Now, That's More Like It

Things got a little crazy there the last couple weeks, didn't they?

Across the board during the early clay court season, we saw long-standing champions fall and new victors crowned -- many capturing their maiden trophies, others coming seeming to come back from the grave, and, even more surprising, some long-dominating forces falling by the wayside. But this week at the Mutua Madrid Open, order seemed to be restored in the tennis world. And with just a few weeks left before the start of the French Open, it might be the perfect time for that to happen.

That's not to say everything went as planned. A still-injured Serena Williams, champion here two years in a row, pulled out of her quarterfinal against Petra Kvitova and Na Li, whose first Major breakthrough came on this surface three years ago, gave up her lead to Maria Sharapova and fell in a two-and-a-half hour battle. Ultimately the Russian, at her lowest ranking since 2011, was able to fight her say to the final and faced off against risen star Simona Halep, playing in her eighth final in twelve months. The Romanian upstart came out swinging, too, taking advantage of weak serving by her opponent for a 6-1 first set. But Sharapova was able to right herself in the second, losing just six points on serve to force a decider. She took control there too, holding onto an early break and closing out the match in just under two hours. It was her second title of the year and went one better than her performance last year, pushing her back to #7 in the world. It's still well off her career best, of course, but it certainly puts her back on the track we're used to seeing her on. And it could give her just the confidence she needs if she's going to make a real play for another Roland Garros title.

Rafael Nadal certainly has more of those trophies than anyone conceivably needs, but after his performance early this part of the season, his potential to take home trophy #9 was coming into question. He wasn't losing to top-tier players like Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer, but to compatriots like David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro -- the latter of whom he'd never lost to before. In Madrid, though, he put the applecart back on its wheels -- with Nole withdrawing with injury and Fed skipping the event to have a couple more twins, Nadal was the clear favorite here. To make things easier Stanislas Wawrinka, who bested him in the Melbourne final, was stunned by young Austrian Dominic Thiem in his opener, and even Andy Murray, always a threat but sort of struggling this year, fell in straight sets to Barcelona finalist Santiago Giraldo. Ultimately Rafa faced off Sunday against a surging Kei Nishikori, whose run to the final hoisted him to a career high #9 ranking. The Japanese star, a winner in Barca and Memphis already this year, had upset Milos Raonic and David Ferrer this week and even took the first set from Nadal. But the King of Clay rebounded in the second and was able to pounce when Nishikori called for the trainer to treat his back. He was ahead 3-0 in the decider, too, when his opponent was forced to retire, clinching the win in a way no one wants, but at least shaking some of the cobwebs out of his game.

While this weekend's champions certainly have the resumés that make everyone take notice when they hit the courts, their prospects at the big -- and bigger -- events down the road had come into question in recent weeks. But their wins today did a lot to remind us just what they're capable of.

And while we all love a little bit of drama here and there, it's sort of nice to know things are getting back to normal.

A Coming Out Party

Madrid has always been one of those big events that catches us all off guard a little. Whether it's the weird blue clay, some strange whiffs on match point, or just your run-of-the-mill upsets, you never know what you're going to get.

And this year is no different.

Though many of the favorites have survived so far -- fingers crossed -- many have been tested thoroughly. And a couple of spoilers have showed surprising strength, and might just be able to propel themselves to a new level in the sport.

Grigor Dimitrov has long been considered a "Next Big Thing" in tennis, winning the Wimbledon and U.S. Open Juniors titles in 2008 and earning the nickname "Baby Fed" -- not exactly a no-pressure moniker. And while he's picked up a handful of Tour titles over the last several months -- and has wins over Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to boot -- the best he's ever done at a Major was a third-round showing at the French Open last year. He comes to the Mutua Madrid Open at his highest ever ranking, #14 in the world, so expectations will be high. So far, he's delivered -- he put together a decisive win over Pablo Carreno Busta, something of a Cinderella this year in Monte Carlo, and held tough against tricky wildcard Marius Copil on Wednesday. While he just lost his set lead on sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, he still has an opportunity to make his second Masters quarterfinal -- and the way things have been going this season, he has the potential to go even further.

