The Pressure's On

We're counting down the days to the start of the first Grand Slam of the year, and while a couple players are taking every chance they get to make a case for themselves at the Australian Open, a few others haven't quite put up the numbers they'd hoped for. And with so much at stake in Melbourne, they may need to take the next couple days to regroup and get themselves on a better track for the New Year.

The top couple seeds haven't yet seen action in Hobart, but they're going to want top hope for better results than the other favorites have seen so far. Former Aussie semifinalist Sloane Stephens has had some of her best results Down Under, but after a disappointing 2014 season, she's fallen a bit down the rankings. She lost her second round last week in Auckland after a battle with fellow American Lauren Davis, and this week fell just as early, this time to Heather Watson in straight sets. And Klara Koukalova, who at this time last year was having a bit of a career resurgence -- she was defending runner-up points in Hobart this week -- has yet to win a match in 2015. After marking a first set bagel against Kurumi Nara, she only won three more games. She doesn't have too much on the line in Melbourne -- she lost to Sam Stosur in her opener -- but if she wants to reassert herself again this season, she'll want to turn things around pretty quickly.

Over in Auckland, where more than a couple favorites pulled out just before the event started, second seeded Ernests Gulbis took the courts for the first time since October and things got off to a rough start. Last year's semifinalist in Roland Garros has never made it past the second round of the Australian Open broke into the top ten on the heels of his performance, but an injury-hampered summer and fall kept him from accepting an alternate's ticket to the year end finals. And he wasn't dealt a very easy draw at the Heineken Open either -- starting off against 2014 breakout star Jiri Vesely, he managed to force a third set, but ultimately fell 6-1 in the third. And Roberto Bautista-Agut, who had a promising run to the semis last week in Chennai, retired down a set and a break to Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday, becoming the sixth seed to lose in Auckland before the quarterfinals. Hopefully he'll be able to manage whatever's ailing him in time for his Major campaign next week.

Stakes were even higher in Sydney this week where six top ten women were originally entered in the draw, but not everyone lived up to expectations. Ekaterina Makarova, who's traditionally done well Down Under, struggled with injury at the end of last season and had to withdraw from the season-ending Tournament of Champions in Sofia. She had a tough road in her comeback, though -- her first two opponents will both be seeded in Melbourne -- and after taking the first set from Carla Suarez Navarro eventually lost her two-plus hour second round. Far more disappointing, though, was the performance of Dominika Cibulkova, last year's runner-up at the Australian Open. After losing twelve first round matches in 2014, she kicked off the new season with yet another, dropping her opening round in Brisbane to teenager Madison Keys. This week she managed one win before losing to wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova on Tuesday, but she's going to want to do a lot better than that when she heads back to the site of her greatest success.

The men in Sydney may have a little less star power in their ranks, but there are plenty who were still hoping to make a point this week. Nick Kyrgios, another young standout from last season, is often talked about as Australia's next best hope to bring home a Major, and after making the quarters in Wimbledon last year it looked like there was something behind that. He put up a good fight against slightly higher-ranked Jerzy Janowicz in his opener this week, too, rebounding to take the second set after losing the first handily, but ultimately lost, bringing his record since the All England Club to a less-than-stellar 4-5. And top seed Fabio Fognini has been just as mediocre, losing in successively earlier rounds at each of last year's Grand Slams. He finished 2014 with only one win after the U.S. Open, and went oh-for-three in round robin matches in Perth. This week at the Apia International he took the first set off comeback kid Juan Martin Del Porto before finally falling to the one-time U.S. Open champ. It's not a loss he should be ashamed of, to be sure, but it surely isn't the argument he wants to make so close to a Major.

Hopefully all these guys and girls will be able to turn things around in the coming days and weeks -- after all so many other players will be waiting in the wings ready to take advantage of any weaknesses on their parts. And if they're not careful, there's no reason some of the underdogs won't be able to capitalize.

