Time to Step Up

The clay court season got underway in earnest this week, and while many of the sport's top stars are taking to the courts of Barcelona and Stuttgart, it might be the action at some lower-profile events that warrants some real attention. The fields might seem a little less intimidating, but that only increases the pressure on the favorites to perform -- and opens the door for the underdogs to really show us what they've got.

World #30 Daniela Hantuchova takes the top seed in Marrakech, and was tested from the start. She dropped her opening set to little-known qualifier Renata Voracova before rallying to win her next two matches. The one-time top-five player has never won a title on the dirt, though, so she might still be a long-shot for this one. Instead watch out for Garbine Muguruza, the young Spaniard who stormed through qualifying rounds in Hobart to win her first career title and then rode that momentum to the fourth round in Melbourne. She lost three first rounds in a row, though, before coming to Morocco, and should be looking to turn her luck back around. Next up she'll face fellow comeback kid, Shahar Peer -- the veteran was a stone's throw from the top ten not that long ago, but has since fallen all the way to #92. Her only title since 2009 came at a 125K-level event last year in China, and she's barely won more than two matches at any event in quite some time. Peer hasn't had to face a seed here yet -- her last opponent took care of rising star Elina Svitolina for her -- but if she sinks her teeth in early should could prove to be a real spoiler in this draw.

Over in Bucharest all eyes are on Grigor Dimitrov, who won his second career title in Acapulco a few months back and subsequently climbed to a high ranking of #14 in the world. He was pushed by another young upstart, Jiri Vesely, in Wednesday's second round, but should have an easier time against his next opponent, a battle-worn Sergiy Stakhovsky, who's gone three sets in his last two matches. Still, Dimitrov's had most of his success on other surfaces -- he won Juniors titles at Wimbledon and New York and has only gone as far as the third round in Roland Garros -- so there's plenty of room for underdogs here too. Famed giant-slayer Lukas Rosol won his only title here last year, and though he's not seeded here he did manage an upset over Jarkko Nieminen to make the quarterfinals. And Robin Haase, who'd only won three matches all year before heading to Romania, today pulled off the upset of the event so far, taking out world #15 Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. He won't face another seed until at least the semis, so the Dutchman could really make a legitimate play for this title. And after the season he's had, there might not be a better time.

The favorites, of course, have plenty of potential to deliver on their status this week, but with the fields so wide open in both Marrakech and Bucharest, it really does seem to be anybody's game. And for whoever is able to rise to the challenge -- or seize the opportunity -- it could be a big step for the rest of their season.

Let the Trumpets Sound!

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

They all deserved it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the future sure looks bright.

Goodbye, Elena

I know I'm not the only one who's sad that Elena Dementieva is retiring.

While I might have been a little late on the news, the twitterverse virtually exploded around noon today, when the current world #9 announced she'd just played her last professional match at the WTA Championships' against another veteran Francesca Schiavone. For a player casual tennis fans might never have heard of -- a former co-worker used to call her "Dementia" -- suddenly the Russian star was a trending topic, a real talk of the town. Of the globe, really.



Long my favorite player on the women's Tour, in recent years Dementieva has become known as the best athlete without a Grand Slam title -- she made the finals in Roland Garros and New York in 2004 and the semis of all the Majors another six seven times. But that's not to say she hasn't accomplished much in her twelve-plus year career. She cracked the top twenty in 2000 after a trip to the final four at the U.S. Open and has been a staple in the top ten for the better part of the decade. An instrumental part of the Russian Fed Cup team, she became the most consistent force from a country that has only emerged on the tennis scene in the last ten years. Though she counts Olympic gold in Beijing as the biggest accomplishment among her sixteen titles, she's had some unbelievably memorable matches -- I still count that '09 semi against Serena Williams as the savior of women's tennis -- that netted her nothing but a few minutes of coverage on Sports Center.

Yet Dementieva always showed up on court ready to give 150% -- win or lose, she put up a fight in every match. And it was so often a fight. With one of the weakest serves on the Tour, Elena developed one of the best return games out there and could break the toughest opponents several times in a match just to stay on serve. Despite that apparent weakness, over her career she racked up an impressive 575-271 record and notched big wins over some of the winningest champions around. And she certainly didn't allow herself to float off into oblivion before leaving the game -- having won two titles and made two more finals this year, she qualified for the year-end WTA championships for the eighth consecutive time.

And while she may have ruffled a few feathers here and there, the friends she made on Tour far outnumbered the foes. The outpouring of sentiment, from journalists, fans, seasoned vets and up-and-comers alike, shows just what a class act Elena Dementieva really is.



And while I know she will be sorely missed on Tour, I have no doubt that we're all better because of her.

