Playtime in the Desert

The first ATP World Tour 1000 tournament of the year got off to a quick start earlier this week, as all but one of the top ten men took the courts in Indian Wells, California -- and former world #1 Roger Federer made his first appearance since the finals in Melbourne.

Roger made it through his second round match against a strong Marc Gicquel, as did defending champion Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray. Rafael Nadal is playing his first match of the tournament -- all thirty-two seeds received byes in the first round -- tonight. But many of the top players struggled in their early matches.

I was nervous, as I often am, for James Blake as he faced Jarkko Nieminen in the second round. Though the Finn has never bested James in their previous five meetings, he did beat Djokovic earlier this year and was ranked as high as #13 less than three years ago. But Blake rebounded after dropping the second set tiebreak and brought home a win.



His friend Mardy Fish wasn't so lucky -- his second-round opponent, Jeremy Chardy, is a much better player than his #48 ranking suggests. The Frenchman first made a name for himself at last year's French Open, when he defeated David Nalbandian in a three-hour, five-set match on his way to the round of sixteen. And just this year he has already beaten Marcos Baghdatis, Igor Andreev, David Ferrer and Tommy Haas. Now he can add Mardy Fish to that list, ousting the twentieth seed in two tiebreak sets and avenging a loss he suffered in the semifinals at Delray Beach last month.



The tables were turned in the other U.S.-France matchup where wildcard John Isner took on ninth-ranked Gael Monfils. Isner was one of the standouts in late 2007, but never really kept the momentum going into last year. The 6'9" University of Georgia grad has had to play a lot of qualifying matches and has only made it into the main draw of three tournaments this year. But he's done well so far in Indian Wells, sailing past a strong Christophe Rochus and today beating Monfils after being down the first set.



One disappointing loss did come in the first round -- well, I'm sure more than one -- when Kei Nishikori fell to Ivan Ljubicic. Kei had a phenomenal 2008, becoming the first Japanese player to win an ATP title in sixteen years and jumping 218 spots in the rankings. This year, however, he's only made it past the first round at two tournaments and is now just holding on to his place in the top 100. Sure, he's only nineteen years old, and he still has his whole career ahead of him, so I'm hoping he can regroup and come back strong in the spring.



Of course there is still plenty of action left to go in Indian Wells, and we'll see if the early winners will be able to keep their momentum -- it might be nice to see things get shaken up a bit!

She's Ba-ack!

Sort of, anyway.

This week former world #1 Maria Sharapova returns to the WTA tour for the first time since last August when an injured rotator cuff sidelined her for the rest of the 2008 season. She was forced to skip the last two Grand Slams, unable to defend her Australian Open title, and pulled out of tournaments in both Paris and Dubai earlier this year.

Maria makes her return in the doubles bracket of Indian Wells, teaming with compatriot Elena Vesnina, incidentally the doubles champ here last year. It's the first time she's played in that draw in almost four years



Maria isn't exactly a doubles specialist -- she's never played enough tournaments to maintain an elite ranking. But she did acheive a career-high of #41 in 2004 and has even won three titles in the discipline, partnering with Maria Kirilenko and Tamarine Tanasugarn. Vesnina, who as a doubles player made it to the quarterfinals in Auckland and Dubai, has climbed her way to her own personal-high rank of #15 and could be a great complement as Maria vies for her first victory in more than half a year.

They take on their first opponents tonight, Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek, with the hope of meeting the sixth-seeded team, led by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, in the second round. It's possible a good run of luck in California could presage an even stronger singles comeback for Sharapova in a few months -- it's certainly a lower-pressure venue in which to get some real competetive practice. Though I doubt she'll take home a trophy, it'll be nice to see her pump her fist in victory again.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's missed her presence on the court!

The Ultimate Showdown

A year ago I had the extreme pleasure of watching the two greatest tennis players of all-time going at it in Madison Square Garden. It was a battle for tennis history, so the program read -- then-#1 Roger Federer versus the record holder for, well, everything, Pete Sampras.



At the time I thought Sampras's dominance would soon end -- Roger had only two more titles before he tied Pete for career Grand Slams and, at twenty-six, he still looked to be on top of his game. Pete had been a year older when he won Major No. 12, and it took four years more before he would sit staunchly atop the leaderboard with fourteen titles. It seemed clear that Federer was destined to tie Sampras by the end of the year, and to pass him before he turned thirty.

Pete and Roger had met only once in their professional careers -- they've played a handful of exhibition matches around the world in recent years -- at Wimbledon in 2001, where Sampras was vying for his eighth (yet another record-breaking) championship.

The match was full of the drama you'd now expect, knowing that these two men would eventually be the legends they are today. It was the round of sixteen -- Pete was ranked #6 at the time, Roger #15. After more than three and a half hours, five sets, two tiebreaks, and 370 total points, Federer was the one advancing to the quarterfinals, and on his road to becoming a star. Sadly, he lost in the next round to Tim Henman.



