Cancelled

We are living in highly unusual times.

Last night, organizers of this year's BNP Paribas Open announced that the tournament, one of the biggest events of the season, would not be held due to concerns over the spreading coronavirus.

The 2020 BNP Paribas Open will not be held.https://t.co/BVKQmmcbth pic.twitter.com/CHOd0PgJeV

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 9, 2020

It's not the most surprising decision given what's going on. For weeks we've been seeing measures taken to rein in the spread -- companies restricting employee travel to impacted areas and encouraging work from home, major corporations like Facebook and Amazon pulling out of huge industry conferences and scrapping their own. Just Friday SXSW cancelled its annual festival in Austin, Texas, a decision that could cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars.

So it makes sense that Indian Wells would be affected too. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency, and last week the tournament released a list of precautions it was taking, barring ball kids from handling player towels or drinks and telling players not to toss shirts or headbands to fans after matches. But as the situation in the U.S., particularly on the west coast, gets more severe, event staff ultimately decided they were better safe than sorry.

Tennis players, after all, are required to travel all over the world on a weekly basis, and some of their stops on tour are in places that have been particularly hard hit. Davis Cup matches were held over the weekend in Japan, where there have been more than a thousand confirmed cases of the virus and whose government has been sharply criticized for its handling of the disease, as well as in Cagliari, Italy, where the stadium was open only to officials and media. And of course the epicenter of everything is Wuhan, China, a city most of my friends and colleagues had never heard of before, but which we all know as the site of a huge WTA event at the end of the season.

Still, the timing of the cancellation is interesting, coming just hours after Steve Johnson and Irina-Camelia were crowned champions of the Challenger events being held at the very same venue that would house this week's matches. And wildcards had just been awarded to teens Caty McNally and Leylah Fernandez, as well as Aussie standout Tennys Sandgren and an on-the-mend Jack Sock. Qualifying events were scheduled to start today and many players had already made their way to the grounds. It's certainly a disappointment for those looking to make their debuts at such a premier event.

But some players were already thinking of skipping not only Indian Wells, considered by many to be the fifth Grand Slam, but also Miami, with similar prestige, which is currently still slated to start in two weeks' time. Fabio Fognini, who helped Italy get past South Korea over the weekend and qualify for the Davis Cup finals, said he was thinking about skipping both events despite what it would mean for his ranking -- he was eager to get match play after some recent early exits. Now, I assume, the cancellation means everyone essentially forfeits any points they may have accumulated or defended during the fortnight, so no one is necessarily hurt more than anyone else.

If the virus, though, persists deeper into the spring it could hit the European clay court season hard -- Italy just advised cancelling all sporting events until at least April, and that's just a few weeks before the Rome Masters tournament, nevermind the French Open, Wimbledon, and, lest we forget, the Tokyo Olympics.

The cancellation of Indian Wells has an impact not only on the players. The California desert city was expecting some half a million visitors for the event, and their absence could take a big bite out of the economy. And while tournament director Tommy Haas is leaving open the possibility of rescheduling the event for some time later this season, it's unclear when, during an already-packed calendar, that could be.

To be clear, all these measures are unquestionably necessary -- the priority of course is first and foremost the health and safety of everyone involved -- but it's going to require a lot of adjustments. Hopefully in a few weeks time, this will all be past us and things will start returning to normal, as much as they can, anyway.

But until then everyone take care of yourselves and each other.

A Week to Remember

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

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

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

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

Blogcast: 2015 U.S. Open Preview

Everyone may be focused on the possibility that Serena Williams stands to make history in the Big Apple, but there are a couple other stories to watch in New York.

Shaking Things Up

It's never fun when things go exactly as planned at a tennis tournament, and while the top men have certainly been less prone to big upsets than their counterparts on the women's Tour, even the favorites are certainly capable of surprising us from time to time. And this week, more than others it seems, the underdogs are capitalizing on any opportunity they get.