Keeping Focus Amid the Storm

If the theme for the first part of the week at the U.S. Open was the blazing heat, then the theme for the this weekend is the pending arrival of a hurricane named Earl, who promises to wreak havoc on the play today.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but some of the late night matches are clearly at risk -- if not for cancellation, then certainly for suspensions and delays. And that might give players like Rafael Nadal and John Isner, Venus Williams and Flavia Pennetta a few fits as they try to wrap up their day.

Pennetta's will be the last match on the Grandstand this afternoon, and she takes on Shahar Peer in what could be a very close game. The two have only played on hardcourts, with Peer -- ranked slightly higher at #19 to the Italian's #21 -- battling to victory in their last meeting at Indian Wells. A few months ago I might have chosen Flavia to power through this match easily -- if only for revenge -- but a foot injury that forced her out of New Haven puts her prospects in question. We know the girl can handle disruption, though, as she famously survived a meltdown by Vera Zvonareva at last year's Open. If she can find the power that got her past Jie Zheng in Cincinnati and Daniela Hantuchova in Montreal, I like her chances to win here too.

Big-hitting American John Isner should start his second-round match with Marco Chiudinelli before the rain starts, but if their five-setter at Roland Garros is any indication, he might not close it out in one shot. Isner certainly knows how to handle delays in a match -- the winner of the three-day Wimbledon marathon was able to keep himself loose and focused even through multiple over-night breaks. More comfortable in front of the hometown crowd, he might have the advantage over the Swiss, and hopefully this time his efforts will not be stopped short immediately after the initial win.

Venus headlines the night session on Arthur Ashe tonight, taking on her second qualifier in a row in Luxembourg's Mandy Minella -- a twenty-four year old who ousted Venus's foil Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round. You have to hand it to an unknown that can make it through three matches before even seeing a main draw and then continue her streak. And though Venus should be able to handle her easily, the two-time U.S. Open winner will have to remain focused on returning a solid serve and keeping up with an agressive baseliner. Battling injury herself, you can expect Williams to make a statement early -- she doesn't want to face the prospects of interrupting any momentum she gains by aggravating her knee any more.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal hopes to cap off the action Friday night on Ashe, but the coming rains are not his only obstacle. Uzbek Denis Istomin made the finals in New Haven last week with a win over a tough Viktor Troicki in the semis, and he took a set from Rafa back at Queen's Club. He had a solid win over Maximo Gonzalez in the first round of the Open and fired off six aces to his opponent's zero. Nadal, on the other hand, was pushed to two tiebreaks against a feisty Teimuraz Gabashvili Wednesday and might be less comfortable on the quick courts. Admittedly, I'm a little nervous about this match -- two years ago, Rafa was unable to come back during a rain-disrupted semi against Andy Murray and ended up losing the match over two days. Hopefully this year he'll be able to keep his cool and, if needed, return to the court even stronger.

It sure looks like we're in for a lot of stop-and-start play today, and that could surely play with the momentum and focus of even top players. But when the day is done, hopefully no one will be too bruised and battered, and we'll only see better play to come.

Back on Top

Well, at least close to the top.

This week in Madrid Venus Williams secured her position as the #2 player in women's tennis when she beat Francesca Schiavone in the third round of the Mutua Madrileña Open, a spot she last held more than seven years ago. And like a true champion, she did not rest on her laurels, but instead proceeded to power through tough opponents like Charleston winner Sam Stosur and Shahar Peer, who'd beaten Svetlana Kuznetsova in her opening match.

Now I know I haven't always been the biggest Williams supporter, but even I have to admit I've been wondering what took her so long to come back. You might remember she began the year with a quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne and followed that up with an amazing fifteen match, two-title win streak that ended in the Miami finals. She may not play quite as many tournaments as the other pros, but those she does enter, she really shows up for -- Venus hasn't lost before the round of eight since last October.

Tomorrow, Williams plays in her seventieth career final -- she's already won forty-three of them, and she has to like her chances against world #24 Aravane Rezai. But the Frenchwoman should not be overlooked -- the two have actually split their previous meetings, both on clay and both several years ago. Rezai also made good after upsetting Justine Henin in the first round of Madrid and put together a solid victory over Jelena Jankovic to make the semis. The champion in Bali last year knows how to put together more than a few wins in a row.

Still Venus the more experienced, considerably more consistent player, should be able to make it through. And if she does, we might start talking about her as a threat at another Major which just happens to be around the corner.

Incidentally, Rafael Nadal's win over Nicolas Almagro this morning helped him reclaim the #2 ranking on the men's side too. He hasn't been gone quite as long as Venus was, but when he plays in the final tomorrow, he'll have another goal in mind -- a title in Rome, amazingly a clay-court tourney he has never won, would give him a record eighteen Masters 1000 titles, surpassing Andre Agassi who won his seventeenth at Cincinnati in 2004.

