One Last Shot

It's not all that often you see the sport's top players in action so close to a Major, but there's nothing all that common about much these days. And with a host of early upsets and various measures taken around the still-not-completely-eradicated global pandemic, it's no wonder a couple stars are looking for any opportunity they can get to notch a few wins before heading to Paris.

Back in business 💪@Bandreescu_ secures her first win on clay in almost 2 years! #IS21 pic.twitter.com/N3zsFNwXcl

— wta (@WTA) May 24, 2021

Bianca Andreescu seemed, finally, to be getting her game back on track in Miami before injury forced her to retire during the final. Things got worse from there, when she tested positive for COVID in Madrid and was forced to skip Rome due to continued safety protocols. So this is the first time we've seen her on a clay court in almost exactly two years, and it's no wonder she wants to get some practice in.

The 2019 U.S. Open champ hasn't had a ton of success on these courts, winning her opening round during her breakout year before withdrawing against Sofia Kenin a match later. In years before, she didn't even qualify -- understandable, considering she's still only twenty years old. But, in part thanks to the protected ranking system, she came to Strasbourg this week the top seed and the sole entrant in the top 25. She opened her campaign with an encouragingly straightforward win over qualifier Andrea Lazaro Garcia, dropping just three games and will face another qualifier in the next round.

Of course things get harder from here, with a potential quarterfinal against Istanbul champ Sorana Cirstea or sixth seeded Shaui Zhang. And second seed Jessica Pegula is coming off a run to the quarters in Rome, where she got the better of Naomi Osaka in the second round -- she would be a more-than-formidable opponent should they meet in the final. But even if she doesn't make it that far, getting a few more wins under her belt will be crucial if she wants to have an impact next week.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has also had an uncharacteristically quiet clay court season. As the man who might have actually become the second best clay courter on tour -- he's got five titles in Rome, three in Madrid, two in Monte Carlo, and of course that Grand Slam-completing crown at Roland Garros -- you usually expect him to win a title or two on clay each season.

That hasn't happened this year, though. After his stunning upset at the Rolex Masters, he bowed out early again at the first Belgrade event in his homeland of Serbia. While he did manage to make it to the Rome final, having to play a double header before the championship match in which he rallied from a set-plus-break deficit to Stefanos Tsitsipas and survived a tight three setter against his Vienna vanquisher Lorenzo Sonego, he eventually ran out of steam against Rafael Nadal and currently has a paltry-for-him one title on the season.

He's looking to get his momentum back as he returns to Belgrade this week. He'll open against lucky loser Mats Moraing, who pulled off a nice win over a tricky Egor Gerasimov today, and will then likely face either veterab Pablo Cuevas or Federico Coria in the quarters. With #2 seed Gael Monfils, the biggest on-paper threat in the draw, winning just one match in the last fifteen months, Novak is the clear favorite for the title -- whether he sticks it out to the end or takes a break after a couple matches remains to be seen. That strategy has, after all, certainly worked before.

Win or lose this week, it's clear both these guys are looking for a little more real match play before hitting the courts at the big event. Because, as we know, everyone in the field is going to be bringing their best and there's no time to waste getting warmed up. So a couple wins now could really pay big dividends in the near future.

Last-Minute Pitches

The excitement around the last Masters and Premier events before the French Open may have died down a bit, but with just a few days left before the first balls are hit at Roland Garros, action is heating up at a few smaller events.

Some recently strong players are continuing their run at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf. Madrid finalist Tomas Berdych struggled slightly against Japan's Go Soeda, but easily dismissed Andy Roddick in Tuesday's action. And both Janko Tipsarevic, who made the semis in Spain, and Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber have so far won all their matches. But perhaps the biggest triumphs have come from Argentina's Carlos Berlocq -- the world #37 beat both Roddick and Soeda, and dropped fewer games in the process. If he's able to put up a fight in his next match, it could give him a boatload of confidence in Paris.