Dominic Thiem hasn't made it easy for the other guys in Kitzbühel, as last year's finalist has extended his win streak to ten straight matches with his win today over Albert Montanes. But his run has to end some time, and a couple hopefuls in Austria could make a case to be the one to do it. Thiem's next opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber, who started the year off kind of slow, reached the championship match in Munich and notched a nice upset over Hamburg runner-up Fabio Fognini in the quarter. He's never faced off against the rising star, but the veteran German might just have the experience to get the win. More of a threat, though, might be Nicolas Almagro, whose injury addled season has dropped him well out of the top hundred -- the clay court specialist hasn't done too much in his comeback, but so far this week has scored wins over 2014 breakout Jiri Vesely and hometown favorite Jurgen Melzer. He may have a less-than-encouraging 1-2 record against his next opponent, qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu, but if he's really back in form he should be able to make a play for not only the final, but maybe even the title.

Over on the hardcourts of Washington, D.C. there's been even more drama -- and even bigger surprises. American Steve Johnson, who's already given us a glimpse of his potential this year, notched his second straight win over world #26 Bernard Tomic, having beaten him earlier this summer in Halle. He'll face a bigger challenge against Grigor Dimitrov next, but the talented Bulgarian has struggled more than a little this year and could be more vulnerable than his sixth seed suggests. Then there's teenager Alexander Zverev who, despite a semifinal run in Bastad, is still just inside the top hundred. But on Wednesday he stunned big-serving Kevin Anderson to set up a third round against Alexandr Dolgopolov, a man who's had a hard time recapturing form since knee surgery last year -- there's no reason the young German can't take advantage of his opponent. But of course the biggest opportunity in D.C. comes courtesy of Teymuraz Gabashvili, who last night pulled off the biggest upset of his career so far, beating top seeded Andy Murray -- the first and only one of the Big Four to ever play in the U.S. capital -- in a nearly three-hour match. While there are more than a few seeds still in this half of the draw, the thirty year old Georgian by far cleared out the biggest threat. While anyone left could benefit from the big hole in the bracket, Gabashvili might just have established himself as the one to beat.

Of course it's one thing for any of these players to score one big win during a tournament -- what really makes a difference is if they can follow it up with another. But any one of them has the potential to make things even more interesting than they already have been this week -- and hopefully keep their momentum going even longer.

Their Big Chance

The upsets sure haven't let up much at the French Open, have they? After twelve seeds dropped out in their opening rounds, we saw even more make their exits over the last two days. And that's left a couple unexpected names left in the draws and, with so many underdogs seeming to come into their own the last several months, a few have a real shot at making a break for it.

Jeremy Chardy has had some success at the Majors in the past -- the perennial second-tier player made it to the quarters in Melbourne two years ago -- but only made it to the fourth round of his homeland Slam one time. He could change that this year though -- after a string of unimpressive results, the world #48 scored his first big win of the season today, knocking out sixteenth seeded John Isner in four sets. His road doesn't get much easier from here -- he'll next face 2014 comeback kid David Goffin, but the twenty-four year old Belgian has had a little trouble keeping his momentum going, losing his first or second match at eight events this year. Goffin did make his first big run at this event a few years back -- but this time it may be Chardy's chance to shine.

Steve Johnson is only just starting to make a name for himself on Tour, and while he may still be a bit off his career high ranking, it seems like the #5 American is gathering some steam this year. He reached the quarters in Auckland, Memphis and Delray and has notched wins over big-serving Ivo Karlovic and doubles champ Marcel Granollers. In Paris, where he'd only won one match before, he opened with a huge upset of my dark horse Guillermo Garcia Lopez and then came back from a set down to oust one-time giant-killer Sergiy Stakhovsky on Wednesday. He's up against 2014 Australian Open champ Stan Wawrinka next, but the eighth seed has stumbled here in the past, and perhaps Johnson can take that opportunity to score his first ever top-ten win.

