On the Upswing

Tennis is a sport of ups and downs, one in which players can peak and fall quicker than cresting tides. But it's often how players bounce back from their stretches in the doldrums that can define their careers, and this weekend's champions proved they have what it takes to keep themselves at the top of the game for some time to come.

Fabio Fognini hadn't exactly fallen off the radar -- the third seed in Viña Del Mar came to the tournament at his then-highest ranking of #15 in the world. But since claiming his first two career titles last summer, he's gone a little radio silent since -- he retired from his opening round in Chennai and was drubbed by Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Back on the Chilean clay, though, he seemed to find his footing. He stayed tough against always tricky Jeremy Chardy and withstood a comeback from dirt-specialist Nicolas Almagro, playing his first match since October, in the semis. Meanwhile Leonardo Mayer, barely ranked in the top hundred at the time, survived a tight second round against Tommy Robredo and came back again against Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the quarters to make his first career final. But Fognini was too strong in the end, dropping just four points on his first serve and breaking his opponent three times in thirteen chances. In under ninety minutes the Italian had claimed the title, establishing himself as a real threat once the clay season gets in full swing. Whether he has what it takes to unseat the greats is yet to be seen, but he sure has shown he can put up a fight.

The comeback in Zagreb was a little more obvious -- former top-ten player Marin Cilic had fallen deep into double digits after an anti-doping violation last year forced him into a six-month hiatus, and though he put up quite a fight in Melbourne, he hadn't scored any notable wins since his return. The three-time champion in Croatia was granted just a fifth seed in his homeland, and with second seeded Mikhail Youzhny dropping his opener he only faced one opponent ranked inside the top hundred on his road to the final. In the draw's top half, not-to-be-forgotten Tommy Haas, still skirting the top ten even though he's in his mid-thirties, came back twice against both Benjamin Becker and Daniel Evans to reach the championship match. The top seed, who'd come out the winner in the pair's long Wimbledon slug-fest five years ago, might have been spent by the time he got to Sunday's final, though -- the strong-serving Croat fired off ten aces to Tommy's two and capitalized on any opportunity he could on the German's parlay. Cilic was able to close out the match in straight sets, adding trophy #10 to his mantle, but maybe more importantly proving he was back with quite a vengeance.

Over in Montpellier Gael Monfils' return to the podium marked the end of an even longer drought. The 2010 champion at the Open Sud de France -- back when the even was held in the fall -- skipped much of the 2012 season with injury and made spotty returns to the fray last year. Though he won a Challenger event in wine country and made the final in Nice, he couldn't quite seal the deal -- and earlier this year in Doha he failed to keep his Qatar record against Rafael Nadal spotless. He did get things back on track this past week though -- as the fifty seed he survived a couple scares on his way to the final where he met countryman Richard Gasquet on Sunday. But the top seed had just eked out a win over big-serving Jerzy Janowicz and couldn't keep up in the championship match. Here too Monfils out-aced his opponent, lost just two points on first serve and allowed not a single break point. In another quick, straight-set, sub-ninety minute match, the underdog again came out on top, claiming his first crown in over two years.

Whether these guys can continue their momentum remains to be seen, of course, but each faced and overcame some big challenges over the last week -- and maybe over a much longer time frame than that. And if they can keep their confidence high, I wouldn't be surprised to see them claim even bigger prizes -- and scalps -- in the months to come. After all, there's still no telling when their tide might start to ebb, so they'd better strike while they've got the best opportunity.

Dethroned?

It's not very often that Rafael Nadal loses on clay.

Dropping just one match in forty-six rounds at Roland Garros, holding a record eight trophies in Monte Carlo, claiming thirty-six of his forty-nine titles on dirt, and winning ninety-three percent of the time he hits the surface, it's no wonder so many consider the Spaniard to be the King of Clay.

This weekend, though, the sovereign fell victim to a bit of an uprising.

Obviously there were question marks hanging over Rafa's head coming into the 2013 season -- missing from Tour the last seven-plus months, no one really knew what to expect when he finally made his return as a wildcard in Viña del Mar. Would he be just as dominant on the dirt as he'd been before his knee injury? Would he stumble early and eventually regain his footing, or would he come out of the gates swinging? Would he be able to carry his successes onto other surfaces, or would he never return to the top spot he'd occupied for a total of nearly two years?

