadal's lost remarkably few matches to get those thousand wins -- his 83.2% overall win percentage bests all others in the four-digit club -- and, lest you think his results were skewed by his dominance on clay, he actually has more wins on hardcourts than on any other surface.

He's got a ways to go before he overtakes Lendl in total wins -- the Czech has a lead of a little over a season's worth of wins on Rafa -- and he's faaaar behind Fed and Connors, with numbers in the 1,200s. But Nadal also quietly set a record last week that he holds all to himself and which, like his 13 French Open titles, will likely stand for a very long time. As of October 26^th he had spent 788 weeks ranked in the top ten, passing Jimmy Connors who'd held the record since 1988.

Rafa first hit single digits in May 2005 after winning his first title in Barcelona and, astoundingly, he's never again let his ranking dip out of the ultra elite since. There were a few weeks back in 2015 when he flirted with the next tier, dropping to #10 in the world after that devastating loss in the French quarters, but he's never let go.

Federer, number three on this leaderboard, broke a 734-week streak in 2016 after an injury-addled season cut his year short. Djokovic's reign lasted just 555 weeks and ended with elbow surgery in 2017. The player with the second-longest active run? Dominic Thiem, with just 209 weeks in the top ten. He's got some ten years to go if he wants to make a play for the top spot, and considering Nadal's tenure is only getting longer, it may be even longer than that.

Who knows how Rafa will fare the rest of this week -- he's actually only reached the final of the Paris Masters one time before, way back in 2007 -- but the results at this one tournament hardly even matter. In the horse race between the Big Three, in the grand debate over who ultimately deserves the title of GOAT 🐐, different people will pull ahead at different times and in different metrics. But there are a couple places in which Rafael Nadal has proven he can't be beat -- at least not for some time -- and whatever number you choose to define his legacy, he's clearly going to strive to keep raising the bar even higher.

The Final Countdown

We're officially in the last stretch of this abbreviated and infinitely strange 2020 tennis season, with the last big event before the ATP Finals now underway. And with so few opportunities for players to make really big statements this year, perhaps it's no surprise that such a diverse field is hoping to close out 2020 with a strong performance at the Paris Masters.

Maybe somewhat surprisingly, all four of last week's finalists are back in the draw this week. John Millman, fresh off his first career title in Nur-Sultan, opens his campaign against a tough Miomir Kecmanovic and could next face U.S. Open finalist Alexander Zverev, who, despite two straight titles in Cologne, finds himself embroiled in scandal yet again this year. And Adrian Mannarino, who he beat yesterday, looms as a potential third round.

Meanwhile Vienna (🙏) Cinderella Lorenzo Sonego, a lucky loser who jumped to a career high #32 ranking with a stunning victory over Novak Djokovic last week, starts in Paris against tricky server Alexander Bublik. And Andrey Rublev, who booked his first ticket to the year-end championship by winning the title in Austria, has a second round date with Radu Albot. He's trying to earn an inspiring sixth title this year.

Congratulations, @AndreyRublev97!#ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/fRyQ1ItfWy

— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) November 1, 2020

Then there's under-the-radar Ugo Humbert, who picked up his second trophy of 2020 in Antwerp a few weeks ago and extended his win streak today by outlasting Casper Ruud in three sets. For his efforts, he'll be awarded a second round against second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

But there are a couple players in the field who are trying less to keep their recent momentum going, and more to turn around their luck. There are plenty to choose from, from David Goffin to one-time U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic. But highest on my list is Daniil Medvedev, who I thought last year would be virtually unstoppable against the top players. He's been rather lackluster in 2020, making the semis at the U.S. Open, but losing his first round at Roland Garros. He could potentially face off against Kevin Anderson, who beat him last week in Vienna, in the second round and while the South African is certainly well of his best game, he might be able to pull off an upset.

And of course, I can't leave out Diego Schwartzman, who's certainly won a lot of hearts with his performance this year. The Argentine, who stunned Rafael Nadal in Rome and made the French Open semis, has the ATP Finals in his sights for the first time in his career and would clinch it with a final appearance in Paris. He hasn't suffered a lot of upsets recently and with Medvedev the only other seed in his quarter, he could make a real play for the finish line.

Of course, there are a couple notable names absent from the Paris Masters draw this year, which could create some opportunities for spoilers. Some of that comes down to the COVID-altered ranking methodology, which allows players to count points from the better of their performances at an event in either this year or last. That's why Novak Djokovic, who won the title last year in Paris, had no incentive to defend those points and chose instead to lock in a year-end #1 with a couple wins in Vienna last week. Then there are players like Dominic Thiem, injured during his quarter final last week, who pulled out just before the draw was announced, and Gael Monfils, red-hot before the shutdown and winless since, who said he was ending his season last week.

Can the slew of lucky losers in the draw take advantage of those openings? Could top seeded Rafael Nadal take home his first hard court title in Paris -- how weird to think he's had such vastly different results in the same city?!

Whatever the case, it'll be interesting to see if these players can close out the year on a high note. While, at the end of the day, their performances may not be what we remember most about 2020, for each of them, this is a great opportunity to start to write a new story.

The Paris Preview

Anyone else notice something interesting about the third round matches in Paris? Maybe not unsurprisingly, every player who's qualified for the year-end championships was in action, contesting their right to a spot in the quarterfinals. And perhaps their performances gave us a little hint of what we might expect from them in Paris.

The Long Shots

Kei Nishikori started the year off strong, backing up his stellar 2014 season with titles in Memphis, Barcelona and Washington -- but he's struggled a bit recently, falling spectacularly in the first round of the U.S. Open and losing early again in Shanghai. Though he secured his spot at the ATP Championships at the start of the week, against Richard Gasquet in Paris today he was down a set before retiring with an abdominal strain -- hopefully he's just buying himself some time to rest before making the trip to London, but if the injury plagues him, there might be more trouble ahead.