Not to Be Forgotten

Last year was one which saw plenty of stars rise, but just as many fall, as a couple of rising stars seemed to hit a roadblock in 2012. But while this season may have just begun, it seems that more than a few of them have made a point of turning things around this week.

Dominika Cibulkova didn't have a precipitous fall from the top -- since winning her breakthrough title in 2011, she's only "fallen" to #15 in the world -- but her results last season still feel somewhat less-than-stellar. She lost to three players ranked close to triple-digits to start the year and, after stunning Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros, only beat one top ten player through the rest of the year. She didn't quite live up to my expectations for her, but with her performance this week in Sydney, she might be making a case for herself this year. She opened with a drubbing of one-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova and earlier on Wednesday delivered a similar blow to 2012 stand-out Sara Errani. She faces one more top-ten player in the semis, Angelique Kerber, but she's won bigger matches before and she might just be able to do it again.

The ladies' draw in Hobart featured a lot of new rising talent, but last year's most improved player Su-Wei Hsieh and last week's surprise Shenzhen finalist Klara Zakopalova both dropped matches early. Instead Monica Niculescu, in the top thirty less than a year ago, has taken the opportunity to battle back -- after a straight-set win in her opener, the Romanian fought back from a set down to defeat Shuai Peng and make the quarters. It'll get harder from here, with Kirsten Flipkens waiting in the wings, but now's as good a time as any to prove what she can do. But even more impressive this week has been the comeback of Jarmila Gajdosova, whose 1-11 record since last May pushed her well into the triple digit rankings. She did beat Roberta Vinci in Brisbane and with two straight-set wins this week, she's put herself in her first quarterfinal since this time last year -- and if she can get past Elena Vesnina on Thursday, there's no reason she can't make a play for the title in her homeland.

Meanwhile in Auckland Gael Monfils, sidelined in the middle part of 2012 with an on-and-off knee injury, continued making strides to climb back into the elite. He made the quarters last week in Doha, but since he was unable to defend runner-up points, he saw his rank drop to just inside the top hundred. Eager to get in more court-time before the first Grand Slam, he's back in action in New Zealand and after surviving a scare early he's back in the quarters here too. He'll next battle third-seeded Tommy Haas, another veteran who's struggled with injury throughout the latter part of his career. The two haven't met in over four years, so there's no telling what will happen here -- but if Monfils makes a stand, it could set him up well for his trip to Melbourne.

The Cinderellas of Sydney may be flying a little further under the radar, but some big wins this week could do a lot to change that perception. Bernard Tomic, who couldn't break even in 2012, saw his ranking drop from top thirty to sub-fifty in just a few months. But he started this season with a huge upset of Novak Djokovic in Perth, and came back to his homeland rejuvenated. After an upset of fifth seeded Feliciano Lopez today, he earned himself a quarterfinal date with more-than-beatable veteran Jarkko Nieminen. But Ryan Harrison, just as disappointing last year, may have pulled off the bigger feat -- after qualifying for the main draw, he notched a win over top-seed and #1 American John Isner in straight sets. It's no easy road from here, but all the top players have been eliminated in his half -- if Harrison wants to make a bid for the title, this could be his chance.

There's still a lot left to play at this week's tournaments -- even more left the rest of the year -- and there's no guarantee that these winners will continue their runs. But after the slumps they've each endured over the last few months, it's nice to see them shaking things up now. And with some solid reminders they're all still in the game, it sure bodes well for the rest of their years.

Locked and Loaded

It's a tale of two draws in Sydney, with nine of the top ten women in the sport showing up for one more week of match play while the top seed on the men's side is ranked just out of single digits. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of talent all over the courts, and after their time off, it sure looks like everyone out there is primed to fire off a few shots before heading down to Melbourne.