The last time he played on the Golden Swing was 2005, way before most casual tennis fans had heard his name, but as the top seed in Chile and with just one other player in the top twenty making the trip south of the border, it seemed like a smart and low-pressure way to get back in the groove. And with his performance early during the week, it certainly looked as though he was primed to pick up just where he left off. He glided through his early rounds, losing serve just once and even dismissing Melbourne Cinderella Jeremy Chardy in two easy sets.

But his luck would change in Sunday's final. Argentina's Horacio Zeballos had been a standout way back in 2009, but had failed to follow through on earlier success. Now twenty-seven, he was ranked #73 in the world when he came down to the VTR Open and hadn't won a match in a Tour-level event's main draw since last year's French Open. He was tested from the start last week, too -- he lost his opening set to qualifier Diego Sebastian Schwartzman and needed to go the distance to pass Albert Ramos in the quarters. But he was the tougher player against Rafa when it most counted -- in the nearly three hour match, Zeballos came back after losing the first set, forced a third by winning a tiebreak, and got the deciding break at last to clinch the win. It was Nadal's only loss to a left-hander on clay and just the fifth time in his career he'd dropped a championship match on dirt -- all the others came at the hands of either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer.

On the surface it was kind of a disappointing end to a much-anticipated comeback, but there were a lot of positives to take away from his performance in Chile, as well. Including his run to the doubles final, Nadal played nine matches last week, and with some easy wins interspersed with a couple grinding marathons, it seems his body is ready for more challenges this season. We'll get an even better idea of where he stands when we makes his way to Sao Paulo this week, but the bigger test will be what he can do when he hits the surfaces on which he's less comfortable.

It could be a long road back for the Spaniard, but Rafael Nadal is nothing if not a fighter, and he'll not let go of his kingdom easily at all. It's too soon to call an end to his reign based on this one loss, and something tells me we'll soon see how much he's willing and able to defend his realm.

Until then it seems the best course of action is for everyone to keep calm and carry on. The King may be slightly bruised and battered, but you can be sure he hasn't quite abdicated his throne.

Overcoming the Withdrawal

Like many tennis fans this week and, frankly, every week after a Grand Slam ends, I find myself at a loss now that the trophies have been presented. After two weeks of unending surprises, amazing breakthroughs, and heart-pounding displays of mental and physical strength, I'm not entirely sure what to do with myself these days. But not all players lasted long enough to make an impact Down Under, and some who've been in the doldrums for quite some time are right back in action this week trying to return to the top.

In Montpellier a handful of top twenty players are contesting the second Open Sud de France, but perhaps second seeded Gilles Simon has the most to prove. Since falling out of the top fifty a little more than a year ago, the Frenchman has been working his way back into the upper echelons of the sport. He had been on the comeback trail, but struggled through ten sets in Melbourne, and only won one match -- the second straight year he's fallen so early at the Australian Open. He's already had a comfortable win over Flavio Cipolla today and faces world #209 Guillaume Rufin in the quarters, so he's off to a better start this week. And if he can make an even deeper push here, and erase the memory of the last fortnight-plus, he could finally make that move back into the top ten, a level he hasn't seen since late 2009.

Jurgen Melzer suffered his fall from grace a little more recently, having peaked at #8 in the world just last April. But after failing to defend points at the French Open, falling after just one match win at every tournament since July, and losing to his own doubles partner Philipp Petzschner in Melbourne, he's now out of the top forty. He avenged that loss after qualifying for the Zagreb main draw, though, and followed it up with a straight set win over Andreas Seppi today. He gets a bit of a break in the quarters, as Germany's Michael Berrer took care of top seeded Ivan Ljubicic for him, and with the highest-ranked player left in the draw Alex Bogomolov at #34, his opportunity to go all the way couldn't be better. And he'll need to make a big stand soon if he's going to get that momentum back.

Chile's Fernando Gonzalez has fallen ever so slightly more out of favor. After hip surgery in late 2010, the one-time world #5 didn't play again until last April, when his ranking had fallen out of the top five hundred, and a knee injury kept him from making much of an impact the rest of the year. He didn't play in the Australian Open, but came to Viña del Mar as a wildcard and dispatched Pere Riba in his opening match. He gets a bit of a break next against Joao Souza and, I hate to admit, faces a field of aging veterans like Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio Chela. If he's truly back in form, he might be able to pull off quite a set of upsets in his homeland.

All these guys have been well off their best game for various lengths of time, but they're still out there, fighting to climb back. And this week, now that the pressure of the biggest stage is off them, maybe they'll have a chance to work their way up the rankings. And with nearly four months before their next opportunity to shine at a Major, there's plenty of time for them to sate our appetite for more excitement.