And I realize it might be a little blasphemous to call Roger Federer a long shot for anything, but the six-time year-end champion has been a little spotty since the U.S. Open final. He notched a huge loss to Albert Ramos while trying to defend his Shanghai crown, but rebounded to pick up a seventh title in Basel. And this week after easily avenging his Melbourne loss to Andreas Seppi in his Paris opener, he fell today in three sets to John Isner. It's not his only loss to the American #1, but on such a big stage, might be his most surprising -- and it could give everyone else in the London field a little more hope of their own.

The Redeemers

Meanwhile a couple other players are putting together the kind of late-season run that might just bode well for their chances in London. David Ferrer was the last man to qualify for the World Tour Finals, but the one-time runner-up hasn't let that bother him. After sitting out at Wimbledon and losing early in New York, he's scored trophies in Kuala Lumpur and Vienna. Seemingly rejuvenated, he took out an always-tough Alexandr Dolgopolov in Paris, came back from a set down to a resurgent Grigor Dimitrov to score another today, and with a Isner earning the right to be his surprising next opponent, the veteran Spaniard could stay alive a bit longer. And that might be just the kind of momentum he's looking for as he finishes prepping for London.

Tomas Berdych is also getting momentum back on his side -- though he put together a couple decent runs to start the year, he really seemed to struggle to close the deal. But he got his game back after the U.S. Open, rebounding from a shocking opening round loss in St. Petersburg to claim titles in Shenzhen and Stockholm during the fall -- somewhat surprisingly his first trophies of the season. He's gotten right back to work in Paris, battling past tricky Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin before handling former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier today. And while he's got a tough road ahead of him, he might have gotten the confidence he needs to fight through tougher challenges down the road.

Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, will look to scrounge up the strength that brought him his surprise second Grand Slam title earlier this year. While he's been far from a disappointment -- he did reach the semis in New York and earn a title last month in Tokyo, albeit without beating a top-thirty player -- he's also shown some vulnerabilities, needing five sets against world #177 Thiemo de Bakker in Davis Cup play and losing his homeland's opener in Switzerland last week. He's looked good so far in Paris though, getting past solid players like Bernard Tomic and Viktor Troicki in his early matches, and will look to avenge his Shanghai loss to Rafael Nadal on Friday. All that's good practice for his return to London -- after all, he'll want to make up for that razor-thin loss to Roger Federer in last year's semis and maybe this time last a couple matches longer.

Of course the player most in need of redemption is one of the most decorated in the field. It's not news that Rafael Nadal has has a slightly less-than-spectacular season, but he might just be starting to turn things around -- after almost dropping out of the top ten for much of the summer, the former world #1 has pulled himself back together the last few weeks. He made he way to the finals of both Beijing and Basel, and picked up his first wins over top ten players since May on his way to the Shanghai semis. The seventh seed in Paris, he's one of the longer shots this week, but drubbed former nemesis Lukas Rosol in his opener and then rallied against a talented Kevin Anderson to earn a spot in the quarters. From so far back in the pack it'll be hard for him to translate recent success into his first title in London, but if anyone's able to rise to the challenge, it's certainly him.

The Favorites

It's a little strange to say, but it feels like Andy Murray has very quietly risen to #2 in the world without a lot of fanfare -- while he has picked up a couple Masters titles, beating Novak Djokovic in Canada and Rafael Nadal in Spain, even reaching the final in Australia, he's been largely overshadowed by many of his colleagues. But this week he's been out to remind us just what he's capable of -- after an easy win over talented teen Borna Coric in his opener, he absolutely drubbed David Goffin on Thursday, losing just one game and winning all but two points on his first serve. It's been a while since he's done well in the post-season, skipping the championships in 2013 and falling in round robins last year. But it sure looks like this could be his year to sneak through that draw as well.

Of course the top seed will certainly have something to say about that. Novak Djokovic was running a three title win streak coming into Paris and, judging from his performance so far, he's well on track to tie Rafael Nadal's record twenty-seven Masters titles by the end of the week. He's already survived tests from tough opponents like Thomaz Bellucci and Gilles Simon and with only one loss before the final of any tournament this year, there's no reason to expect him to stop now. And unlike in the past when he's run out of steam in the middle of a match, or like his breakthrough 2011 season, where he didn't win a title after picking up the crown in New York, Nole is showing few signs of slowing down -- and with the hope of marking his most prolific year to date if he finishes with eleven trophies this season, he's got a little extra motivation to keep going strong.

---

Of course all these guys have made the trip to London before, some of them many, many times, and they've all had more than enough experience facing off against each other over the years. But the next few days will give them -- at least the ones still standing -- a good taste of what's they're in for next week. And while success in Paris won't necessarily translate into a title at the year-end championships, the fact that these guys are upping their games sure suggests we're going to see some amazing battles when we get there.

All Set...?

The regular season ATP schedule wrapped up this weekend at the Paris Masters, with Novak Djokovic successfully reclaiming his title and the last few spots for the year-ending championships finally being decided. And while some of the theatrics involved in clamoring for those places and selecting alternates may have made more headlines than the on-court action in Bercy, we still got a glimpse of some of the surprises we could be in store for at the O2. And even those players who've had their tickets to London booked for weeks or months could be in for more than they expect.

Djokovic, of course, gave himself a bit more cushion in his attempt to end the year at #1 for a third time. In his first event as a father, he didn't drop a set all week and beat three fellow London qualifiers in the late rounds to capture his sixth trophy of the year. More impressively he got revenge against Kei Nishikori, the man who stunned him in New York a few months back, and stopped Andy Murray's autumn resurgence cold with a straight set win in the quarters. But Roger Federer's hopes for his own return to the top ranking were put on hold a bit -- after picking up his sixth title in Basel, he was in good shape to close the gap between himself and Nole. But after a close opening match against Jeremy Chardy in Paris, he notched his first ever loss to Milos Raonic, largely helping the Canadian into his post-season debut as well and falling slightly behind in the standings.