Juan Martin Del Potro leads the men's field, his first match play since losing both his rubbers in the Davis Cup finals. Still, back at #11 in the world and looking once again like the champion we know he is, a couple wins here could be all he needs to prep for Melbourne. DelPo opens tomorrow against world #58 Lukasz Kubot, a man who has given top players some trouble here and there, but should be able to notch the win. And if he stays healthy, that momentum could go a long way further.

Fellow big-server John Isner is in the mix too. After his headline-driven 2010, he quietly worked himself to his current career-high ranking on the heels of a semifinal run last November in Paris. He'll have a bit of a tough run in Sydney though -- assuming he gets by compatriot qualifier Bobby Reynolds, he should face feisty Radek Stepanek in the quarters. The Czech leads their sparse head-to-head, and could deal Isner a tough match. But if he survives, I like the American's chances here.

But either favorite could face a challenge from Alex Bogomolov, who barely snuck his way into the seeds in Melbourne. He pulled out of his second round match last week in Doha, but fought his way to a win over Robin Haase earlier today. With wins over Feliciano Lopez, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray all in the last twelve months, he's proven he can outplay his ranking, and might just parlay his strengths into deep runs here and beyond.

The ladies' field is a little more stacked, and may have a little more on the line: if Petra Kvitova extends her win streak -- she hasn't lost a match since October -- and takes the title, she'll be the #1 player in the world when play starts next week. Both she and current #1 Caroline Wozniacki fought through their openers in Sydney, but they're not the only ones to watch this week -- and the spotlight's falling on more than just the favorites.

Daniela Hantuchova made her way to the Brisbane final, largely thanks to withdrawals by higher-ranked opponents. So it's nice to see her put up a fight here. She took out my most-improved player of 2011 in convincing style, and followed through by upsetting 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone on Tuesday. She'll next be the one trying to break Kvitova's momentum, so it's only getting tougher from here, but it's nice to see her proving she deserved that runner's-up trophy last week.

And Lucie Safarova, the other non-seed left in the women's bracket, has overcome two tough challenges herself. She held serve throughout her first round match against Ana Ivanovic -- a rare occurrence in the ladies' game these days -- and was leading Svetlana Kuznetsova by a wide margin before the Russian retired due to the heat. The young Czech can be spotty, but with a quarterfinal date against similarly suspect Na Li, it's not out of the question to see her advance further.

It's a little surprising to see so many top players -- and even the ones on the edge -- in action just days before the start of a Grand Slam. There's a lot at stake the next few weeks on the tennis courts, and this week's matches will set the stage for what could be a fortnight filled with fireworks.

The Survivors

It's been a crazy couple of weeks in Australia for tennis stars, with some of sport's elite struggling to get their footing just ahead of the Australian Open. But while some sort of upset-bug seems to be claiming so many of their peers, a few ladies have stayed focused and still have their eyes on the prize.

The women's draw at the Medibank International boasted a solid roster of talent with seven of the top ten athletes -- twelve of the top twenty -- entered in the action. But almost immediately the seeds began to drop. Francesca Schiavone and Jelena Jankovic lost their first round matches while Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva and Sam Stosur all failed to get out of the second round. And now with only four players left, we're starting to see who might be the real threat in Melbourne.

Na Li, the eighth seed in Sydney, has battled through some tough matches -- she lost sets to both Virginie Razzano and Svetlana Kuznetsova before advancing. The diminutive Chinese has been a bit quiet recently, making a mark at really only one tournament in the back half of 2010, but let's not forget her inspiring run to the Australian semis last year. She had powered through Caroline and stunned Venus Williams before taking Serena to two tiebreakers in defeat. She might fly under the radar, but the twenty-eight year old vet certainly has the talent to again advance deep into the draw.

More center-stage is Kim Clijsters, the top seed remaining in Sydney. She's only lost a handful of games this week, and is the clear-cut favorite to take the title. Of course, this might not mean much -- after winning Brisbane last year, she went on the suffer an uncharacteristic, and somewhat embarrassing, drubbing in Melbourne. I doubt that will be the case this time around, though, as the 2010 U.S. Open and Doha champion is producing some of the most accurate and powerful shots on tour. As long as she stays healthy, you have to count her as one of the favorites for another Major.