Over in Strasbourg, the upsets came fast and furious. Top-seeded Sabine Lisicki, who's battled injury for most of the year, was handily dismissed in her opener, and world #16 Maria Kirilenko retired after splitting sets with young American Sloane Stephens. That opens the door for 2010's surprise French champion Francesca Schiavone, who hasn't won more than two matches at an event since Sydney. She's recently been able to raise her game this time of year, though -- I'm not sure anyone expected her to return to the Roland Garros final last year -- and after her win over Mirjana Lucic earlier today, the veteran Italian might have turned her year around.

A couple of higher profile names made their way over to Nice, where Bucharest champ Gilles Simon and Nicolas Almagro, who's won a title on clay every year since 2006, took to the courts. But perhaps the most attention will be paid to top-seeded John Isner, who proved he can play on clay with wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer in Davis Cup. He's only won one match since early April, though, so if he can make a stand this week, it'll go a long way in Paris. He'll next face former world #3 Nikolay Davydenko, whom he beat not long ago in Miami, so history is on his side, but if he can get the win it'll be key for his prospects in Paris.

The ladies are bringing even higher stakes to Brussels. A few top twenty players made their way to Belgium to make one more push before Paris. Former world #1 Jelena Jankovic failed to come back against young Simona Halep, and second-seeded Marion Bartoli was ousted by Urszula Radwanska in her opener. Meanwhile the Pole's older sister, who suffered her first 2012 loss to someone other than Victoria Azarenka in Rome, easily took out Lesia Tsurenko to make the quarters. But the bigger story might be my New Year's pick to win at Roland Garros. Dominika Cibulkova hasn't won a lot this year, but very nearly handed Victoria Azarenka her first loss of the season. She pulled off a nice win against a strong Christina McHale in her first round, and followed it up with a straight-set victory over Yanina Wickmayer earlier today. If she can harness that momentum for a few more wins, it might increase her prospects over the next two weeks.

Sure, there's no telling yet whether this week's battles will translate into strength in the coming fortnight, but after the run these guys have had recently, it's got to be comforting to get a few wins under their belts. And as they make their way through the draws, they'll only cement their case to be real forces in Paris.

No Signs of Fatigue

Sure, it's nice to be such a great tennis player that you can hang around 'til the end of a tournament, playing in the late rounds week after week. Of course you do run the risk of exhaustion, especially when you enter an event right before a Grand Slam.

But so far the men and women who played this past finals weekend have followed up on their success -- and those that still have their first rounds to play hope their luck also doesn't run out.

Both Brussels champion Caroline Wozniacki and runner-up Shaui Peng began their Paris campaigns today in style. Though taped up from a thigh injury -- one that caused her to take a medical time-out during Saturday's final -- the #1 seed had no trouble dispatching uber-veteran Kimiko Date Krumm. She made just nine errors and kept her opponent to under thirty percent on her return games. After just an hour, Wozniacki had advanced to the second round, proving she has plenty of steam left in her.

Peng was similarly impressive against Austria's Tamira Paszek -- though she needed just a few more minutes to get the win, she was never in trouble, saving all four break chances against her and winning nearly eighty percent of her first serves.

Strasbourg finalist Marion Bartoli struggled a bit more than the other ladies. After retiring from her championship match while trailing by a set and a game, the Frenchwoman found herself in trouble in Paris against the little-known Anna Tatishvili. The Georgian broke the eleventh seed in all of her service games during the first set, running off to a lead in just over half an hour. But ultimately experience prevailed -- Bartoli was able to get her game together and brought the momentum to her side of the court, winning the match 6-1 in the third set.

The woman who claimed the title in Strasbourg, Andrea Petkovic, will begin her Roland Garros campaign tomorrow against up-and-coming Serb Bojana Jovanovski. The two have never met before, but both had nice starts to the year, and ostensibly are better suited to hard courts. But Petko will do her best to back up her highest career ranking and, I expect, should come out on top.

Over in Nice, unseeded Victor Hanescu made a surprising run to the finals, kicking off that campaign with a one-sided defeat of Frenchman Benoit Paire. Ironically, he faced him again in his French Open first round earlier today and was in for a bigger fight this time around. After dropping the second set and rebounding with a breadstick in the third, Hanescu was forced to a tiebreak in the final set, eventually prospering in more than two-and-a-half hours. I'm not sure the result will completely mirror that of last week's event, but at least he's off to a good start.

