Stealing the Spotlight

As the summer hardcourt season kicks into full gear, it's no surprise we saw so many of the sport's top women in action last week -- even with Serena Williams still recovering from an elbow injury and unable to defend her title in Stanford, nearly half of the players in the top twenty hit the courts. But ultimately it wasn't the top favorites who walked away with the titles -- and in one case, a first-timer make have just scored the breakthrough we've been waiting for.

The upsets at the Bank of the West Classic started pretty early. Top seeded Caroline Wozniacki, struggling a bit to keep the momentum from a successful 2014 season, lost her opening round to Varvara Lepchenko. And Carla Suarez Navarro, who broke into the top ten after an unexpected final run in Miami, lost her fourth match in a row in Stanford, this time dropping to world #59 Alison Riske. By the time we got to Sunday's final it was this year's breakout Karolina Pliskova facing off against under-the-radar Angelique Kerber. The more experienced German was the on-paper underdog in this fight, seeded fifth to her opponent's #4 spot -- but she had the advantage of a 3-2 record head-to-head, and after already beating two seeds during the week, was arguably more battle tested. In a break-filled match, Kerber eventually got the edge in the opening set, and even after the Czech pushed her to a third, stayed strong enough to score the win. It was, you may be surprised to hear, Angie's fourth trophy this year, making this her most prolific season despite the fact that she's still off her best ranking at #11. But with what's traditionally been her strongest stretch still ahead of her, she might make a play to climb even higher.

Over in Washington a couple ladies even further off the grid were able to shine. But even with defending champ Svetlana Kuznetsova pulling out with injury early, the eventual finalists had to stage some big wins during their runs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, out of the top thirty for most of this year, was looking to end a slump which saw her lose to world #154 Patricia Maria Tig a week earlier in Baku and win only one Major match in 2015. In the second round she scored a solid win over Belinda Bencic, who'd won their only previous meeting, and came back after losing the opening set to Ekaterina Makarova before the top seed retired in the semis. The win earned the Russian her first final of the year, and a shot at picking up her eighth career title -- but she'd be foiled by an unlikely foe. American Sloane Stephens, once just a hair outside the top ten, with high-profile wins over the likes of Maria Sharapova, Venus, and of course Serena Williams, had a tough time keeping up her performance last year and for a couple weeks in 2015 had fallen out of the top forty. She did score some big wins -- over Kerber in Indian Wells, Jelena Jankovic in Strasbourg -- but nevertheless came to DC without a seed. She's working to change that though -- after getting the walkover from Kuznetsova she stunned Sam Stosur in the semis and dropped just three games to Pavlyuchenkova in Sunday's final. The win gave her a nice boost in the rankings, but more importantly awarded her that long-awaited maiden trophy. And perhaps it's just the first of many.

Neither of this weekend's champions were expected to walk away with the titles, but with both scoring some big wins during the week, they each reminded us all of the damage they can do. And as we get closer to the final Grand Slam of the year, it might be time we see them up their games even more. After all now that they're back in our sights, pressure will be really on for them to deliver.

Back in the Saddle

We saw a lot of players last week reassert themselves in the tennis world, and while many of them were encouragingly able to keep up their performances most of the week, when it came down to the wire it was the tried-and-true who came away the winners. But for some, it had been a long time since they tasted that kind of victory.

Milos Raonic had been putting together his most successful season to-date, but despite his first Grand Slam semi at Wimbledon and breaking into the top ten for the first time, he hadn't won a title all year. The big-serving Canadian came to the Citi Open in DC as the second seed, but faced some tough competition during his run. Despite fifty-four aces, the first five sets he played all went to tiebreaks, and it wasn't until the quarterfinals against Steve Johnson that he finally held onto a break lead. In Sunday's final versus compatriot Vasek Pospisil, who'd already come back from sets down in his previous two matches, he broke early in the match and never looked back -- after just over an hour he'd secured the win, the first 500-level title of his career. It was Raonic's first trophy since Bangkok last September, but after so many close calls this year, it might mean a little more.