In a slightly more tenuous position is London's third seed Stan Wawrinka who shot into the spotlight with his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne. While he slowed down quite a bit after that, his performances recently have been downright disappointing -- he lost to triple-digit ranked Tatsuma Ito in Tokyo and world #84 Mikhail Kukushkin in his homeland of Basel. While he did manage a win over rising star Dominic Thiem to open this week, he subsequently lost for a third time this year to South Africa's Kevin Anderson. The six-foot-eight collegiate star, who had a very slim chance of qualifying for London himself, then took it to Tomas Berdych, on the bubble this week too, forcing the Czech through three tight sets before finally succumbing. Both Berdych and Wawrinka will have to raise their game if they want to see much success at the World Tour Finals.

Andy Murray certainly has been bringing his A-game recently -- ranked as low as #12 in the world right after the U.S. Open, the two-time Grand Slam winner really turned things around in the fall. He claimed titles in Shenzhen and Vienna and put on one of the best shows of the year to take the Valencia title a week ago. He may have lost in the quarters in Paris, but he's shown he still has what it takes to make a winning return in London. Kei Nishikori too, qualifying for his O2 debut, has certainly rebounded well after his New York disappointment -- he picked up titles in Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo and came back from a set down against eventual alternate David Ferrer to make the semis this week. He may still be getting used to the rarefied air of the sport's elite, but something tells me he won't be intimidated when he takes the court in London.

Joining Kei in the year-end newbie category is Milos Raonic, who followed up his win over Federer with his third top-ten victory of the season, beating Tomas Berdych in the semis. While he couldn't put up much of a fight against Djokovic when the title was on the line, his performance in Paris ended a streak of surprising losses in October. If he can keep up the momentum, he could cause a couple more surprises in London. And U.S. Open champ Marin Cilic, the fourth first-timer at the World Tour Finals, may not have played in Paris, but he's coming off his fourth title of the year in Moscow and a season during which he's scored five top-ten wins of his own. With victories over the likes of Federer, Murray, Berdych and close calls against Nole, he certainly can't be counted out in the post-season.

Of course there will be favorites in London, and experience certainly favors those who've been there before. But if results in Paris -- and for the entire year, for that matter -- are any indication, it sure looks like nothing is certain. So we should get ready for what's going to be a big season-ending battle -- one where, this year perhaps more than others, anything can happen.

The Rebound

It can be tough to muster up energy after a Grand Slam, especially if you didn't put up the performance you were hoping you would. But a couple ladies this weekend found the physical and mental toughness to bounce back after Melbourne and eventually came away with trophies that were a long time coming.

It's hard to believe it had been almost four years since Ekaterina Makarova's first title in Eastbourne, given how her star has risen in the meantime. Though she beat Serena Williams at the Australian Open in 2012, cracked the top twenty a year ago and reached the quarters at two Majors last season, she hasn't been able to claim another crown -- heck, she's never even made another final since 2010. Coming off injury, she survived a first round scare Down Under, but bowed out with a surprisingly unimpressive 6-2, 6-0 loss to eventual champion Na Li a round earlier than in the past.

This past week she came to Pattaya City as the fourth seed in a field of ladies who'd under-performed in Melbourne -- she was only one of two who'd made it past the second round. But she regrouped better than her contemporaries, and while one after the other was eliminated, Makarova was able to fight through one tough match after another. She ultimately faced off against Karolina Pliskova, a woman who'd already taken out two seeds and an on-the-comeback Julia Goerges on her way to the final. The Czech started off this match strong, too, firing off six aces in the opening service game -- ten total for the match -- but Makarova was able to stay stronger. With the only break on her side of the scoreboard, the Russian closed out the match in a tight second set tiebreak, winning the second title of her career. But perhaps more importantly, she ended a reputation of being a spoiler who rarely got to reap the spoils, and something tells me there will be a lot more trophies coming her way.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has claimed a couple more titles during her young career, but since peaking at #13 in the world over two years ago, her profile has fallen a bit. She hasn't gotten past the third round of any Slam since 2011, and though she played in four finals last year, her two crowns came at second tier tournaments. This year she'd retired from her second round in Brisbane, lost an opener in Hobart, and after taking the first set from Aga Radwanska at the Aussie Open, she struggled under pressure and ultimately went home in the first week again.

Pavs wasn't even seeded when she arrived in Paris last week -- four top ten players were originally entered in the draw -- and she was challenged from the start. The young Russian endured five three set matches during the week, fighting back from a set down against former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, ninth-ranked Angelique Kerber, and top seed Maria Sharapova. She lost her opener against Sara Errani in the final too -- after building a 3-1 lead, she lost seven games in a row. She turned the tables, though, winning a stretch of her own, but got down in the decider too. Pavlyuchenkova soldiered up then and remained tougher in the clutch -- after nearly two hours on court, bringing her total for the week to almost ten and a half, she'd secured the biggest trophy of her career and put herself back in the mix against the biggest names in the sport.

With their wins this weekend these ladies might have put themselves in a position to make a play for even bigger success down the road. And what better way to erase some slightly sour memories from their time in Melbourne than by coming back bigger, stronger, and ready for new heights.

A Quest for Redemption

It's been a pretty exciting first month of the season, but the New Year hasn't been happy for everyone. A couple players have struggled to put up the kinds of results we've come to expect from them, but some solid results this week could turn all that around.