Caroline Garcia also comes to Spain at the highest ranking of her career, though at #51 on the WTA, she's still far less accomplished than Dimitrov. But the twenty-year-old Frenchwoman has proven herself worthy over her short career -- back in 2011 she very nearly stormed over Maria Sharapova in the Roland Garros second round, running off with a set and a break lead on the soon-to-be-crowned champion, and this season, after pushing Serena to three sets in Miami, captured her first career title with a win over former world #1 Jelena Jankovic in Bogota. She's had a little bit of a pass so far in Madrid -- seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber retired down a set and a break in their opener and Maria Kirilenko, playing just her second tournament of the season, pulled out before the second round began. She next faces off against Sara Errani, clearly a clay-court favorite, but one who's been slightly more spotty this year. The two have never met before, but something tells me Garcia could just give the Italian a run for the money. And at as high-profile an event as this, there may be no better chance for her to do so.

But the real story this week in Madrid may be that of twenty-year-old Dominic Thiem. The one-time Juniors #2 reached the final of the French Open Boy's tournament three years ago and went on to win seven ITF Futures and Challengers trophies. Now #70 in the world, he's pushed Andy Murray to three sets in Rotterdam and beat Gilles Simon in Indian Wells, but his real breakthrough came just this week. After taking out a tough Dmitry Tursunov in an hour-long opener, he came back after losing a breadstick set to dominate Australian Open titleist Stanislas Wawrinka in the back half of their second round. It was just his third meeting with a top ten player, and importantly his first win over one. Later today he'll face Feliciano Lopez, certainly a big threat, but one far less intimidating than what the Austrian's seen already in Spain. If he plays like he did on Tuesday, he could just put himself on everyone's radar in the weeks that come.

It's always nice to see new talent really prove themselves in this sport, but it's even more impressive when it happens at an event where stakes are so high. As they each graduate to the next level, the pressure is only going to get higher, but if they can keep their cool, there's really no telling what they can do.

The Unexpected Victors

It seems to be turning into a more common occurrence these days, seeing the men's draws get turned on their heads early in some big tournaments. But often early upsets ultimately just open the door for #2 or #3 on the list of favorites, with ultra-underdogs simply bowing out quickly after their big wins. That didn't happen at this week's ATP events, though -- while upsets certainly took place throughout the week, the top seeds did eventually survive to the finals. But to their surprise they'd find out their opponents were far more formidable foes than they could have possibly realized.

World #6 Tomas Berdych has had some big results this season so far -- he reached the semis in Melbourne, took a title in Rotterdam and gained an early lead on Roger Federer in the Dubai final. He'd also had a few hiccups here and there, though, losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in his Indian Wells opener and to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Monte Carlo. He seemed to have righted himself at the Portugal Open though, riding his top seed to the final with little drama. He even took the first set from Carlos Berlocq without dropping a game and looked cleared for the title.

But the thirty-one year old had his own plans. A bit off his highest ranking, Berlocq hadn't won more than one match at any event all year, but was on point when he hit the courts in Oeiras. He stunned second seeded Milos Raonic in the quarters, his first ever win over a top ten player. But unlike so many players who expend all their energy on getting that one big win, the Argentine followed up with an ouster of Daniel Gimeno Traver to reach his third final. He seemed to lose steam on Sunday, dropping the first set to Berdych in less than half an hour, but did manage a break to kick off the second. It was a tough battle for that set, but eventually Berlocq forced a decider and decided to up his game even further -- converting on four of five break chances, he rolled through the third set, notching his second top-ten victory and earning his second career title, easily the biggest win on his record.

Things got even more interesting in Munich where both defending champion Tommy Haas and top seeded Fabio Fognini were the favorites for the title. In his first matches since Indian Wells, the thirty-six year old Haas looked good early, taking out always-feisty Alejandro Falla and hanging tough against Andreas Seppi to make the semis. But it was Fognini who seemed even more in control -- just a shade off his best ranking of #13 in the world, the Italian has scored wins over Nicolas Almagro, Tommy Robredo and Gael Monfils already this year, and at the BMW Open he reached his third final of the year without dropping a set. He even got a set lead in Sunday's championship too, but again, that would soon be reversed.