Svetlana Kuznetsova has been away from the winner's circle a little longer -- the two-time Major winner claimed her last title almost four years ago and lost the only two championships she's played since then. She has remained relevant, though, reaching the quarterfinals at the last two French Opens and climbing back up the rankings from #85 in the world last January to #26 before making the trip to DC. The sixth seeded Russian was blessed with a fairly open draw, with red-hot Lucie Safarova losing her opener and two-time defending champion Magdalena Rybarikova falling quickly in her first round. But she didn't lose a set in her first three matches, beating compatriot Ekaterina Makarova in less than ninety minutes in their semi. Sunday she faced off against unseeded upstart Kurumi Nara, who'd won her first career trophy in Rio to start the year and was clearly going to put up a fight for title #2. After taking the first set, Sveta fell behind in the second to the young Japanese and was forced to a decider. And both ladies raised their games in that set, with the first and only break conversion coming at match point after more than two hours of play. The win not only ended Kuznetsova's long drought, but more importantly reminded us all of how relevant she still is as we draw closer to the last Grand Slam of the year.

Serena Williams also made a big statement this week. While the world #1 had already picked up three crowns this season, she'd been getting more attention lately for her early Slam exits and a weird Wimbledon meltdown. Though she'll still be the favorite to defend her U.S Open title later in the summer, plenty of pundits wondered whether she'd be mentally and physically fit enough to play against the top stars in the sport. She may have silenced those critics at the Bank of the West Classic, where she'd won the trophy on her last two outings. She kept that win streak going last week, coming back from a set down to Ana Ivanovic in the quarters and winning eight straight games to close out her semifinal against Andrea Petkovic. In yesterday's final she got down an early break to Angelique Kerber -- a woman who'd delivered her only loss in the in back half of 2012 -- but rebounded quickly, taking the first set in a tiebreak and allowing just two points on serve in the second. The win puts her squarely on top of the U.S. Open Series rankings, a place she's used to occupying, but more importantly proves she can't be counted out. And while there might be a few more openings for her opponents, she's not going anywhere any time soon.

With the summer hardcourt season now in full swing, it was the perfect time for this weekend's winners to get back on a winning track. Whether it'd been months or years since they last tasted victory, their recent results show us just how much in control of their games they are. And with just a few weeks left before action kicks off in New York, everyone else should stand up and take notice.

Don't Call This a Comeback...

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of players have taken the opportunity this week to put their names back on the tennis map?

Whether tried and true veterans or once-hot young guns, more than a few players had slowed down in recent months and years, some making more headlines for their lack of results than for any match wins. But someone seems to have lit a fire under these guys, one which hopefully won't flicker out any time soon.

Juan Monaco seems to have brought the momentum that took him all the way to the Gstaad final last week with him to Austria. Now ranked back in the top hundred dropped his opening set in Kitzbühel in a bagel, but came back strong to take out seventh seed Jarkko Nieminen and, earlier today, notched another upset over world #48 Andreas Seppi. He'll meet upstart Dominic Thiem in the second part of his double-header later today, but I like his chances to get back to a championship match. But the real story at the bet-at-home Cup is really David Goffin, a surprise fourth-rounder at the French Open two years ago. Since then he's lost in seven Major first rounds and this year has only won three ATP-level matches. He is, however, doing well on the Challenger circuit, claiming three clay court titles since Wimbledon and carried a 15-0 streak to Kitzbühel, where he took out top seed Phillipp Kohlschreiber early in his run. Earlier today he came back after losing his opening set to Maximo Gonzalez -- he'd been serving for it at 5-4 -- and will, against all expectations, be playing in his first career final tomorrow.

Over on the American hardcourts a couple more players are showing why they were once thought to have so much potential. Vasek Pospisil hit a career high of #25 in the world at the start of the year, but went on an eight-match losing streak during the spring and early summer. He did a little better in doubles, though, teaming with Jack Sock for a stunning victory at the All England Club and backing it up with a quick-and-easy title run in Atlanta. This week in DC, he scored his third win versus a top-ten player, repeating his win over Tomas Berdych from almost a year ago. He'll still be the on-paper underdog in today's quarterfinal against Santiago Giraldo, but he's shown he can pull off bigger wins than that. Donald Young too is having a bit of a resurgence -- after his famously unsuccessful 2012 season, he saw his ranking plummet from #38 to sub-200. But even with a few nice wins this year, he still has a losing record in 2014. He has managed wins over Julien Benneteau and Denis Istomin this week, though, so he might just be back on track.