It's been a long time since Anastasija Sevastova has done anything big on the tennis court, and the 2010 Estoril champion has fallen well down the rankings over the last few years. After making the fourth round in Melbourne two years ago, she failed to make it past her opener there this time around and had to qualify for the main draw in Pattaya City. She sneaked out a win over rising star Heather Watson on Thursday to make her first quarterfinal since Luxembourg in 2011. She's got nothing but seeds left in her half of the draw, so it won't be easy for her to progress farther, but if the young Latvian can find her game there's no reason to believe she can't get in another win or two.

Elena Vesnina may have something to say about that though -- the decorated doubles star is having quite the season so far. Long a member of the middle tier in this sport, the Russian had lost all six of the finals she'd contested before this year, but changed her luck in Hobart early in the month and then beat Varvara Lepchenko and Roberta Vinci on her way to the Australian Open fourth round. The run helped her climb to #33 in the world, still off a career high, but with some of the most consistent results we've seen from her in a while. Vesnina hasn't faced another seeded player so far in Thailand, but could be tested tomorrow by world #15 Maria Kirilenko in the quarters. Her compatriot has won all three of their previous meetings, but Vesnina has kept things close in the past -- if she can harness her momentum it might bode well for her the rest of this week.

Sabine Lisicki has actually fallen below Vesnina in the rankings -- surprising, considering this time last year we were waiting for her to finally break the top ten. But a string of injuries and disappointing results, including a first round loss in Melbourne, pushed her out of the top fifty. She's still seeded fifth in Pattaya, though, and with fairly routine wins over her first two opponents this week it looks like she might be ready to stage a comeback. It should be smooth sailing for her, too -- the highest ranked player left in her half is world #60 Ayumi Morita -- so if she stays focused and healthy this could be her chance to make a move.

There are plenty players looking to relaunch their careers over in Paris as well. Lucie Safarova is just a hair off her career high ranking, but with her only win of the year coming over a sub-hundred player, it seems she's lost a little of that luster. She's struggled so far this week too, dropping sets to both Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Alize Cornet, but now in the quarters she has a chance to shine. She next faces Lucky Loser Kiki Bertens, one of last year's hottest newcomers who's already beaten a tough Tamira Paszek and fourth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova at the GDF Suez. Bertens actually won the pair's only other meeting last year at Wimbledon, so the Czech is going to have to bring her A-Game if she wants to turn the tables on her opponent. But if she does, it could do wonders for her confidence the rest of the year.

Marion Bartoli hasn't really fallen too far out of the spotlight, but after just missing her chance to qualify for Istanbul last year, she hasn't beaten a player in the top fifty yet this season -- she suffered an easy defeat in the quarters at the hands of Shenzhen finalist Klara Zakopalova to start the year and then lost a struggle to Melbourne Cinderella Ekaterina Makarova a few weeks later. So far in her homeland, the Frenchwoman's been on point -- after a tight first set, she rolled over Christina McHale to set up a third round against Hobart finalist Mona Barthel. The German beat Bartoli last April in Stuttgart, pretty easily in fact, so the on-paper favorite cannot let history get in her way -- if she's able to play her game, there's no reason she can't avenge that loss.

Petra Kvitova may have a bit more to prove. The one-time Wimbledon champion has been a fixture in the top ten for the past eighteen months or so, but last year she had been a stone's throw from grabbing the #1 spot. That goal is a bit further away these days, and after putting together a 2-3 record to start the season, it may have gotten a little more remote. The 2011 winner in Paris could have a tough time reclaiming the title -- she was challenged somewhat in her opener by Stefanie Voegele, and will meet quickly rising Kristina Mladenovic next. The Czech has won the pair's only previous meeting, at this event actually, but that was a full five years ago, and her opponent has posted some solid results herself, besting both Julia Goerges and Yanina Wickmayer on her way to the quarters. If Kvitova is going to make another play for this crown -- and turn her year around -- she'll need to keep her cool in tomorrow's match and play ball like she hasn't played yet this season.

It's not really fair to say Sara Errani hasn't followed up on her breakout season from 2012 -- but despite winning the doubles title in Melbourne she nevertheless dropped a chunk of ranking points after losing in the first round of the Australian Open singles draw. She's the top seed in Paris this week, though, so will want to step up her game and with a quarterfinal match against the woman who ousted her two weeks ago, the pressure will be on. Carla Suarrez Navarro holds a dead-even 3-3 record against the Italian, and after her win Down Under and a victory over Klara Zakopalova here, she might have the confidence to take the lead. But Errani has been a fighter on all surfaces the past year, and if she's on her game should be able to stop the bleeding -- and that win could put her season back on the right track.

All these ladies have a chance to redeem themselves over the next few days -- some get that opportunity against the very same players who stopped them in their tracks. Whether they achieve their goals or not could have a big impact on what the rest of their seasons look like and whether or not momentum stays on their side. Their years may not have gotten off to the start they wanted, but their upcoming performances might just be what it takes to turn all that around.

The Magic of Paris

Year after year we've seen some amazing things happen in the French capital -- whether it's been Rafael Nadal's domination on the Roland Garros clay or the steady stream of the sport's biggest stars claiming the crown in Bercy. But this year's action at the last Masters 1000 event of the season may have been the most shocking results we've seen in years.

The upsets at the BNP Paribas championship came early and came often. Former top-twenty player Sam Querrey has been climbing back up the rankings for most of the year, but he might have made the best case for himself just this week -- after stunning year-end #1 Novak Djokovic in the second round, he followed up with a win over fourteenth seeded Milos Raonic to make the quarterfinals. His run was eventually ended by wildcard Michael Llodra, once ranked #21 in the world, now a full hundred spots below that. He'd pulled off a straight-set win over American #1 John Isner and a match later halted Juan Martin Del Potro's ten-match win streak since the U.S. Open.