Last year's match at MSG was similarly exciting. Roger won the first set 6-3, but Pete came back in the second set tiebreak to level the contest. He was even up a break in the third, causing fans to hold out hope for the "upset", before Roger took home the crown.



What was most impressive, in my view as a devoted Sampras fan, was Pete's still-dominant serve -- at thirty-seven, he still was able to deliver the shot that earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". And, more amusingly, he'd become something of a showman in his retirement -- never one for dramatics on court, he accepted both victory and defeat more graciously than opponents like Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and others. But in New York last year, he jokingly slammed his racquet to the ground as a forehand whizzed by him and picked a fight with the chair umpire when a call went in favor of Federer.

Always a fan favorite, Sampras was now an entertainer.

Over just the last year the landscape of tennis has changed a bit. Roger is still a real power, of course, but now Rafael Nadal is clearly the man to beat -- and I would love to watch the first match-up between those two powerhouses. Happily for me -- and Pete, certainly -- it looks like the current records may be in place for a little while longer than we originally thought. It's still just a matter of time before someone -- Roger, maybe soon, or even Rafa in a few years -- wins his fifteenth Slam and becomes the new king of tennis.

Until then, though, I will continue to cheer for my Pistol Pete.

Turning Back the Clocks

Some of us lost an hour of sleep last night as we marked the end of Daylight Savings -- or is it the beginning? I can never remember -- but some tennis players probably wish they could turn the clocks back a little farther, like to 2008. The first round of Davis Cup matches are in the books, and while many of the games went as expected, some individual performances were a bit surprising.

Two countries advanced by sweeping their opponents -- Argentina soared past the Netherlands, which had a team comprised of no name I recognized, and Croatia, somewhat more impressively, won all five matches against Chile, which was missing its top player, Fernando Gonzalez. Russia dropped only its doubles match in its victory over Romania, while the U.S. battled past a Roger Federer-less Swiss team, also winning 4-1. But there were some much tighter scores in other areas of the world.



France arguably had one of the best line-ups for its Davis Cup team with eighth-ranked Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who's already won two titles this year, headlining. They faced Radek Stepanek and his fellow Czechs in the first round. The teams split their first two singles matches, but with the once-promising Simon losing both of his matches, France took the early flight home.



World #3 Novak Djokovic had a similarly frustrating appearance, losing both of his singles matches in straight sets. He was no match against Rafael Nadal, but also couldn't convert against David Ferrer, who avenged his loss in the Dubai finals just a week ago. Nole's fellow Serbs, who had a very successful showing at last year's ATP Masters Cup, also struggled, only winning their doubles match.



But the closest face-off of the competition came when Israel took on Sweden. Every one of the singles matches went five sets -- and then some. Former top-ten player Thomas Johansson took fourteen games in his final set before beating Harel Levy and a still-emerging Dudi Sela had to go 11-9 to even the score. The fifth and deciding rubber pitted Levy against Andreas Vinciguerra with another 8-6 set going, this time, to the Israeli. After a rough couple of weeks for the country's players, they were finally able to come away with a win -- and earned a trip to the quarterfinals.



So as we spring into the next leg of the tennis season, we'll see if recent success stories will be able to maintain their momentum -- and if those others can turn things back around.

The New Mexico

This year ushered in a brand new tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, and while many of the top women athletes took the week off to prepare for Indian Wells, some bright stars were still showcasing their stuff.

Polish teenager Aggie Radwanska claimed the top seed, but she continued to struggle, losing in the first round of her third contest this year -- fifty-third ranked Na Li swept the third set 6-0, for the right to advance.

Other seeds saw better luck in Monterrey, though -- #2 Marion Bartoli continued her comeback, flying over qualifier Michaella Krajicek in straight sets, while last week's runner-up in Acapulco, Flavia Pennetta, only dropped one game to the U.S.'s Jill Craybas.

But there were some new standouts on display in Mexico as well. Argentine Gisela Dulko isn't exactly new to the tennis scene, and actually had been ranked as high as #26 in 2005 -- but she made her splash at this year's Australian Open, when Serena Williams gave herself a "D-" score in her match against Gisela. Since then Gisela posted wins in both of her Fed Cup matches against the U.S. and made it to the finals at the Colsanitas Cup in Bogota. In Monterrey Dulko was given the seventh seed, and won her first round match against veteran Natalie Dechy. We'll see if she's able to follow through and win her first title of the year.