Nicolas Almagro, who won the Nice title, will open tomorrow against Poland's Lukasz Kubot, a man against whom he's 3-0. I don't suspect he'll have much trouble this time around, either, but hopefully he'll use the match to make a statement on just how much he's contending for this championship.

All four of the men who played singles in the Dusseldorf final will play their openers on Tuesday. Florian Mayer and Philipp Kohlschreiber, who led the Germans to victory, will face Igor Kunitsyn and Sam Querrey respectively. Mayer, who's never lost to his opponent, should improve his streak, but Kohlschreiber, one-and-one against the American, will have to strike early. Querrey is hanging onto a seed in Paris by the slimmest of margins, and he's more than beatable, so look for the veteran German to force an upset.

The Argentines failed to defend their World Team Cup title over the weekend, so they'll be out for revenge. Juan Ignacio Chela meets young American Tim Smyczek, a man who's lost his only Tour-level clay court match, and should not have too much trouble. But Juan Monaco, ranked #43 in the world, faces a faltering Fernando Verdasco. The Argentine has a convincing 6-2 record against his opponent, so he should bring plenty of confidence into the match and could very well send the seed packing early.

It's a hectic and demanding life these athletes lead, but so far they're proving they have the strength and endurance to keep their campaigns going for at least a little while longer. Of course, not everyone can keep it up forever, but the ones that do will sure make for some exciting matches in the coming weeks.

Out of Time

We're less than four days from the start of the French Open! Yay!

Well, "yay" for some people -- fans like me who've been yearning for something to watch other than guilty pleasure TV (Seriously, Ramona? Seriously?), and athletes like Rafael Nadal or Justine Henin just itching to get that next Major title.

For others, it may cause a bit of a knot in the stomach. While the lead-up clay court season has allowed some new names to shine, a few usual stalwarts haven't really gotten the match play they might have wanted before traveling to Paris. That could be why we saw some big names in action at some small tournaments this week -- and not all with good results.

Melanie Oudin, for example, so close to her all-time high ranking, has now lost in three straight first rounds, including a fifty-two minute drubbing by Magdalena Rybarikova in Warsaw this week. Though a quarterfinal appearance in Charleston and some strong Fed Cup results prove she can win on clay, I'm sure she'd rather have come to France with a few more wins under her belt.

Elena Dementieva has fared only slightly better. Often thought of the best player without a Major trophy, I reluctantly admit she's a bit off my radar this time around. A victim of bad luck earlier in the year, she'd been pitted against Henin in two second rounds and then got caught in the whirlwind run of Ana Ivanovic in Rome.

But a loss to Alexandra Dulgheru in Madrid and a three-set, three-hour smackdown by world #100 Tsvetana Pironkova in Warsaw today doesn't bode well for her chances next week. There is some hope -- she was, remember, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2004. But Dementieva tends to do best at Slams when she's riding a wave of positive momentum -- not so much the case this time.

Robin Soderling hasn't had as much bad luck as that. Though he got bumped in his opening round in Madrid, he did make the semis in Miami and the finals in Barcelona. Last year's finalist at Roland Garros is boasting his highest career ranking and had improved to a 54-44 record on the dirt.

But he hit a wall earlier today against Olivier Rochus, a man he hadn't lost to since 2005. After dropping the first set handily, the Belgian raised his service game and held onto a break-lead in the third to score the win. That's Robin's fourth loss to a player ranked out of the top-fifty this year. Then again, the Swede didn't do much better in the weeks before last year's Open, so maybe he has a little less to worry about.

Then there's Maria Sharapova who'll try to round out her own career Grand Slam this month -- but I have a feeling that goal is a bit of a long shot. She did win a title in Memphis early off but has only taken one match in two tournaments since then. Sharapova opened her campaign in Strasbourg with a come-from-behind win over Regina Kulikova and followed it up with a solid victory over a qualifier on Wednesday, so hope isn't entirely lost. I'd like to see her make good on her top seeding, though, just to get a that extra bit of practice in before Paris.

Of course, past results aren't always an indication of future performance. So hopefully these guys will be able to pull it together for the big show. Or maybe they're just readying themselves for a sneak attack! Otherwise, we may be in for a few more -- and earlier! -- surprises than normal.