But the clear Cinderella story was that of a man way off the radar. "Jerzy Janowicz" was not a name many casual tennis fans had heard before Paris -- and I'm pretty sure most commentators are still pronouncing it incorrectly. The twenty-one year old had spent most of his career on the Challenger tour, and three titles on that circuit this year helped cut his ranking from #221 at the start of 2012 to somewhere in the sixties now. He'd also made a bit of a stink at Wimbledon -- he only reached the third round, but took then-#29 Florian Mayer to five sets, 7-5 in the decider before finally succumbing.

Janowicz did still have to suffer through the qualifying draw in Paris, though, but once he hit the main draw he really caught fire. The big serving Pole won more than ninety percent of his first serves against Philipp Kohlschreiber in his opener, rattled off twenty-two aces against red-hot Andy Murray two matches later, and rebounded heavily after losing his first set to London qualifier Janko Tipsarevic to make the semis. One win later and the unknown Jerzy Janowicz had reached the final in the first Masters event he'd ever qualified for.

The magic wasn't reserved for the underdogs in Paris. In the other half of the draw, fourth seeded David Ferrer quietly continued the run he's put together in October. After retiring in the first round of Beijing, he'd gone on to win his third title in Valencia, and with straight-set wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and fellow London qualifier Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, he somehow became the only seed to make the final four. After an uninspired first set against Llodra on Saturday, he eventually took hold of the match to make his fourth Masters final.

Ultimately Ferrer's experience would triumph Sunday. Janowicz squandered a break chance late in the first set and Ferrer responded by taking that and the next game. The world #69 got up early in the second, though, but his lead wouldn't last. Ferrer took advantage of a slump in his opponent's serve, winning half the points on return and finally closing out the match in just under ninety minutes.

Janowicz's run to the final won't be for naught -- he's expected to jump into the top thirty when Monday's rankings come out. But for Ferrer, winless in his first three Masters finals, his accomplishment may be slightly more sweet. With his first match in London just days away, last year's ATP semifinalist is now riding his own ten-match win streak, and should take a nice confidence boost with him to the year-end championship. With seven titles now on the year, easily the most prolific season he's had, there's no reason to believe he doesn't have one more in him.

And if the magic of this week stays with him just a little while longer, we might finally see Ferrer transformed into the kind of player who can prove why he's been at the top of the game for so long.

The Payoff

It's hard to be patient.

That's true of life in general, of course, but also for players trying to make their mark on the professional tennis world. Some who peak early struggle to climb back to the heights they once were, while others spend years on Tour waiting for that breakthrough. But once they get there, the rewards are plenty.

Daniela Hantuchova peaked at #5 in the world back in 2003, the year after her first WTA title in Indian Wells, where she beat legends Justine Henin and Martina Hingis for the crown. She made three Slam quarterfinals in a row that year, and though she's fallen a bit down the rankings she's remained a fixture in the top thirty almost ever since. Her title tally hasn't reflected that, though -- she repeated in California in 2007, but when the year started she only had amassed four trophies, a little strange for someone who's been on the circuit for thirteen years now.

Things got a little better for Dani in 2012. Unseeded in Brisbane, she made her way to the final, thanks largely to a walkover from Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters' retirement, and followed it up by beating one-time French Open champ Francesca Schiavone to make the Sydney quarters. Her efforts didn't result in a trophy in either instance, but it was encouraging to see her hang in against the top stars.

And then she came back to Pattaya City, the site of her last title a year ago. The third seed this time around, Hantuchova didn't have much of a challenge early and only lost seven games in her first two rounds. And with second seeded Dominika Cibulkova eliminated in her opener, she had a clear shot to Sunday's championship.

Her opponent, Russia's Maria Kirilenko, had a tougher week. She had saved match point in her first match, came back from a break down in her second, and needed two-and-a-half hours to finish off her semi. She got off to a good start in the final, securing an early break and eventually winning the set in a tiebreak, but that's when her luck ran out. Hantuchova took the advantage in the second set and cruised in the third, securing her first career title defense in an three-plus hour match. And with her best start to a year since 2008, it's looking like she might have finally found her game again.

Twenty-four year old Angelique Kerber has been finding her game over the last six months or so. After winning just five Tour main draw matches in the first half of 2011, she made a surprising semifinal run in Dallas as a qualifier. She was still ranked just inside the top one hundred when she came to New York, but she beat Aggie Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta to make the semis at the U.S. Open. With wins over Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges in Auckland and the only German point against the Czechs in Fed Cup, she's now #27 in the world and was just granted a seed this week in Paris.

Kerber was dealt a tough draw from the start, but she got past Lucie Safarova and Monica Niculescu -- both ranked in Slam seeding territory -- to kick off her campaign. In the quarters she avenged her Australian Open loss to Maria Sharapova, taking advantage of all five opportunities she had to break the Russian's serve. She had a tougher time against Yanina Wickmayer in the semis, but after more than two hours on court Saturday, she advanced to her second career championship match.

There she met second seeded Marion Bartoli, playing in her sixth final over the last twelve months. The hometown girl had launched a few comebacks over the week, coming back against Roberta Vinci in the quarters after losing the first set and getting down breaks in the second and third. She almost did the same against Kerber on Sunday, drawing even after losing serve early in the first and eventually pushing the match to a decider after winning the second set 7-5. But Kerber got the better of her in the third, running off with the first four games, finally taking out her opponent for her first ever WTA crown. And the way she's playing, it sure looks like there will be more to come.

It's been a long time coming for both this weekend's winners -- longer for some than for others, of course. But these titles may help kick off an even more successful year than they've already had. And if they can keep up this momentum, their waits will be more than worth it.

The Master, Back at Work

Shame on you for giving up on Roger Federer. Shame!

The sixteen-time Major winner may have gone Slam-less for the first time since 2003, and he may have dropped a few spots in the rankings, but that certainly doesn't mean he's no longer relevant. And that's exactly what he spent the past week proving.