Like Berlocq, Martin Klizan had tasted success over his career, but hadn't quite maintained that stance. A title in St. Petersburg nearly two years ago helped propel him to #26 in the world, but a relatively uneventful 2013 season pushed him out of the spotlight. He did have a couple chances this year, sneaking into the third round at the Australian Open and beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Rio, but still languished with a triple-digit ranking. The Munich qualifier turned things around even before today's final, though -- he came back after losing the first set to Mikhail Youzhny and ended Haas's bid to repeat in the semis. And after losing his opener to Fognini -- incidentally, a rematch of the St. Petes final -- he turned the tables decisively, never losing serve again and dropping just three more games, making him the lowest-ranked player to win a title this year.

As much as the favorites have earned the right to be considered just that, sometimes it's nice to see some new faces in the mix. More important than winning the trophy, this weekend's champions proved they have what it takes to follow up one big win with another. And with so many of the most dominant forces in this sport showing they too can make mistakes, there may be no better time for these new champions to show their stuff.

Sixth Time's a Charm?

The ladies taking the court in Oeiras really shook things up from the start, this week, didn't they?

Third seeded Sam Stosur, one of the most accomplished players in the field, lost her opener to world #165 Timea Bacsinszky, a woman who's spent most of the last three years rehabbing on the ITF Tour, and Lucie Safarova, who so nearly beat eventual Stuttgart titleist Maria Sharapova in that first round, bowed out early in Portugal to Polona Hercog. Other favorites got a little further, but eventually Melbourne Cinderella Genie Bouchard and Roberta Vinci -- whose two match wins this week was her best performance all season -- were also sent packing.

All that leaves two somewhat unlikely players to contest tomorrow's championship match.

Former world #2 Svetlana Kuznetsova has won thirteen trophies in her long career and she'ss laid claim to two Grand Slams. But she's lost the only final she's played since 2010 and has fallen a bit down the rankings since. She did manage to climb back last year after injury, reaching later rounds in Tokyo and Moscow, and last week in Stuttgart survived red-hot Simona Halep in two tight sets. She maintained a low seed in Oerias, but upset Bouchard in the quarters and earlier today barreled through compatriot Elena Vesnina in just over an hour. She hasn't won a title in almost four years, though, so she may be a little rough in tomorrow's match. And that could be just the opening her opponent needs.

Carla Suarez Navarro has had some big wins during her career -- she stunned Venus Williams at the 2009 Australian Open and reached the quarters in New York with a win over Angelique Kerber last year -- but despite five previous final appearances, all on what should be her best surface, she's never won a title. But this time one thing is different -- the Spaniard is just off her career high ranking, and tomorrow will be the first time she faces someone ranked lower than her for the crown. She hasn't dropped a set yet, either, and won her opening two matches in under an hour each. Today's match against Irina-Camelia Begu was her first real test, and though she was pushed to a tiebreak to start, she rolled through the second set decisively to reach her third consecutive final in the former Estoril. It won't be easy of course - CSN's only gotten one win in her previous four meetings with the Russian, and one of Sveta's Majors did, after all, come on clay -- but she's arguably playing the better ball these days, and with all her earlier attempts coming up short, she might finally have the momentum and the motivation to get things done this time around.

It wouldn't be the longest streak of finals with no title, of course -- just last year, after all, Elena Vesnina ended a run of six trophy-less campaigns in Hobart -- but breaking it now, at such a prime juncture in her career, could put Suarez Navarro on a new path. With the French Open around the corner -- an event at which she's only won one match in her entire career -- she'll want to prove she has the goods. A victory tomorrow would only be the first step to bigger and better things, of course, but once she breaks the seal, there's no telling what she could be able to do.

Topsy Turvy

Things sure got a little crazy in the back half of last week, didn't they? While there was plenty of star power on the courts of Stuttgart and Barcelona, they didn't always deliver the way they were expected to, and the ones who stuck around for championship weekend, may have surprised even themselves with their performances. In the end, though, the dust did settle, and the players who walked away with the titles proved they have what it takes to withstand the tumult.