On the other side of the draw, sixth-seeded Iveta Benesova is having her best year ever, climbing to a career-high #31 ranking. The Czech star did lose her one Fed Cup match even as her team advanced to the semifinals, but she did make it to the finals in Hobart -- where she eliminated Dulko in the quarters -- and the semis in Acapulco. In her first round in Mexico this week she faced Shahar Peer, who's recently been in the news more for her country's politics than for her tennis prowess. Iveta took out the former top-twenty player in straight sets and next faces Italy's Roberta Vinci for the third round.

These new tournaments could prove to be a great opportunity for young stars to make their names known in the tennis world -- and I hope to see a lot more success for these girls in the weeks and months to come!

¡Olé!

Where the Stars Come Out to Play

It's been almost nine years since the women's year-end championships have been played in Madison Square Garden, but tonight four of the sport's top athletes met in the great arena on 34th Street in New York for Tennis Night in America.

BNP Paribas sponsored the showdown between the winners of the last four majors, Serena and Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, and the player that ended last year with the #1 ranking, Jelena Jankovic. The winner would receive the vaunted Billie Jean King Cup as well as $400K in prize money -- more than Venus won in Dubai last month.



The semifinals were one-set, no-ad matches and pitted Venus against Jelena and Serena against Ana -- obviously the intent was to give the New York crowd an all-Williams final.

And that's exactly what we got.

Jelena, who actually holds a winning record over Venus, held her own for most of the match, even tried to engage the crowd and joke about challenges with the chair umpire -- but ultimately she was unspectacular and fell 4-6 in the end. And Ana, despite a handful of break chances, could not convert and eventually was defeated 3-6.

The final, played with traditional scoring in a best-of-three set format, was one we've seen a dozen times before -- actually nineteen times. And, somewhat surprisingly, Venus held a 10-9 record against her sister, most recently winning in Dubai a week and a half ago. Arguably, the Williams have had the most successful years on tour, with the younger sister winning her fourth Australian Open and the elder claiming two titles in the last two weeks.

You knew they'd be playing as though a Grand Slam title were on the line.



The match started off somewhat sloppily -- both women sliced a few backhands and shanked a few volleys as they tried to get a handle on the court. It wasn't until halfway through the first set, after trading breaks, that either hit their stride. After a twenty-four point ninth game -- and the disappearance of a line umpire -- Serena finally took the early lead, 6-4. She won the second set, 6-3.

The tournament was certainly entertaining, an exhibition in every sense, but the event was as much a celebration of the venue, the city and female athletes as it was of the score. MSG hasn't been a regular on the tour since 2000 and with this event, after last year's Roger Federer-Pete Sampras match, it could be making a case for a return to the circuit. And by bringing the sport's top athletes to such a central location in Manhattan, it not only raises the players' profile, but that of tennis.

And, for me, it's finally a home court I can finally cheer for!

South of the Border

All the action wasn't in Dubai this week, and both men and women were in full action in Acapulco, Mexico.

The ATP World Tour 500 event was worth just as much as the higher-profile tournament in the Mideast, but didn't attract quite the controversy, or the names, as the Dubai games. Twelfth-ranked David Nalbandian claimed the top seed, but he was upset in the first round by Daniel Koellerer of Austria.

The most notable name in the draw was probably Tommy Robredo -- the twenty-six year old came to Mexico fresh off two title wins in South America and had brought his ranking from #21 to #15 in just a few weeks. But his twelve-match win streak hit a brick wall against Jose Acasuso, who he's already met three times this year.



Acasuso didn't have much time to celebrate his triumph, however, as Gael Monfils defeated him in the semifinals in straight sets on his way to the title match.

But the ultimate victor in Mexico this week was fourth seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro, who needed just over an hour to win his fifth career championship. When Monfils' second serve fell apart, Nicolas was able to capitalize on break opportunities and took home the $300K paycheck.



Venus Williams also wore the winner's sombrero in Acapulco as she claimed her second title in as many weeks. Though she had struggled in earlier rounds, dropping sets to qualifier Greta Arn and top-thirty player Agnes Szavay, she had little trouble against Italian Flavia Pennetta, coasting through the final, 6-1, 6-2.



It was an impressive win for several reasons -- Venus dominated in both first and second serves, and converted two out of every three break chances she had. But more importantly she showed some real power on clay, a surface on which she has been far from dominant. And she defeated an opponent who's given her some trouble in the past -- prior to Saturday night's match-up, Pennetta had held a 3-2 record over Venus, including three straight wins from 2007-08. Venus's win in Mexico could be a good sign for her as she gets ready for Roland Garros, less than three months away.

Slightly further north Mardy Fish won his first title of 2009 in Delray Beach, taking out qualifier Evgeny Korolev, 7-5, 6-3. It was the first time in the tournament's seventeen-year history where the top seed came away with the title, and continues something of a comeback for American palyers after Andy Roddick won in Memphis last week.



Congrats to all this week's winners!