And if he makes it, wouldn't that make for an interesting French Open?

Dubai in Debt

It may have become one of the big celebrity vacation destinations in the past few years, with its grand hotels and man-made tropical islands, but Dubai has made news more recently for its financial troubles. And in the tennis world, it's been even better known for a controversial decision last year to deny Israel's Shahar Peer a visa to compete in the Barclays Championships.

The tournament was forced to pay for its transgression, basically being put on probation by the WTA, and this week Peer, visa in hand, made an emotional -- and quite successful -- debut. Unseeded, she opened by avenging a semifinal loss in Auckland by beating Yanina Wickmayer in a three-set first round. She followed it up with a victory over top-seed Caroline Wozniacki and advanced past surprise Australian Open star Na Li in the quarters.

When Peer ultimately met defending champion -- and, to her credit, out-spoken Shahar supporter -- Venus Williams in today's first semifinal, it's not surprising that she had run out of steam. Neither served particularly well, but a couple extra aces by the American and a few more faults from the underdog led to fairly routine win for Venus.

Sure it would have been a great story if she'd come back to take the title, but the run she's had this week certainly does something to stick it to the city that owes her so much. Of course, things aren't perfect -- Shahar still constantly faces jeers from unruly fans and poltical tensions between her homeland and the U.A.E. haven't eased in the least. But the cool she keeps under such pressure shows just how strong a player -- and person -- she is.

And maybe when she returns next year, she'll be able to squeeze out a few more wins -- and another trophy!

The Door Squeaks Open

One little break here and there and suddenly a whole mess of opportunities are available.

That's exactly what seems to be happening in the women's draw at Indian Wells this year as both Serena and Venus Williams sat out the tournament and Jelena Jankovic and Elena Dementieva were eliminated in their first matches. And that's allowed some of their biggest opponents to breathe a sign of relief as they try to advance deep within the bracket. With Serena missing Dinara Safina took the top seed at the BNP Paribas Open, and the Australian Open runner-up has made her way smoothly into the quarterfinals. But others may feel a little luckier with their fortunes so far.

Israel's Shahar Peer has made headlines recently, but less for her play than for her politics -- though she'd made it to the quarterfinals in Pattaya City, she'd suffered three first round exits this year. But in Indian Wells she dropped only three games to Katerina Bondarenko and followed that win up by beating Marion Bartoli and Anna Chakvetadze, both seeded players. Though she lost to teenager Victoria Azarenka earlier today, she certainly made her case in California.

Ana Ivanovic plays her fourth round match later tonight and faces Acapulco finalist Flavia Pennetta. The defending French Open champion hasn't quite had the success she may have hoped for in 2009 -- she's only played three tournaments this year and hasn't yet put together three wins in a row. But she seems to be playing well this week and hasn't lost a set yet in Indian Wells. Ana's only played Pennetta once before in their careers, defeating the Italian last year in Linz, so she may not have the best read on her opponent, but another win could put her on track as she looks to repeat in Paris.

Aggie Radwanska has had a similarly spotty start, and she's also looking to make a comeback in California. After finishing 2008 with a career-high #10 ranking, I'd hoped the Polish phenom could really shine in the new year -- but she'd lost in the first round in Melbourne, the first round in Monterrey and the first round in Dubai -- to her younger, qualifier sister, Urszula. In Indian Wells, Aggie has the chance to one-up her sibling, who lost earlier today to Caroline Wozniacki, if she can make it past twenty-second seed Agnes Szavay. She's already made it past a strong Samantha Stosur and Aleksandra Wozniack, and I'm sure she'd be happy with another "W" by her name.

Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova is also looking to rebound this week. Though she's been ranked as high as #5 in the world, more recently she's been hanging out somewhere in the bottom half of the top fifty -- losses to Sara Errani, Alize Cornet and Virginie Razzano haven't helped. Her way to the round of sixteen was cleared by Dementieva's loss, as Daniela was able to capitalize on an easier matchup with Petra Cetkovska. In her next round she faces Austria's Sybille Bammer, who hasn't yet made it past the second round in any tournament this year. You have to like Hantuchova's chances.

Of course there's still a lot more tennis to go before these girls can claim their first crown of the year -- but with a little good luck and even more hard work, any of them might be able to take advantage of the opportunity and bring home the trophy.

Good luck!

The New Mexico

This year ushered in a brand new tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, and while many of the top women athletes took the week off to prepare for Indian Wells, some bright stars were still showcasing their stuff.

Polish teenager Aggie Radwanska claimed the top seed, but she continued to struggle, losing in the first round of her third contest this year -- fifty-third ranked Na Li swept the third set 6-0, for the right to advance.

