The Minor Leagues?

It's always kind of fun in the immediate aftermath of a Grand Slam to see the players who jump right back into action once the pressure is off. Whether they're trying to gain some headway while the very best in the sport take a break, or to make up for missing an opportunity in New York, a couple ladies this week are doing their part to show that, while they may not have been a contender for the title last week, they might just be one the next time around.

Up in Quebec City more than a few players were looking for redemption -- second seed and defending champion Mirjana Lucic had fallen out of the top hundred after her first round exit at the U.S. Open, and Anna Tatishvili -- who stunned Karolina Pliskova in her Big Apple first round -- dropped just as easily a round later. Both are still alive and kicking, but perhaps some others are worth a mention too. Eighteen year old Jelena Ostapenko made it through qualifiers in New York and took a bagel set off Sara Errani in their second round -- she got right back to work this week with an upset of third seed Mona Barthel in her opener. Now ranked just out of the top hundred, she seems ready to make a real play into double-digits soon. And then there's her next opponent Paula Kania who didn't quite make the main draw of the year's last Major. The little-known Pole did get a win over eighth seed An-Sophie Mestach this week, though, and still hasn't dropped a set in Canada. At #150 she's the on-paper underdog in her quarterfinal match, but this might just be the perfect stage for an upset. But perhaps the greatest opportunity lies with young American Louisa Chirico -- the New Jersey teen had a very busy summer, entering every event between Wimbledon and the Open and even notching a win over Alizé Cornet in Washington. She fell to Cinderella Johanna Konta in New York, but could rebound now. She faces Tatishvili today, a woman she lost to earlier this year in Auckland, but perhaps this is her chance to turn things around.

The field in Tokyo is arguably a little more intimidating, but with top seeded Carla Suarez Navarro losing in her first round, the opportunity is just as great. Kateryna Bondarenko, who pulled off that upset, was one of my dark horses for the U.S. Open, but she ran into a feisty Simona Halep in her second round and was sent home earlier than she might have otherwise been -- after all, she's scored other big wins this year, stunning Venus Williams on her way to the Istanbul quarters. Next up for the Ukrainian is one-time New York semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, who's been languishing in the low double digits for a few years now, and something tells me Bondarenko might be up for the challenge. But there's opportunity too for some of the seeds still standing -- Ajla Tomljanovic, who beat Jelena Jankovic to start the year in Brisbane and made it to the final in Pattaya City, has been a little quiet recently, and lost in three sets to Karin Knapp in her first round in Flushing Meadows. She's been tested a bit in Japan, needing three sets in her opener and a couple tiebreaks to make the quarters, but she seems to have her game back in shape. And her next opponent, third seed Madison Brengle -- who the Croat beat in Strasbourg -- is also trying to rev her season back up. After reaching the final in Hobart as a qualifier and stunning players like Andrea Petkovic in Melbourne and Petra Kvitova in Stuttgart, she's slowed down noticeably, going just 1-10 through the spring and summer. She hasn't faced huge threats yet, but she's only lost seven games this week, which could do a lot for her confidence.

Of course whether these ladies can keep up their performances when the big guns get back on court will be another matter entirely. But these smaller events are as good a chance as any to get their names on the map. And maybe by the time they get bumped up to the big leagues, they'll be able to make an even bigger statement.

Sneaking Through

It's been a rough couple days for seeded players since the U.S. Open. With many of the sport's very top tier taking a short break from competitive play, a couple others may have hoped to get in some easy wins at this week's events. But, it turned out, the challenges started from the get-go, and those who've survived may find themselves with some big opportunities.

The draw in Tashkent was a little sparse. Defending champion Ksenia Pervak, struggling still with injury -- she pulled out of Dallas with a hamstring strain and retired from her first round in New York -- skipped the event entirely, and top seeded Monica Niculescu, who'd only put together ten match wins on the season -- couldn't maintain an early lead in her opener and fell to Karin Knapp after nearly three hours of play. With the top half of the bracket cleared out, some lesser known players like qualifier Donna Vekic and last year's runner-up Eva Birnerova, who'd only scored two main draw wins on Tour this year, have been able to progress largely unchallenged.

But there may be more at stake in the bottom half of Tashkent bracket. Irina-Camelia Begu, one of my newcomers of last year, has dropped well down the rankings this season, failing to defend points in Budapest or Marbella. She did upset Caroline Wozniacki in the first round of the U.S. Open, but otherwise hasn't made much impact. She's unseeded in Uzbekistan, but with upsets of Alize Cornet and Galina Voskoboeva already this week, she's playing like she did a year ago. If she can keep it up, she might be ready for her real breakthrough, and make a real play for that first career trophy.