The ladies in Washington haven't seen as many notable rebirths -- Kristina Mladenovic continued her stellar season by taking out top seed and Wimbledon semifinalist Lucie Safarova while consistently strong Ekaterina Makarova dominated two-time defending champion Magdalena Rybarikova in her opener. But she'll next meet 2012 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who seems to have gotten her mojo back. Since claiming the title in Paris last February she's lost five matches to players ranked in triple digits, but hasn't dropped a set yet this week. And Svetlana Kuznetsova, who's been winning in fits and starts the last several years, had a surprisingly easy time against Kirsten Flipkens to make the quarters. She's the lowest seed still standing, but might just be able to re-harness the talent we know she has.

But perhaps the player we should be most focused on is Venus Williams who this week returns to Stanford for the first time since 2009. The former world #1 has understandably slowed down a bit since being diagnosed with Sjorgrëns disease three years ago, but she remains relevant, picking up title #45 in Dubai last February. And she's reached the final here seven times before, the first one way back in 1998, and though she's unseeded at the Bank of the West Classic she's clearly still a threat. Late last night she notched her first top ten victory of the year over Victoria Azarenka, herself struggling to come back from injury, and next faces Andrea Petkovic -- a woman she beat on her way to the 2012 Luxembourg title. She could easily set up a showdown against sister Serena for a spot in the championship match, and while she'll of course be the underdog there, I wouldn't expect anything other than fireworks.

All of these guys and girls have tasted big victories in the past, and though it may have been a while since they've been at the top of their game, they've all been around for years and know how to win when it counts. And this might be just the time to do that.

Off to Summer Camp

The temperatures may have been soaring for a while now, at least here in the northeastern U.S., but the sport's top stars have only just begun to make their way across the Atlantic and onto the American hardcourts. But there is no time to simply camp out under the stars -- the early arrivals were put to the test during the first events of the U.S. Open Series, and this weekend's winners may have given themselves quite a head-start in the big race to New York.

At the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford we saw the old guard clash with new. But while veterans like Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur struggled to get out of the early rounds, rising stars such as Jamie Hampton and on-the-mend Sorana Cirstea worked their way through to the semis. But at the end of the day it was top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and often spotty Dominika Cibulkova contesting the final, a rematch of the Sydney championship in which the Pole didn't drop a game.

But the results would be surprisingly different this time around. Though Cibulkova has scored some big wins in the past -- she beat then-world #1 Victoria Azarenka at last year's French Open and Caroline Wozniacki, also the top seed at the time, the year before at Wimbledon -- she's also squandered huge opportunities, most recently at Miami this past March when she had a set and a break up on Serena Williams. The Slovak was also 4-0 against Radwanska before coming to California, only taking a set from the favorite in their previous meetings. She was down in this match too, dropping the first set to the 2012 runner-up at the All England Club. It looked like Aga had regrouped, though, when she took a 4-2 lead in the decider, but the petite Cibulkova somehow found a way to rally, winning the last four games of the match and, in the process, claiming her third career title in as many years. And after bringing a middling 17-16 record on the season to Stanford, there may never have been a better opportunity to turn things around.

On the other side of the country the men hit the pavement in Atlanta, with a couple players looking for redemption. Two-time champion Mardy Fish, having missed most of the season with heart troubles, made only his second Tour appearance of the year, and Ryan Harrison, a disappointing 5-16 on the year before the BB&T Open, made a solid run to the semis, pushing his ranking back up to near double-digits. But here too the favorites prevailed. Top-seeded John Isner avenged a loss in Newport to Lleyton Hewitt to make his third final in Georgia, while fellow big-server Kevin Anderson rallied after a tough opening match to make his third championship round of the year.

And this title match wasn't straightforward either. The two men -- a combined thirteen feet and four inches tall -- served up forty-five aces between them, but neither were ever able to break serve. Anderson, who actually had eleven chances to win a return game, took the first set in a tiebreak, but failed to convert match points in the second. Isner, meanwhile, seemed to get a second wind one he was able to force a decider, and after nearly three hours finally pulled out the win to claim his second crown of the season -- and to keep his record in finals this season perfect.

Both these champions got off to a great start this weekend, and atop their respective leader-boards, they've put themselves deep in the heat to claim the U.S. Open Series honor. But plenty of elite will be arriving at camp over the next few weeks and the competition is certainly going to get hotter. Whether they're able to take home the prize at the end of the season remains in question, but if they can capitalize on their early leads, they might just give us something big to watch the rest of the summer.