But perhaps the man who's been most impressive in the early days of this tournament is one who's barely a man at all. Nineteen-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis has seen his ranking climb from sub-#300 at this time last year to #84 in the world now and, while he still has to qualify for most ATP-level events, he did notch wins over then-#13 Ernests Gulbis in Melbourne and former top-tenner Juan Monaco to make the Indian Wells fourth round this year. In his first Roland Garros main draw, he's already been tested, dropping his first set to qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili and earlier today having to come back from two sets down to take out former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic, 8-6 in the decider. His next test is tougher still -- fresh off a Challengers' title, he'll take on Novak Djokovic, who's riding a slightly more formidable twenty-four match win streak going into the third round -- but if he can get even a few good hits in, the two-time Boys' Major finalist could gain loads of experience to carry him even higher the rest of the year.

Not surprisingly the ladies' draw has seen a few more favorites fall out early -- six, in fact, of the top fifteen seeds -- so maybe that gives young Donna Vekic extra hope for her next match. Last year's champion in Kuala Lumpur, the Croatian teenager has won just two Tour-level main draw matches this year and, at #165 in the world now, has had to qualify for ITF events. She seems to be turning things around this week though -- she opened with a stunning upset of clay powerhouse Caroline Garcia for her first win at the French Open and followed up by taking out Bojana Jovanovski on Wednesday. She's set to meet 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic tomorrow, and while the former world #1 is actually now coming off one of the best years of her career, she's been struggling a bit of late. She's lost three times in a row to Garcia and is coming off another first round loss in Rome -- and after having to come back for wins in both of her rounds so far, she might be a little vulnerable to Vekic's potential.

On the other end of the experience-spectrum is veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who's been playing at Slam on and off since 1997. The winner of one of the most impressive matches in 2014, she's been a little spotty this year, reaching the quarters in Acapulco, but also losing first rounds in eight main draws. Now ranked #70 in the world, the thirty-three year old pulled off the biggest surprise so far in Paris, taking out reigning runner-up Simona Halep yesterday in straight sets -- marking a scoreline shockingly similar to her 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over the former Junior champion at the U.S. Open last year. She next faces off against Alizé Cornet, a talented player of course, but not one who's unbeatable, and another win could kick Lucic into a gear we haven't seen from her in more than a decade.

But it might be someone else who really takes this opportunity to get her career back on track. Julia Goerges had soared into the top fifteen after a standout performance in 2011 -- she was my underdog pick at Roland Garros that year -- but she had trouble staying among the elite and for some time last year fell out of the top hundred. She's never done particularly well on the French clay, but now at just #72 in the world, she might be poised for her deepest run yet -- after getting pushed by Coco Vandeweghe in her opening round, earlier today she was relentless, dominating two-time Major finalist Caroline Wozniacki in their nearly two-hour battle. She'll go up versus American Irina Falconi, who hasn't yet faced a player in the top hundred this week. A win would put Goerges in her first fourth round on these courts, and could put her on the road to get back into the top tiers of the sport.

After their performances so far in Paris, all of these players have an opportunity not just to push even further through their brackets, but also to change the entire trajectory of their careers. And while the challenges some face will be much tougher than others, there's no telling what any of them will be able to do.

The Upcoming Upsets

Okay, okay -- I know we only have one full round of action in the books at the Australian Open, but, man, did things get interesting in the first couple days in Melbourne! Seventeen seeds have already been knocked out of the draws and it's all but certain that more will follow.

So I'm going to take a look at a few second round matches that could easily go to the underdog. After all, with so many holes already drilled through the brackets, the only thing for sure is that nothing is predictable. And anyone could seize the opportunity right in front of them.

The Women First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter

The Men First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter

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The Women

First Quarter

The most obviously pick here is two-time champion Victoria Azarenka over eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki, either of whom could be a contender for the ultimate title. But even though the Belorussian is unseeded, it would be tough to consider her win a true upset -- so let's look elsewhere.