Fresh off his fifth title in Basel -- his first since Doha in January -- the Swiss Mister came to Paris running the best streak he'd had in quite some time. And with long-time rival Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the event and this year's hot-shot Novak Djokovic struggling with injury all fall, Federer had one of the best chances he's had all year to make a splash.

Federer made quick work of his opponents en route to his first ever Bercy final -- he'd never gotten past the semis here before. He overcame an early deficit against a resurgent Juan Monaco in the quarters and avenged a loss to Tomas Berdych in Cincy a day later. Somewhat surprisingly, it was only the second time he was playing for a title since the French Open.

Meanwhile in the other half of the draw, recent London qualifier Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was looking to improve on his stellar autumn, which already included trophies in Metz and Vienna. He sealed his spot at the O2 after making the quarters, and received a bit of a break when Djokovic's withdrawal gave him automatic entrée into the semis. He struggled a bit against big-serving John Isner on Saturday, dropping the first set -- but even though he was never able to break the American's serve, he ground out the win after two tiebreaks and nearly three hours.

The battle must have taken it's toll on the Frenchman during Sunday's match. Though he earned two break chances on Roger in the first game -- mostly thanks to errors by the former #1 -- Tsonga couldn't convert and quickly found himself in a 0-5 hole. Federer closed out the first set easily, but faced a tougher test in the second. Tsonga nearly took advantage of a break opportunity in eighth game, but a challenge by the third seed set the score straight and the pair went to a tiebreak. From the start, though, it was all Federer, and after less than ninety minutes of play, he had captured his second title in as many weeks.



The win puts momentum squarely on Federer's side as he prepares to defend his title in London. Now 12-0 since the U.S. Open, he's boasting the best record among the qualifiers, and could very well translate that into yet another year-end championship -- what would be his fifth. That's not bad for a guy who, not very long ago, seemed to have lost a bit of his step. Clearly Federer still has the talent to take pretty much any opponent by storm -- and we've seen the past two weeks he also has the hunger to do it.

And as long as he keeps playing like this, it doesn't look like anyone's safe.

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.

Taking Back the Spotlight

Most of the talk this tennis season has centered around a few big stories -- Novak Djokovic reclaiming the title in Australia, Kim Clijsters returning to #1, the rise of a couple emerging talents who've found a way to prosper this year on the big stage. But amid all that hype, a few other players have chosen this past week to remind us that they're not ones to be forgotten quite yet.

Of course we can't ignore the great runs from Alexandr Dolgopolov and Milos Raonic, both of whom have followed up well on their performances in Melbourne. The Ukrainian didn't drop a set on the way to his first career final, but eventually dropped to veteran Nicolas Almagro in Costa Do Sauipe, while the transplanted Canadian continued to impress on his way to the championship match in San Jose.

Tonight he'll face defending titleist Fernando Verdasco, who claims the top seed, but hasn't had the most success in recent months. He went winless during his post-U.S. Open Asia circuit and took only two matches when he returned to Europe. Though he made the fourth round at the Australian, it was not without drama, as he found himself down two sets to love against Janko Tipsarevic in the second round.

But he's been near flawless at the SAP Open this year, surviving fourteen aces by big-serving Ivo Karlovic on Thursday and dismantling Denis Istomin in the quarters. Last night against former #4 Juan Martin Del Potro, he could have been tested -- maybe he was, dropping serve for the first and only time this week -- but he fired off one forehand after another to even his head-to-head against the big man. His experience on championship court may be enough for him tonight against Raonic -- the third serving specialist Verdasco will face this tournament -- but even if it isn't, he should take some comfort in knowing he's at least turned the tide back in his favor.

Daniela Hantuchova had also been having a pretty tough year, winning only one match at Fed Cup, but her struggles have persisted even longer than that -- she played her first final in three years last March in Monterrey, but hadn't won a title since Linz in 2007, not the kind of record you want to have as a top tier player.

But when she came to Pattaya City as the fourth seed, something must have switched in her. Against super-strong veteran Kimiko Date Krumm in the second round, she reversed a three-match losing streak and only dropped another two games to make the semis. That's where she had her biggest threat, world #3 and two-time defending champion Vera Zvonareva had won four of their past five meetings and was arguably playing the best tennis of her career. But Hantuchova, who has often shown signs of brilliance, finally proved it wasn't all an act. She stuck with her opponent through long rallies, found every angle, utilized beautiful drop shots and only lost serve once to make her eleventh career final after over two hours of play. After that ordeal, you might have thought the Slovak would be worn out, but she made relatively easy work of Sara Errani on Sunday, winning almost two-thirds of the points to claim the title.

Nineteen-year-old Petra Kvitova hasn't exactly been having a bad year -- she claimed a title in Brisbane, beat hometown favorite Sam Stosur on the way to the Melbourne quarters and went two-for-two in earning her Czech mates a first round Fed Cup win. Her efforts have earned her a career high #18 ranking, but her presence in Paris was nevertheless overshadowed by that of red-hot Kim Clijsters.

Kvitova didn't have the easiest road to her second final of the year. She faced match points against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the second round and survived a tense third-set tiebreak against Yanina Wickmayer in the quarters. But she struck first against Clijsters, breaking the world #1 in the opening game. She gave it right back, but strong serving -- ten aces to Kim's one -- aggressiveness on her return games, and some smart play in the clutch won her a third top-ten victory in the past twelve months.



So while most of us are preoccupied with the headlines, we shouldn't discount the performances all these guys and gals have given us over the past week or more. Hopefully they'll keep the momentum going -- we all know how the supporting cast so often steals the show, and the sport would be a lot less fun without them.

Deferred Compensation

It's a funny thing about tennis rankings -- like Wall Street bonuses, they don't always reflect how well a player is doing at a particular moment in time.