Putting Up a Fight

The calendar sure seems pretty full for the week after a Grand Slam -- six Tour level events were scheduled from Croatia to Rhode Island, Sweden to California, with some top-notch players contesting the titles. It makes some sense -- athletes, especially those who were ousted early at the All England Club, are eager to prep for the upcoming Olympics. But these tournaments might hold even more opportunity for the players who haven't quite reached Summer Game status yet, and so far they're more than holding their own against the big guns.

The top two seeds in Umag will represent their countries later this month in London, as will players like rising Argentine star Carlos Berlocq and unseeded Fabio Fognini. But the one to watch here might be American Wayne Odesnik. The twenty-six year old hadn't won a Tour-level match since pleading guilty to bringing steroids to Australia in 2010, but despite having earned the rancor of fans, players and pundits alike, he's turned that around this week. He pulled off an impressive win over Edouard Roger-Vasselin in his first round and yesterday earned a quarterfinal berth against world #15 Marin Cilic. He hasn't beaten a player ranked that high ever in his career, but if he wants to put the ugly stories of his past behind him, this would be a good way to do it.

Two Spanish heavy-hitters -- one fresh off a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon -- lead the field in Bastad before they make their way back to the All England Club, but it's one of their countrymen making a statement on the red clay of Sweden. Ten-time titleist Tommy Robredo hasn't won a lot on Tour since a leg injury forced him to retire last year in Monte Carlo. But after winning two challenger events in June it looks like his comeback is well on track. A wildcard this week, he opened by ousting eighth seeded Adrian Ungur and fired off seven aces against Brazil's Joao Souza on Wednesday. He'll have his work cut out for him against David Ferrer next, but he has beaten him on this surface before. And since it's become clear that 30 is the new 20 these days, there's no reason to believe he's too big an underdog this time around.

There are Olympians all over the draw in Stuttgart Germany, and while some have advanced easily -- Janko Tipsarevic, Juan Monaco -- others have stumbled. Bernard Tomic, who dropped seventeen ranking spots after failing to defend Wimbledon points, lost again today to unseeded Thomaz Bellucci. Meanwhile Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the twelfth-ranked Spanish player at #87 in the world, seems to be in decent shape in Germany. He survived a tight second round against compatriot and doubles partner Pablo Andujar Wednesday, and with a quarterfinal set against wildcard Dustin Brown next, he might be in a good position to make an even deeper run

On the other side of the pond in Newport -- ironically the only grass court event between Wimbledon and the Summer Games -- a couple first-time Olympic athletes are testing the waters. John Isner and Ryan Harrison have both lived up to their rankings so far, though Milos Raonic's two-set loss earlier today didn't bode too well for our neighbors to the north. But 2009 champion Rajeev Ram, ranked out of the top hundred and well out of eligibility range, has been playing solid ball again. Having not dropped a set yet, he might be able to put up a fight this afternoon against Kei Nishikori who, despite a top-twenty ranking, has still not put together a winning record on grass.

The ladies are just as busy this week. In Palermo hometown favorites Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci are getting in a few extra hits on clay before going back to the lawns of London, and Julia Goerges, representing her country for the first time at the Games have all done well in early matches. But it might also be worth watching Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, kept off the Czech team thanks to a slate full of singles and doubles champs. She's struggled in her matches so far in Italy, eking out a win after nearly three hours against Silvia Soler-Espinosa and today coming back from a set down against world #140 Julia Cohen. She's only won one title by herself -- last year in Quebec -- but if she can rally from here, it might bode well for her the rest of the week.

The stakes are even higher on the hardcourts of Stanford where perennial powerhouses Serena Williams and 2009 champ Marion Bartoli headline a pretty stacked field. But in a bracket rife with American qualifiers and wildcards, it might finally be young Coco Vandeweghe's time to shine. The 2008 girls' champion at the U.S. Open hasn't lived up to expectations on the main Tour yet, but after defeating former #1 Jelena Jankovic that looks to be changing. She'll meet the winner of this afternoon's Marina Erakovic/Urzsula Radwanska match for a spot in the semis, and if she plays to potential she could finally see her star set on a steady rise.

There's no telling whether this week's early standouts will keep their luck up through the weekend and it'll be tough for any, much less all, of them to ultimately hoist the trophies at the end of the day. But it's a great opportunity to put up some big performances against the big names in the sport. And if they win as some already have, it could put the rest of their years on a wholly different track.