Tsvetana Pironkova has never gotten past the second round Down Under, but that might change this year. Last year's champion in Sydney opened her campaign with a one-sided win over Hobart champion Heather Watson and set up a meeting Thursday with 2014 runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, a woman who's been famously ineffective over the last several months. Domi did come back against a tough Kirsten Flipkens in her first round and has a solid 7-1 record against the Bulgarian -- still, she's proven herself more than vulnerable and Pironkova could take advantage. I'd also keep an eye on Daniela Hantuchova. The one-time world #4 struggled with a knee injury for much of last year and fell a bit down the rankings. But she notched a solid win over Sara Errani to start the season in Auckland and opened here by defeating Shenzhen semifinalist Saisai Zheng in straight sets. She'll face 2014 breakout star Garbiñe Muguruza next, and while that's certainly no easy task -- the young Spaniard drubbed an in-form Aga Radwanska in Sydney last week -- the veteran Slovak might just be able to get the upper hand. And with the other seed in this immediate section already eliminated, she might have a clear road for a few rounds more.

Second Quarter

Many of the favorites in this section have already been ousted -- unknown German Carina Witthoeft trounced Carla Suarez Narvarro, ninth seed Angelique Kerber lost a roller coaster match to Irina-Camelia Begu and and my spoiler Lucie Safarova came out on the wrong end of no-tiebreak third set. And while all that might help the top seeds breathe a little easier, others are still holding their breath.

Yaroslava Shvedova, twice a Grand Slam doubles champion, has been ranked as high as #25 on the singles circuit and often outplays her current sub-sixty ranking. Her win over Safarova set up a second round against barely favored Monica Puig -- the winner of last year's WTA Rising Stars final will certainly put up a fight, but the Kazakh's won their only previous meeting and could have experience on her side. Also watch out for twenty-year-old Anna Schmiedlova, who stunned Venus Williams in the second round of the French Open last year. She's up against often-overlooked Zarina Diyas next in Melbourne, and while she's again the long-shot, she's beaten tougher opponents in the past.

Third Quarter

The third quarter of the women's draw has arguably suffered the most damage, with Brisbane finalist Ana Ivanovic flaming out to qualifier Lucie Hradecka on Day One and 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki bowing out to last year's Roland Garros Cinderella Kristina Mladenovic a few hours later. Those won't be the only upsets in this section either.

Former world #15 Julia Goerges had fallen out of the top hundred last year and only won two Grand Slam matches during the season. She did manage to make the quarters in Auckland, even taking out Hradecka down in New Zealand, but she was still way off the radar by the time she reached Melbourne. The German was relatively lucky, getting dealt a low-seeded Belinda Bencic in her opener, but she defeated the young Swiss with surprising ease and set up a second round against world #46 Klara Koukalova. The two have split their previous four matches, but if Goerges can recapture her previous form there's no reason she can't use this opportunity to pull ahead. The same could be said for Roberta Vinci, who's fallen from her own levels of grace over the past year. She also has a 2-2 record against her next opponent Ekaterina Makarova, recently inducted into the sport's top ten, but the Russian has struggled with injury the last few months and Vinci could capitalize on the opportunity.

Fourth Quarter

Like with the top section of the bracket, the bottom has remained largely unscathed so far, with two mid-level seeds the only ones to suffer first round losses -- Andrea Petkovic, who'd gone winless since picking up the title in Sofia last year squandered an early lead to Hobart finalist Madison Brengle, while Flavia Pennetta suffered a second straight loss to Italian Camila Giorgi. Still, no one should rest on her laurels.