Those familiar with the system know players accumulate points at every tournament they enter on a fifty-two week rolling basis, earning more at larger events and the deeper they go into draws. Since the athletes retain credit for wins up to a year -- and are held accountable for long-ago losses -- they arguably get a sort of grace/waiting period before being paid for their most recent results.

That means a severe underdog can beat a heavy favorite at a given tournament, but if she happened to advance farther last time, even if via a much easier draw, she could lose ground despite improved play. Furthermore, as we've seen so often recently, a player can climb the ranks by entering events week after week, building himself insurance if he should be beaten early at the Majors.

Perhaps that irony is best represented in the ascent of Sam Querrey, currently a career high #17 in the world despite having won only one match since the U.S. Open -- and losing to players like Santiago Giraldo and Lucasz Kubot. This week in San Jose, the American boasted a #3 seed, but still couldn't get out the gates and fell in straight sets to Lukas Lacko, ranked out of the top hundred.

What's propping him up? Titles in Belgrade, Queen's Club and Los Angeles over the spring and summer have a few more months of shelf-life, but the five hundred points he earned fifty-one weeks ago in Memphis are about ready to walk out the door unless he ups his game fast. Otherwise, it sure looks like Sam is about to reap the pain of some sloppy recent play.

Vera Zvonareva is in a slightly different, but steadier, boat. Arguably coming off the best year of her career, making final appearances at her first two Slams, she actually doesn't have the hardware to back it up. The only trophy she won in 2010 was in Pattaya City, a smaller tournament in Thailand where she's defending this week, and if she doesn't make good on her top seeding she'll have no titles to show for all the progress she's made. But though her ranking may come into jeopardy later in the year, I feel she's got the potential for a strong spring and summer, and could come out swinging even harder when its time to defend her points.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it looks like Kim Clijsters' patience and six months of hard work is about to be rewarded. The winner in New York, Doha and Melbourne has been inching her way back toward the #1 position -- a spot she last held before she ever won a Major trophy. But now she's one win away from reclaiming the spot from Caroline Wozniacki, and if she makes the semifinals in Paris this week we'll see current dominance finally reflected in the rankings.

At the end of the day, everything probably works out -- stale points eventually drop off and fresh ones get added on, allowing standings to represent where the strength in the sport is, and both the ATP and WTA championships use a calendar year race to determine their qualifiers. But maybe it's time to re-evaluate the system, give more weight to recent results, so that rankings are more reflective of the current environment.

After all, wouldn't we all be better served if only true merit was rewarded?

At a New Level

It's no question that Robin Soderling has climbed his way into the tennis elite over the past eighteen months.

Twice a finalist at the French Open, he's steadily climbed up the rankings and has been firmly entrenched in the top ten all year long. Still, despite the fact that he's proven his ability against the biggest talents in the sport -- he's beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray all this year -- his five titles to date had all been at second-tier tournaments, and he'd failed to reach even the finals of a Masters event.

But this past week in Paris, the twenty-six year old Swede had a breakthrough. As the fourth seed he was certainly one of the favorites, and he had most of his major obstacles eliminated for him -- Michael Llodra took care of Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic for him while, in the other half of the draw, Gael Monfils did the same to Murray and Federer. But that didn't mean his performance was any less impressive. He hadn't lost a set on the way to the semifinals and rebounded after dropping a tight first set to Llodra on Saturday.

For his part, Monfils put up quite a show himself on the way to the finals. Fresh off a win in Montpellier, the French #2 beat three favored opponents in a row to reach his fourth championship match of the year. But his nearly three hour marathon against Federer on Saturday might have worn him down somewhat -- he lost serve twice in the first set while Soderling won sixty-five percent of the total points. Monfils raised his level a bit in the second, but Robin stayed stronger, ultimately winning in a decisive tiebreak and earning the right to hoist his first ever Masters trophy.



The win couldn't have come at a better time for the newly appointed world #4. With the year-end championships in London getting underway in just a week, Soderling made a solid statement at the last Tour event of the year -- he's clearly capable of winning the big titles and I wouldn't be surprised if a major one came soon. So if the seven men who'll be waiting for him at the O2 Arena -- most of whom have a couple of Masters titles to their own names -- didn't already fear him, they certainly have a reason to now.

Nothing to Lose

I realize that most of my posts lately have been centered around last ditch efforts by the men to qualify for their year-end championships in London, but since the field was locked in earlier today, it's probably time to focus on a few others.

Last year's champ at the ATP finals, Nikolay Davydenko hasn't played a lot this year, and he's won even less. Though he precariously holds on to his #11 ranking, that will quickly change when he sheds the points he won here in 2009 -- after beating both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer during his Doha title run, he's only compiled a 23-18 record on the year and hasn't even played someone in the top ten since January.

But though his hopes of title defense are long gone, he's certainly not giving up on the year. In Paris he pounded a tough Thomaz Bellucci in less than an hour, losing only three service points in the second set, and earlier today he rebounded after finding himself behind first-time London qualifier Tomas Berdych and won the match with a bagel in the third set. The win got him back into the quarters of the tournament he won in 2006 -- his first Masters title -- and reminded us of the talent that I sure hope we get to see more of next year.

Montpellier titleist Gael Monfils has shown sporadic bursts of that same talent, often concerned more with entertaining or just plain showing off for the crowd than with actually winning a match. Still he's spent most of the last two years among the top twenty men in the world, and is inching ever closer to that final eight.

He missed it again this year, but he sure is playing like he still has a chance. After squeaking by Benjamin Becker in his Paris opener -- the qualifier led by two breaks in the first set -- he downed London hopeful Fernando Verdasco while he was trailing by a set and a break. The runner-up in 2009 will have a hard time repeating that run, but if he comes close we might start to take the jokester a little more seriously.

But the man really giving his all in Paris this week is a different hometown hero whose name hasn't ever entered the London discussion. World #34 Michael Llodra is just a shade off his career high ranking and is probably best known for crashing into a ballgirl last year at Wimbledon. And though he has five titles to his name -- two, in fact, this year -- at thirty years of age he's probably past his tennis prime.