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.

The Teenybopper

While most of us American tennis fans turned our focus to the series of tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open this week, there's still a bunch of action going on in Europe, and this week the world's top-ranked teenaged tennis player made us all aware that she's still one to beat out on the courts.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova began making a name for herself at the end of last year when she beat Venus Williams in back-to-back tournaments, once as a qualifier in Tokyo. This year she made her first Tour championship in Monterrey, winning two matches on that final Sunday to claim the crown. Earlier today she won her second trophy, rallying from a set and two breaks down to beat compatriot Elena Vesnina for the Istanbul title. Now ranked twenty-ninth in the world at just nineteen years of age, Pavlyuchenkova is easily the youngest woman in the top thirty and she seems like she's only going to get better from here.



It's funny when you think of it, that there are so few teens in the top echelons of tennis these days. I remember being somewhat shocked about all the hype around Melanie Oudin received during her run at the U.S. Open last year -- then seventeen years old, she was almost a full year older than Maria Sharapova when she won Wimbledon in 2004 and two years senior to Martina Hingis who won the Australian at just sixteen.

It's no question that the game has changed from even those relatively recent days. There are certainly some young standouts -- Caroline Wozniacki is just out of teen territory and Victoria Azarenka, whose impressive performance in Stanford today won her a fourth career title, took her first three when she was still nineteen. But by and large its the veterans -- Serena and Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Sam Stosur -- who are really dominating. It could be the age limits, restricting the number of tournaments a Pro plays until she turns eighteen, or it could be that the established players are so strong that "kids" can no longer keep up with them like they could just fifteen years ago.

But the Juniors circuit certainly provides some clues as to who might be a future star. Pavlyuchenkova won three Major girls' titles in 2006 and 2007. More recently, players like Laura Robson and Sloane Stephens are beginning to make strides in the main draws of tournaments after already making names for themselves in the ITF events. Some go off to great things -- Azarenka and Wozniacki were also Junior champions just a few years ago -- some you might not hear of again -- anyone remember Angelique Widjaja who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in her day?

And if Pavlyuchenkova's performance on Tour so far is any indication, she could be one that comes out on top. With plenty of years left in her career, she's certainly already established herself as a contender, and today's come-from-behind victory just confirms that fact.

Back in Action

This week marks the return of some superstars to the tennis courts -- whether they'd been gone for weeks or for years, in body or in mind, many came out in the last couple days to begin their training for the year's next and last Grand Slam.

Some have met with less success than others -- Ashley Harkleroad, who left the Tour in 2008 to have a baby and pursue, um, other ventures, fizzled out of her first round in Stanford, losing to defending champ Marion Bartoli in straight sets. But others at the Bank of the West Classic have a chance to do a little more damage.

Elena Dementieva, who heart-breakingly retired from her semifinal match at the French Open, makes her return after that calf injury forced her to pull out of Wimbledon. She'll take on Kimiko Date Krumm in her opening round, a veteran fighter who's now beaten former #1 Dinara Safina twice in a row. She could give Elena a fight if she's not in top form yet.

Roland Garros finalist Sam Stosur has also been absent from the circuit of late -- after her defeat in Paris, she was stunned by then-world #100 Ekaterina Makarova in Eastbourne and lost in the first round at the All England Club. As the top seed in Stanford, she faces qualifier Christina McHale in her first match. It should be an easy day at the office, but she'll need to regain the momentum she'd harnessed all spring if she's going to be a contender in New York.

The woman who stopped Stosur dead in her tracks, of course, was Francesca Schiavone, who captured her first Major title at the French at twenty-nine. She hadn't won a match since then, however, until she came to Istanbul this week, handily beating Anne Keothavong in the first round. She should be able to advance at least a few rounds further, but with rising stars like Tsvetana Pironkova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the field, she could have a run for the money.

On the men's side it's been a story of long, hard slogs back from injury. Previously red-hot Nikolay Davydenko pulled out of Roland Garros with a wrist injury and has only won a handful of matches since returning in Halle. He's the top seed in Umag and faces a less-than-intimidating Stephane Robert in his opener. But the field only gets tougher from there, with Ivan Ljubicic, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Jurgen Melzer all in the way of an ultimate title.