It's never easy to stay calm when you see so much frenetic action going on around you, but both Li and Clijsters have kept their heads while so many others have seemed to lose theirs this week.

And with the Australian Open beginning in just a few days, it couldn't happen at a better time.

The Importance of Defense: Part 2

Earlier this week I pointed out how Andy Murray's decision not to defend his title in Doha last week might have some interesting consequences for the Australian Open draws released on Friday.

A similar situation is fomenting in Sydney this week. You might remember that 2009 champ Elena Dementieva won this trophy as part of a fifteen-match win streak. But this year she didn't go back to Auckland to defend that first title, so she's dropping points from her ranking regardless of her showing in Sydney.

She's doing well at this tournament so far. With a 6-3, 6-1 win over Victoria Azarenka on Thursday, Elena clinched her spot in the finals for a second straight year. There she'll meet Serena Williams who actually struggled in her semifinal match against Bali champ Aravane Rezai, and found herself two points from elimination before rallying for the win. Serena is certainly a formidable opponent to face -- if the Russian doesn't pull off the victory tomorrow, she'll close the gap between herself and world #6 Venus Williams.

Of course her situation isn't quite as crucial as Andy Murray's. Win or lose tomorrow, she'll still be ranked fifth in the world, one spot lower than she was at this time last year, so her potential draws won't be affected. More important than her point score, though, is what a successful defense would do to raise her profile. She's one of the most consistent players out there, having been ranked in the top ten for the better part of the last decade -- but she's often overlooked as a threat at the Majors, and it's easy to forget that she's actually played in two Slam finals. Adding another victory to her record would certainly get pundits talking about her again.



Dementieva has a decent record against Williams, having won most of their matches in the last five years, so her chances of repeating aren't that bad. And knocking off a top seed, whatever the circumstances, will always serve as a huge confidence booster. The timing of a potential win wouldn't hurt either -- as the last thing she remembers before going into the first Grand Slam of the year, momentum would certainly be on Elena's side.

It might not be the safest best, but I'm putting my money -- and hopes -- on an upset tomorrow -- after all, it would be fun to shake things up a little, wouldn't it?

A Rougher Road

The men's draw at Sydney's Medibank International didn't go quite as smoothly as the ladies' did, with the upsets starting from the get go.

Two seeds were eliminated in the first round -- #8 Mardy Fish suffered his second straight defeat in an opening match this year. By the third round, only three seeded players remained, and in the quarters Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the runner up at last year's Australian Open, pulled out with a back injury.

Then there were two -- reigning Melbourne champ Novak Djokovic and David Nalbandian, who eliminated home-country favorite Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets.



Nole didn't have the most glorious return to the Down Under -- he lost in the first round at last week's Brisbane International to Latvia's Ernests Gulbis. In Sydney he fared somewhat better, making it to the semis before Jarkko Nieminen ended his losing to the third-ranked Serb in a stunning two sets. The loss ended Djokovic's hopes of -- gasp! -- overtaking Roger Federer in the ATP rankings before the season's first Grand Slam.

Nalbandian was more successful in his half of the draw, taking out Richard Gasquet in the semis and reaching the finals without dropping a set. The Argentine who ended last year with three final appearances in his last four tournaments -- a championship in Stockholm -- had played Jarkko ten times before Saturday's final with pretty even results. He only held a slight 6-4 advantage.

In the Sydney final Nieminen gave David a bit of a scare. It took three sets and one tiebreak before Nalbandian was able to hoist the trophy over his head. The current world #11 may have slipped slightly in the rankings over the last few years -- he had been as high as #3 once -- but he's certainly making a case for himself to get back up there.