Veteran Australian Casey Dellacqua really came into her own here last year, reaching the fourth round with wins over Vera Zvonareva and Kirsten Flipkens. She didn't do a lot with her top seeding in Hobart last week though, needing three sets to get past Lauren Davis before losing in a decider to Karin Knapp a round later. She's up against barely unseeded Madison Keys next, a woman who beat her at her homeland's Major two years ago. The young American has already scored wins over Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova this year and picking up one more upset shouldn't be too much to ask. Compatriot Coco Vandeweghe has a similar opportunity -- ranked just two spots below Keys, she opened her run Down Under by taking out former French Open champ Francesca Schiavone. She'll face twentieth seed Sam Stosur on Thursday, and while the 2011 U.S. Open titleist did have a slight resurgence at the end of last year, she can definitely be caught off guard -- Coco did just that last year in Miami. And with the draw already shaking out the way that it has, she might just be able to keep going after that.

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The Men

First Quarter

Not surprisingly, there have been fewer casualties on the men's side of the Australian Open, but it hasn't all been smooth sailing. In Novak Djokovic's quarter both Feliciano Lopez and Gael Monfils were pushed to five sets, the former saving three match points before taking out American wildcard Denis Kudla on Tuesday. And the Frenchman, well acquainted with long matches, will be tested again immediately, going up next against big-serving Jerzy Janowicz in the next round. He does have the win in the pair's only meeting, but something tells me the Pole is going to put up a bigger fight this time.

Meanwhile Roberto Bautista Agut, who had a breakthrough on Tour this time last year, may face a tougher test. The rising Spanish star had a surprising loss to Aljaz Bedene in Chennai and retired during his second round in Auckland last week. He's already spent three hours on court in Melbourne, coming back from a set down to Dominic Thiem on Tuesday, and next faces Sydney semifinalist Gilles Muller, who had a relatively easy time in his own first round match. RBA does have a 2-0 record against the man from Luxembourg, but if he's not at the top of his game might have trouble keeping his record untarnished.

Second Quarter

The favorites in Roger Federer's section of the draw have been similarly strong -- the five time champion didn't drop serve once in his two hours on court, and Andy Murray, though tested by qualifier Yuki Bhambri, nevertheless survived his opener in straight sets. Only Tommy Robredo, who'd just pulled out of Auckland with a leg injury, retired early in the first set, giving veteran Edouard Roger-Vasselin a pass to the second round.

And while the seeds in this quarter may not have yet shown any obvious weaknesses, the overlooked players could still cause some damage. Portugal's Joao Sousa very quietly climbed to #35 in the world last year on the heels of a final run in Metz. He's up against Martin Klizan next, a mini Cinderella here last year -- the Slovak managed a win over Alexandr Dolgopolov this season in Brisbane but also lost to eventual champion Viktor Troicki in his Sydney first round. The two haven't played each other in three years, so it's tough to pick a winner, but Sousa is more than capable of putting up a fight. And Andreas Seppi, who squeaked past Denis Istomin in his opener, once pushed Novak Djokovic to the limit at the French Open. With a second round against low-seed Jeremy Chardy, he might be have an opening to make another play at the big guys.

Third Quarter

The third quarter of the draw is the only one that's so far suffered the biggest blow -- eleventh seed Ernests Gulbis, quiet late in 2014 due to a shoulder injury was stunned by Aussie teenager Thanassi Kokkinakis on Monday, becoming the first notable upset in the men's field. Few other seeds in this section had much trouble at all, though giant-killer Lukas Rosol did take his time against France's Kenny De Schepper -- but again, that could change.

Viktor Troicki continued his climb back up the rankings after taking the title in Sydney this weekend and kept his streak going with a win over Hobart champ Jiri Vesely on Tuesday. Next up for the Serb is underrated Leonardo Mayer, who had an easy time in his first round but should face a bigger challenge from the one-time world #12. Troicki's never gotten past the third round in Melbourne, but this might be the best chance he gets in a while. And Bernard Tomic, once Australia's wunderkind, is well off his career highs, but the possibly reformed Bad Boy could make a case for himself this fortnight. He'll meet Phillipp Kohlschreiber for the second time in two weeks -- he just beat him on his way to the Sydney quarters -- and may get the upper hand again. The favored German has only won one match so far this season and could prove vulnerable again.