Unfortunately for Begu, she'll next face the only seed remaining in Tashkent -- while Aggie Radwanska has been stirring the pot in the top five of the sport, younger sister Urszula has been having a coming out party of her own. Ranked out of the top hundred at the start of 2012, she beat Marion Bartoli in Brussels, made the final in 's-Hertogenbosch and handed Serena Williams her only break on the way to Olympic Gold. Now at #40 in the world, the young Pole rebounded after losing a set to Alexandra Panova in her quarterfinal and is in a good position to make the final. Begu won't be an easy foe, but it could be exactly the prep she needs as she looks to make the big breakthrough.

There was a little more star power at the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, but so far it hasn't served them any better. Second seeded Yanina Wickmayer, who's made a couple finals this year, but only won two matches since Stanford, was handily ousted by qualifier Lauren Davis in the second round. And similarly spotty Dominika Cibulkova, who put up a couple good fights at the U.S. Open, didn't even make it out of her Canada opener -- a game from a three set win, she eventually succumbed to the veteran Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, marking her tenth first round loss of the season. And while these vanquishers have made a statement already, they're not the only ones.

Homegrown Aleksandra Wozniak has been on the comeback trail all year, winning her second ITF title since getting over a wrist injury and very nearly ousting Venus Williams in Miami. She's had a couple big wins on hardcourts this year -- Klara Zakopalova in Dallas, Jelena Jankovic in Montreal -- and after surviving a tough Elena Vesnina on Tuesday, she seems to have her wits about her. She'll next meet one-time American sweetheart Melanie Oudin, who's won their previous two meetings, but momentum and the crowd may be on the Canadian's side, and I'd look for her to do well as she tries to reach the quarterfinals here.

Mona Barthel has already booked her spot in the quarters, and tomorrow will take on defending champion Barbora Zahlavova Strycova for a spot in the semis. Barthel stormed on the scene early this year, beating four of the top five seeds as a qualifier in Hobart to take her first title, but she's been relatively quiet since. She had a couple of wins over big stars -- go figure, Jankovic and Bartoli were among them -- but only made one semi since January. Winless in her last three Majors, she's looking to redeem herself in Quebec and, unpredictable as she may be, it looks like she's getting her feet back under her. If she keeps up her level, she might be able to end the year the way she started it.

There are still a couple rounds of action left before any of these ladies is able to claim a title for themselves. But their performances so far this week bode well, if not for these tournaments, then hopefully for the rest of the year. The Slams may be over for 2012, but there's a lot more play left to be had, after all. And ending this season on a good note could put any of these ladies in a position to make a splash in the coming years.

New on the Scene

The ladies in the winners' circles this weekend are far from household names. But with the four who contested the trophies all going after their maiden crowns, it might not be long before they find themselves more in the spotlight. Twenty-year-old Ksenia Pervak came to Uzbekistan with on of her more successful summers. She'd made the fourth round at Wimbledon with wins over Shahar Peer and Andrea Petkovic and run to the finals at Baku. A shade off her highest-ever ranking, the fifty-second ranked player was still the top seed in Tashkent and worked her way through the draw without dropping a set. There she met little-known Czech Eva Birnerova, a pro for almost ten years who's spent most of her career making a mark on the ITF tour. She had a tougher road to the championship match, having three set victories two rounds in a row and advancing when Alla Kudryavtseva retired up a set in their semi. Easily the less experienced player in Saturday's match, Birnerova didn't put up much of a fight, allowing Pervak to win about two-thirds of her return points, breaking serve seven times. It was only the Russian's second final of her career, but with the way she's been playing this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see her around much more in the coming months. In Quebec City the stakes might have been a little higher, as the top four seeds all held rankings at least better than fifty. But world #23 Daniela Hantuchova was stopped in the third round by New Zealand's Marina Erakovic on the way to her first ever Tour final -- she hadn't made a semi since 2008. On the bottom half of the draw, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, fourteen times a doubles champion, benefitted from the early departure of Lucie Safarova as she made her first final since Prague last year. Though Erakovic got off to a good start, the tables turned quickly and the Czech #7 -- ranked globally at #75 -- only dropped one game in the last thirteen. Playing some of her most aggressive tennis now, at twenty-five years of age, she should see her profile in the sport much enhanced. All these ladies have the potential to do some damage among the ranks of the top stars, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them take the confidence they gained this weekend into future matches. It could take a while for them to make the biggest impact, but they've certainly shown how capable they are of doing it now.