Agnieszka Radwanska and red-hot ingenue Simona Halep took the top seeds at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, but neither could make good on their status -- Halep, who made the semis in Indian Wells, lost her opener in Germany to veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova, while Aga at least made the quarters before bowing out to Maria Sharapova. Ultimately MaSha contested the final against a plucky Ana Ivanovic, who battled through a slew of tough opponents to get to her third final of the year -- Kuznetsova, Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, 2011 champion Julia Goerges, and former world #1 Jelena Jankovic. The Serb even took the first set off the Grand Slammer, a woman she hadn't beaten in almost seven years, but eventually the tide turned. In a set with twelve breaks of serve, Sharapova forced a decider and rolled through the third to retain the title for a third straight year, successfully snapping a year-long trophy-less streak. And after the string of relatively disappointing results she's had so far this year -- at #9 now, she's at her lowest ranking in over three years -- it might just give her the push she needs to deliver even bigger returns the rest of the season.

Things got even more interesting on the clay courts of Barcelona, which have been ruled by one Rafael Nadal since 2005. But the eight-time champion, riding a forty-two match win streak here, was foiled in a rematch of last year's final against Nicolas Almagro, this time losing in the quarters. Nico, however, couldn't sustain his momentum and was ousted a round later by Colombian Santiago Giraldo, ranked just #65 in the world. On the bottom half of the draw, fourth seeded Kei Nishikori -- who beat David Ferrer and Roger Federer in Miami -- fought off challenges from recent upstart Roberto Bautista Agut and previously on-fire Marin Cilic to reach his second final in 2014. The man from Japan had experience on his side Sunday too -- against a man who'd lost the only other final he'd played before, he won three-quarters of his first-serve points and three-quarters of his second-serve returns. After just over an hour, Nishikori had claimed the title, the biggest of his career, and secured his spot as #12 in the world, just ahead of long-time, top-ten staple Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and veterans Tommy Haas and Mikhail Youzhny.

Whether this weekend's champions can parlay recent success to bigger trophies in the weeks to come, of course, remains to be seen. But that they were able to keep they're cool when so much around them was getting turned upside down sure bodes well for their prospects. And with some real favorites proving there are some holes in their armors, these winners could really take the opportunity and pounce

Time to Step Up

The clay court season got underway in earnest this week, and while many of the sport's top stars are taking to the courts of Barcelona and Stuttgart, it might be the action at some lower-profile events that warrants some real attention. The fields might seem a little less intimidating, but that only increases the pressure on the favorites to perform -- and opens the door for the underdogs to really show us what they've got.

World #30 Daniela Hantuchova takes the top seed in Marrakech, and was tested from the start. She dropped her opening set to little-known qualifier Renata Voracova before rallying to win her next two matches. The one-time top-five player has never won a title on the dirt, though, so she might still be a long-shot for this one. Instead watch out for Garbine Muguruza, the young Spaniard who stormed through qualifying rounds in Hobart to win her first career title and then rode that momentum to the fourth round in Melbourne. She lost three first rounds in a row, though, before coming to Morocco, and should be looking to turn her luck back around. Next up she'll face fellow comeback kid, Shahar Peer -- the veteran was a stone's throw from the top ten not that long ago, but has since fallen all the way to #92. Her only title since 2009 came at a 125K-level event last year in China, and she's barely won more than two matches at any event in quite some time. Peer hasn't had to face a seed here yet -- her last opponent took care of rising star Elina Svitolina for her -- but if she sinks her teeth in early should could prove to be a real spoiler in this draw.

Over in Bucharest all eyes are on Grigor Dimitrov, who won his second career title in Acapulco a few months back and subsequently climbed to a high ranking of #14 in the world. He was pushed by another young upstart, Jiri Vesely, in Wednesday's second round, but should have an easier time against his next opponent, a battle-worn Sergiy Stakhovsky, who's gone three sets in his last two matches. Still, Dimitrov's had most of his success on other surfaces -- he won Juniors titles at Wimbledon and New York and has only gone as far as the third round in Roland Garros -- so there's plenty of room for underdogs here too. Famed giant-slayer Lukas Rosol won his only title here last year, and though he's not seeded here he did manage an upset over Jarkko Nieminen to make the quarterfinals. And Robin Haase, who'd only won three matches all year before heading to Romania, today pulled off the upset of the event so far, taking out world #15 Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. He won't face another seed until at least the semis, so the Dutchman could really make a legitimate play for this title. And after the season he's had, there might not be a better time.