But this week he played a solid first round against Potito Starace and actually out-aced John Isner in the second round. Earlier today he survived a tight tiebreak in the first set before rolling through the second against defending champion Novak Djokovic. It was his third win against a top ten player this year, but probably his most impressive, and helped him to what's easily his best performance at a Masters event. While it's too late to dream of making a London push, Llodra has certainly given the French Davis Cup coach a reason to reconsider his options for that final.

It's not unusual to see players put up their best performances when all the pressure is off -- when you have nothing on the line, it's a lot easier to go for broke. And though plenty of big hitters still remain in the Paris field, making it difficult to dub any of these guys a trophy favorite quite yet, they sure have given us all something to think about -- and a couple of people something to fear.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Paris

When I went on vacation a week ago there were three spots left for the men's year-end championship. Today, they're all still available, and while no one has locked anything in, things do look a little different now.

Tomas Berdych still leads the field, but a first round loss in Basel allowed David Ferrer, who won in his hometown of Valencia, to jump a spot and narrow gap between them. Andy Roddick, a semifinalist in Switzerland, clung to eighth place, the last possible entry to London, while Fernando Verdasco, who's won only a single match since the U.S. Open, is only a few spots behind him. The barely five hundred points that separate these four guys -- and the one thousand that differentiate current #6 from #11 -- make this week's action in Paris all the more important.

The remaining contenders all received byes in the first round of the BNP Masters and so will begin their final campaigns in the next few days. And while no one's fate is certain, I feel like the momentum might have shifted a bit. Berdych, of course, started the year with a bang -- the winner here in 2005 had a stellar run to the Miami finals before making his Grand Slam championship match debut. But though he's at his highest career ranking, he has won barely a handful of matches since that All England Club feat. Facing an opening round against Florent Serra, a man who took him to three sets in Indian Wells, I fear for his immediate future.

Roddick's prospects, too, worry me a bit. Though he was solid in Switzerland, he might have some trouble against his first opponent in Paris -- Jarkko Nieminen has cut his ranking from triple digits in January to #39 in the world now. If he does survive that test, he could take on an even tougher opponent in Mikhail Youzhny, a finalist a few weeks back in St. Petersburg. Currently tenth in the race for London, the Russian could lock in his spot with a run to the finals, and though he withdrew from Valencia, the rest he got for his sore back might be just what the doctor ordered.

Ferrer might be able to harness the momentum from his win in Valencia to secure his own spot at the championships. The Spaniard takes on qualifier Fabio Fognini, who he's beaten in their last two meetings, in Paris, and as long as exhaustion doesn't set in, I like his chances. But he could face a big threat from Jurgen Melzer in his quarter of the BNP draw -- the repeat winner in Vienna needs to win the whole enchilada to earn his entreé to London, but it's not out of the question. Melzer did win their last meeting at Roland Garros just this year.

And while I would love to see Verdasco rally for a big win here -- he has a chance if he makes the semis -- the possibility of a third round meeting with Gael Monfils, who won the title in Montpellier just over a week ago, might not go the way I hope. All is not lost, though -- with a chance to redeem himself after a somewhat dismal performance in London last year, he has the motivation and the talent to make his second appearance at the championships.

There are only a few days left, though, so time is running out. And there is the possibility that we see a very unusual field fighting it out for the year-end trophy. But that's what makes the sport so exciting, and with a new year looming, there's no better way to end this one.

Back on Track

It wasn't the most exciting final on record -- at less than an hour and not quite two full sets, Robin Soderling was the eventual winner in what was a pretty tough draw in Rotterdam, winning his fifth career title at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.

The third seed hadn't had the best year to date, and with first round exits at both Chennai and the Australian Open, I was beginning to think Soderling had hit his peak last year. But this week, surprisingly, he faced his biggest challenge in the opening round, when Florent Serra took the first set of their match, and that's saying a lot when the field included brand new world #2 Novak Djokovic and red-hot Nikolay Davydenko. After a fairly routine semifinal against the latter on Saturday, last year's French Open runner-up found himself facing a resurgent Mikhail Youzhny for the title.

The Russian had proven himself to be quite the giant-killer this week. He dispatched fourth-seed Gael Monfils in the quarters and spent a grueling two hours on court with Djokovic in the semis before reaching his fifth final in twelve months. But a nagging back injury forced him to retire while down a set and a break on Sunday. Unable to serve well at all, Youzhny retired after just over fifty minutes of play.



It was Soderling's first championship on a hard court, an important breakthrough for a man now solidly within the top ten, and as he heads to Marseille next week, it certainly reminds his opponents of the force he brings.

In Paris, too, Elena Dementieva sought to prove she is still a champion. Australian Open results notwithstanding, Elena nicely proved why she's largely considered the best player without a Grand Slam title, coming back from a set down against Lucie Safarova to claim her second title of the year. With a 10-1 record in 2010 now, she's riding the same wave of momentum that she began last year with, when she was on her way to a career-high #3 ranking.



Later today Andy Roddick will do his part to show that he too is back on track for a successful year. The champion in Brisbane has been plagued by hip and knee injuries and pulled out of Davis Cup action in order not to endanger his fitness further. This week he made it through a rough semifinal against compatriot Sam Querrey in San Jose, one in which he didn't have one break opportunity on his opponent's serve, for a chance to battle Fernando Verdasco for his fourth SAP Open title. He hasn't lost to the Spaniard since 2005, but a win tonight would clearly have broader implications for his chances to make an impact this year. I'm giving him the slight edge, but I have a feeling this could be a battle!

But it sure is great to see everyone playing at their best again -- it may be early, but if these results are any indication of what's to come, it's shaping up to be a pretty good year!