Ernests Gulbis had climbed to his highest ever ranking after a stunning clay-court season which included wins over Mikhail Youzhny and Roger Federer. But he hasn't been on court since a hamstring strain forced him out at Paris. He survived his first round in Los Angeles, but with the likes of Alejandro Falla and Andy Murray in his near future, it could be difficult in the coming days.

In the same field is my dear James Blake, who's been battling physical and mental demons for a while now. Ranked outside the top hundred, he hadn't won a match since Miami and now has a losing record on the year. Happily, he was able to beat Leonardo Mayer, the man who took him out of the French first round last year -- are you seeing a pattern here? -- and maybe, maybe if he can keep his head in the game, he'll be able to get a few more wins in.

Over the last few weeks, as the top-most stars have taken a break from the game, we've seen emerging talent start to make a dent in the rankings. But now that hardcourt season is back in full swing, you can expect to see some reversion to the norm. Whether these guys will be able to resuscitate their successes immediately or even in time for the U.S. Open is stil to early to tell.

But it sure will be good to have them back!

Stacked Brackets

It's not really anyone's fault.

Draws are set up so that #1 can meet #2 in the finals and so the top four players should battle in the semis. It's only in the opening rounds where it's possible that bad luck can pit two closely-ranked opponents against each other, inevitably denying one of them to advance deep into the tournament. For example at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California this week, #13 Aggie Radwanska ousted #29 Sorana Cirstea on Monday, and #12 Dominika Cibulkova was defeated by #20 Samantha Stosur shortly after.

Of course upsets occur, as they should, and it's not often we see action progress exactly as it should. That's what makes sports so interesting, right?

Even still by the time we get to a final, we want to see the best and most exciting game we can. Imagine if, by some stroke of luck, the Orioles played the Nationals in the World Series? Yawn.

And that's what seems to be happening in California this week, both on the men's and women's tours.

First in Los Angeles, the top half of the draw has gone largely according to plan. Top seeded Tommy Haas played a tough first set against Marat Safin, but eventually made the semis pretty easily. He'll meet a strong Sam Querrey, who pulled off a win over higher-ranked Dudi Sela on Friday, but given his performance so far this summer, he's not exactly an underdog.

Only one gets to make the finals.

And there they'll face one of two players who've never played for a title before. Argentina's Leonardo Mayer has had a breakout year, beating James Blake in the first round at Roland Garros and making the quarters in Eastbourne. Though he defeated Igor Kunitsyn in the second round, he reached the semis thanks to a walkover when second seed Mardy Fish withdrew with an injury. There he'll play Australia's Carsten Ball -- a man ranked #205 in the world, he lost the only Tour-level match he's played this year. But this week he benefited from a retirement by third seed Dmitry Tursunov and an injured John Isner in the quarters.



Gotta say, I'd rather see Haas and Querrey play for the title.

On the women's side in Stanford things aren't quite so disparate, but there were still a bunch of surprises in the final four. Top ranked Serena Williams was toppled by unseeded Stosur, who for all intents and purposes should never have made it past Monday. But Sam's been playing some masterful tennis this year, making the quarters and the semis in Paris -- she probably deserved a higher ranking.

Tonight she's going to take on Marion Bartoli, who's having her own comeback year -- the one-time Wimbledon finalist practically fell into obscurity last year, losing early in a ton of matches and allowing a few up-and-comers like Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva walk all over her. But in 2009 she seems back in form -- she got to the finals in Brisbane, the quarters in Australia, and even took home the trophy in Monterrey. In Stanford she looked solid against fourth seed Jelena Jankovic and could put on a good match against Stosur.



Imagine that that might be the better of the two semis.

Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva, seeded second and third respectively, filled out the bottom half of the bracket in what I thought should have been an excellent final, given the way Elena took on Venus's sister in Wimbledon. But in California this afternoon, Dementieva practically rolled over. Despite earning a handful of break opportunities, she was never able to convert and her serve seemed to fall apart. She won a quarter of her first serve points and only thirty-eight percent of her total service points. In just over an hour, she was only able to put one hash mark on her side of the scoreboard.

So Venus will either reprise her 2007 Wimbledon final against Bartoli or the first round of the U.S. Open last year, when she was no match for Stosur. Though the women's final certainly has more promise than the one in L.A., I can't help but think the semi might be more exciting.

In either case, the suspense is what keeps the game so interesting! Good luck to all!