The favorites, of course, have plenty of potential to deliver on their status this week, but with the fields so wide open in both Marrakech and Bucharest, it really does seem to be anybody's game. And for whoever is able to rise to the challenge -- or seize the opportunity -- it could be a big step for the rest of their season.

A Changing of the Guard

Well I'm not sure anyone was expecting the results we got at this weekend's tournaments. With a Master summarily dethroned and a newbie finally seeing through her potential, the two champions crowned on Sunday might not have been the ones we'd expected, but they could be a signal of just how much things have changed.

With many of the ladies on Tour occupied with Fed Cup action this weekend, the draw in Kuala Lumpur was a little sparse. Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova, the only top-forty player in the field, should have been the clear favorite, and she began her campaign like she was on a mission. She struggled a bit in later rounds, though, coming back against Zarina Diyas and Karolina Pliskova, but eventually reached the final, her third of the year.

Meanwhile in the other half of the draw, wide open with the four seeds averaging a #83 ranking, young Donna Vekic seemed to turn around her luck a bit. The seventeen year old who'd reached the final in Birmingham in 2013 and in Tashkent the year before, had lost her first four matches of the season and, despite causing a nice upset of Svetlana Kuznetsova in Miami, nevertheless lost easily a round later. She was granted the seventh seed in Malaysia, but was tested from the start and dropped opening sets to her first two opponents. In the topsy-turvy final she was trailing too, down a set and 4-5 before rattling off seven straight games for a 4-0 lead in the decider.

But things are never easy on the ladies' Tour, and after missing three match points, the Croat found herself in a tiebreak for the trophy. Ultimately she was able to hold tougher, eking out the match in a nearly three-hour battle, scoring just one more point than her opponent, but decidedly an important one. The win marked Vekic's first career win over a top-ten player and made her the youngest champion in almost seven years*, quite a milestone for the rising star. Now up at #65 in the world and having finally followed up one win with another, she could prove to be quite a factor in the big events in the months to come. She's certainly still in the early stages of her career, but she might just be ready to take the reins.

There was a little more experience on the court in Monte Carlo, and the stakes were understandably higher at the first Masters event of the clay court season. Some of the favorites bowed out early -- Mikhail Youzhny dropped his opener to Andreas Seppi while fifth seed Tomas Berdych succumbed to red-hot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his third round. But the surprise exit of eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarters really tilted the apple cart, and the subsequent semifinal loss of injury-addled Novak Djokovic, the first man to beat Rafa in Morocco since 2003, only added to tumult.

Ultimately two Swiss stars were left standing -- Roger Federer, three times a loser to Nadal in the final here, and recently baptized Stanislas Wawrinka, playing in just the third Masters 1000 final of his career. It was the pair's fifteenth meeting, and while the less-experienced Wawrinka held the slightly higher ranking -- #3 versus #4 -- he'd won only one of their previous matches, on these courts actually, but way back in 2009. He started out in a deficit this time too, losing the first set in Roger's attempt to win his twenty-second Masters crown, but came back with a vengeance, taking a tiebreak to force a third and closing out the match in just over two hours.

It was Wawrinka's third title of the year, making 2014 his most prolific season to date, and maybe more importantly cements his standing as one of the sport's top players. After years of hanging out in the second tier, he's somehow managed a 6-0 record against top ten players this year, and is now firmly atop the leaderboard in the race to London. He may have struggled a bit after his breakthrough in Melbourne -- he fell to Alexandr Dolgopolov and Kevin Anderson during the spring Masters season -- but with his triumph in Monte Carlo, he's shown he can up his game against the very best. And with bigger tournaments on the horizon, he might just be able to go on a run no one saw coming.

To varying degrees, both of this weekend's champions proved they can deliver when it counts, and if they can keep their momentum going over the next few weeks and months, there's really no telling what they can accomplish. Of course Wawrinka has the experience to really take it to the big guys, while Vekic, still younger than so many in the field, is still just getting her footing. But both have the talent to cause some big surprises. And at a time of year when anything can happen, there may be no better chance for them to shine.

Vania King was about two months younger when she won in Bangkok in 2006.