Fourth Quarter

The last quarter in the men's draw has also seen a couple of higher-profile exits, but perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that recently struggling Fabio Fognini and on-the-rebound Alexandr Dolgopolov have already bowed out of the Open. Meanwhile favorites like defending champ Stan Wawrinka, U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori and Doha titleist David Ferrer have all seemed on point and should be able to keep their runs going.

The one seed who might still be in danger is Colombia's Santiago Giraldo -- the clay court specialist quieted down significantly in the back half of last year and didn't score a win over anyone in the top thirty after Wimbledon. He beat qualifier Jan Hernych in straight sets on Monday, but will face a bigger challenge from #3 American Steve Johnson in the next round. The twenty-five year old hasn't faced Giraldo before, but after scoring his first ever win Down Under he might have the momentum to pull off an upset this time. And while he'll certainly face greater challenges down the road, a win like this could certainly whet his appetite for even bigger things to come.

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After the slew of surprises we saw during the first few days of action at the Australian Open, we can't believe that anyone left standing is particularly safe. But some players certainly have a better opportunity at causing a couple upsets than others. And hopefully a couple of them will be able to take that shot when they get the chance.

Where's the Follow Through?

Here in the U.S., with veteran champions like the Williams sisters and Andy Roddick crossing, or about to cross, the thirty-year mark, and transition players like John Isner and Sam Querrey having their biggest successes so far at the mid-tier tournaments, we've been aching to identify our next generation of big tennis stars. We get some glimpses of hope here and there, but have yet to find the next athlete who promises to deliver again and again.

At last week's U.S. events, a couple American youngsters got a chance to shine. College stars like Nicole Gibbs and Mallory Brudette got their first Tour wins in Stanford and young Coco Vandeweghe chopped her ranking nearly in half by making the final. In Newport, 2009 champion Rajeev Ram put together his most successful singles run in a while on his way to the semis, and soon-to-be Olympian Ryan Harrison put up a solid fight himself in the final four. But all these guys fell in their first rounds this week, understandable given their efforts, but disheartening for those hoping to see them back up their recent success.

That's not to say all hope is lost. The draw in Carlsbad features plenty of Americans, many wildcards, and more than a couple have so far survived early rounds. Christina McHale, long touted as the premier talent in the generation has lived up to her seeding and Melanie Oudin, finally backing up her 2009 U.S. Open run with a title in Birmingham last month, pulled off a solid win over fellow(-ish) up-and-comer Sloane Stephens in her first round. But perhaps the most potential lies with twenty-six year old Varvara Lepchenko. The surprise fourth-rounder in Paris has only lost a handful of games so far this week. With a quarterfinal meeting against often-spotty Nadia Petrova next, she has the real potential to pull off another upset, and that could bode well for her even beyond this tournament -- a first-time Olympian in a few weeks, there might not be a better time for her to prove how well she can fight for her country.

There's no Olympic gold on the line for some of the standouts in Atlanta, but that's no excuse for them to not put up a fight. While veterans like Roddick and top seeded John Isner, twice a runner-up here, are getting in some good practice for London, those a little further down the rankings may be the ones to watch this week. Wildcard Steve Johnson had only played one Tour-level match this year, but he hung tough against one-time U.S. Open Cinderella Donald Young in his first round. He'll meet another young star in Jack Sock next -- the 2010 U.S. Open Juniors champ defeated seventh-seeded Alex Bogomolov in his opener and could put on an entertaining show for a spot in the semis. For the man who survives, it could be a great opportunity to make a real splash on a Tour-level stage.

It's going to be difficult for any of these guys to make a real and immediate impact at a Slam -- with the top players in the sport right now proving they're not going anywhere soon, they might have to slog it out for several more months or years. But it's important that they bring the momentum they capture from wins this week into their next few events -- if they can prove themselves to be constant threats in the draws, it might not be long until they're no longer considered the underdog.