Other seeds saw better luck in Monterrey, though -- #2 Marion Bartoli continued her comeback, flying over qualifier Michaella Krajicek in straight sets, while last week's runner-up in Acapulco, Flavia Pennetta, only dropped one game to the U.S.'s Jill Craybas.

But there were some new standouts on display in Mexico as well. Argentine Gisela Dulko isn't exactly new to the tennis scene, and actually had been ranked as high as #26 in 2005 -- but she made her splash at this year's Australian Open, when Serena Williams gave herself a "D-" score in her match against Gisela. Since then Gisela posted wins in both of her Fed Cup matches against the U.S. and made it to the finals at the Colsanitas Cup in Bogota. In Monterrey Dulko was given the seventh seed, and won her first round match against veteran Natalie Dechy. We'll see if she's able to follow through and win her first title of the year.

On the other side of the draw, sixth-seeded Iveta Benesova is having her best year ever, climbing to a career-high #31 ranking. The Czech star did lose her one Fed Cup match even as her team advanced to the semifinals, but she did make it to the finals in Hobart -- where she eliminated Dulko in the quarters -- and the semis in Acapulco. In her first round in Mexico this week she faced Shahar Peer, who's recently been in the news more for her country's politics than for her tennis prowess. Iveta took out the former top-twenty player in straight sets and next faces Italy's Roberta Vinci for the third round.

These new tournaments could prove to be a great opportunity for young stars to make their names known in the tennis world -- and I hope to see a lot more success for these girls in the weeks and months to come!

¡Olé!

Getting Past the Politics

So Shahar Peer wasn't the only one upset by the goings-on in Dubai this week. But even though the Israeli tennis star was denied a visa to play in the women's draw, she did receive some compensation as the WTA awarded her both prize money and ranking points to make up for the opportunity she missed.

Other players didn't fare so well.

Second-seeded Dinara Safina lost in the second round to eventual finalist Virginie Razzano while Jelena Jankovic was ousted easily a match later by Kaia Kanepi. Venus Williams took out the other top seeds in her half -- Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals and her sister Serena in the semis.



The match-up between Venus and Virginie went off pretty much as you'd expect -- the sixth seed won her fortieth title in straight sets while the Frenchwoman went home with the second place trophy.

But Razzano certainly proved her worth in Dubai this week. On her path to the finals she defeated not only Safina, but Kataryna Bondanrenko, Daniela Hantuchova and Vera Zvonareva -- all of whom are ranked higher than her. It's been over a year since she last played in a final, but she looks poised to make a comeback this year.

Elsewhere, my prediction of an all-teenage final in Memphis seems to have come to fruition. Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka will battle each other for the Regions Morgan Keegan title -- ironically the two are also paired together in the doubles draw and will take on the surprise team of Yuliana Fedak and Michaella Krajicek in the finals for that championship.



Can't wait to see the fireworks!

Politics & Tennis Don't Mix

The Middle East is a hotbed of all sorts of tension -- religious, political, and now apparently athletic.

The Barclays Tennis Championship in Dubai hadn't even begun when controversy sprang up. Officials at the United Arab Emirates denied Shahar Peer, a native of Israel, a visa to enter the country one day before she was to begin competing in the fifty-six player draw. While no reason was given for the refusal, officials speculated it was due to anti-Israel sentiments in the Gulf State.

It wasn't the first time Peer faced the weight of political pressure. Last month in New Zealand protesters stormed her third round match against Elena Dementieva, days after Israel invaded Gaza. And in 2006 she was forced to split from her doubles partner Sania Mirza amid objections from Indian Muslims.

But this time the UAE's decision sparked the interest of WTA chairman Larry Scott, who said the Dubai tournament could be stricken from the women's tennis calendar as a result of their treatment of Peer -- and for a contest that attracted every one of the sport's top ten players, and eighteen of the top twenty-five, that could mean a big loss of revenue for the state. A recent New York Times article told of how the spreading global recession is beginning to hit even this once-hot mecca -- I wonder how these latest developments could stain Dubai's reputation. It just doesn't seem to me that such external factors should influence how the sport is played.

Meanwhile Japan's Ayumi Morita, who was given entrée to the tournament after Peer was forced to pull out, won her first round match against a still-struggling Anna Chakvetadze. And that wasn't the only upset in early round action -- qualifier Urszula Radwanska beat out her ninth-seeded older sister Aggie in the first round while Auckland finalist Elena Vesnina took out compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second.

If these results are any indication there will certainly be a lot more excitement in Dubai over the next week, and maybe even more controversy -- but here's hoping all the action is kept on the courts, and out of politics.