The results in so far this year, though, may cause some concern for Djokovic fans. With two early losses to lesser-ranked players, has he laid a poor groundwork for a repeat in Melbourne? Not necessarily -- he didn't play in any lead-up tournaments to last's years Slam. But you know that he had wanted to make a bolder statement in his return to Australia -- and follow up his ATP Masters Cup title with a little more success. Unfortunately for him now he's really gonna have to bring it Melbourne.



Incidentally, in the other men's tournament being played this week -- the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand -- world #9 Juan Martin Del Potro took his first title of the year, defeating American Sam Querrey in straight sets. Despite the ultimate loss it was a good showing for Sam -- he notched wins over fourth seed Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer, who continues to struggle -- and it could bode well for his performance next week.



Good luck to all!

Undefeated!

It must be nice to be perfect.

And that's exactly where Elena Dementieva stands just days before the Australian Open begins on Monday. She rolled over compatriot Dinara Safina in the finals of Sydney's Medibank International, capturing her second straight title of the year, and currently holds a tidy 10-0 record for 2009.



Of course that sets up high expectations for her performance in Melbourne next week, where she's never advanced past the fourth round. She faces what could be a tight draw -- both Williams sisters are in her half, and she could meet Hopman Cup winner Dominika Cibulkova and local favorite Samantha Stosur before the quarterfinals.

But hopefully her strong start will give her what she needs to power through to her first Grand Slam Title. With two runner-up trophies and no championships yet, she certainly deserves it!

Congratulations, Elena!

Hot Child in the Sydney

It's friggin' cold in New York and, for more than a few reasons, I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't have the foresight to book a one-way ticket to Australia, where it's supposed to hit a refreshing 90 degrees in Sydney on Thursday.

And it's not just the temperature that's hot -- the action on the tennis courts this week has been too. Three of the top four women's seeds at the Medibank International advanced to the semifinals of the tournament -- #4 Vera Zvonareva pulled out due to illness.

But despite the seemingly expected results so far, the play hasn't gone quite as smoothly as you might have expected.

Top seed Serena Williams, who skipped last week's action due to a hamstring injury faced a bit of a shaky start in her return. She faced four match points in the first round against the highest-ranked Australian player, Samantha Stosur. Two rounds later Danish upstart Caroline Wozniacki had another three chances to eliminate the former world #1. But Serena struggled through a third-set tiebreak and eventually pulled out the win.

On the bottom half of the draw, Dinara Safina looks to improve on her runner-up performance in Perth last week, where she lost to nineteen-year-old Dominika Cibulkova in the finals. She coasted through her first two rounds, losing a total of only six games. But Safina hit a bit of a wall against Alize Cornet who, in the past year, has notched wins over Daniela Hantchukova, Anna Chakvetadze, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serena Williams. The two traded breaks early in the match, and Safina even found herself down 1-4 in the second set before she was able to rebound and take the match in straight sets.

Elena Dementieva continued her undefeated streak for 2009, but not without some drama of her own. The champion in Auckland last week, scored easy wins over her first two opponents in Sydney. But against tenth-ranked Aggie Radwanska -- who won their last two meetings, most recently in Istanbul last May -- it took two and three-quarter hours and three sets before Elena earned her right to meet Serena in the semis.

The lone unseeded player to make it to the final four was Ai Sugiyama who took her place after #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova pulled out with an abdominal strain. The thirty-three year old veteran, once ranked as high as #8 in the world, has never made it past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam and hasn't won a singles title since 2004. But a win in Sydney could increase her intimidation factor at next week's Australian Open. She's still got quite a task ahead of her though -- she hasn't beaten Safina in more than five years, when Ai was ranked fourteenth and Dinara #66.

As the temperatures heat up Down Under, all four women are primed to do the same, each focused on making one last statement before the year's first Major. Every one of them still has a mountain to climb before taking the title, and you know it'll be fun to watch!