Here We Go Again

Some tennis stars have a way of coming through just when you've started to forget about them. Andy Murray, I begrudgingly admit, might be one of those players.

You might remember how he seemingly came out of nowhere to take the title in Toronto back in August. He'd done the same thing two years ago in Cincinnati, rebounding from a mediocre spring and early summer, to beat Novak Djokovic to capture his first Masters title.

These days, the world #4, just a stone's throw away from the top spot earlier this year, has been a little spotty. He entered the Australian and U.S. Opens as one of the favorites but failed to deliver on both counts, crashing out of the Melbourne finals without winning a set and dropping in the third round in New York thanks to a glorious performance by Stanislas Wawrinka. In recent weeks he's come dangerously close to ceding his position to Robin Soderling, a man who's arguably put up a better fight in his two Major finals, and a light post-Open schedule, highlighted only by an early loss in Beijing, had pushed him out of the headlines.

Then he came to Shanghai.

Another top-flight tournament which attracted all sixteen of the top men's players, the draw put Murray in the same half of the bracket as the newest Grand Slam winner, Rafael Nadal. But with the Beijing champ eliminated early, the Scot only faced one seed in his opening matches and was able to advance easily to the finals.

There he met Roger Federer who was going after his record-tying eighteenth Masters title. But though the former #1 had won the pair's first three championship match meetings, Murray had reversed that momentum in Canada, and kept the flow on his side today. Helped by his opponent's thirty unforced errors, Andy survived some sloppy serving on his side of the net and was able to break serve four times to capture the trophy, his second of the year and at the expense of King Fed.

Not a bad streak to have in your book.



With the win, Andy Murray claimed his sixth Masters trophy, quite a ways behind some of the current greats, but certainly enough to remind us all that he's a force to be reckoned with. And in a year where he's been so unpredictable, there's no better statement to make.

The Chance of a Lifetime

It's been over a year since any of the four ladies playing championship matches tomorrow have won a trophy, and boy must they all be hungry. And with just one win standing between them and the opportunity to put themselves back on the map, you can bet we're going to see some fierce fighting on Sunday.

Surprisingly it's the ladies in Japan who have gone the least time without a tournament win. Forty year old Kimiko Date Krumm, a titleist in Seoul last year, will meet thirty-three year old fellow veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, the 2009 victor in 's-Hertogenbosch will contest the oldest final in Tour history Sunday, proving that age really isn't an issue on the tennis court.

Both have had magnificent runs in Osaka -- the sixth-seeded Date Krumm, ranked #4 in the world nearly fifteen years ago, knocked off French Open finalist Sam Stosur and top-fifteen player Shahar Peer in consecutive matches, while the Thai star survived two three-set matches before dismissing second seeded Marion Bartoli in under two hours. They've played twice before, both times on carpet, and each time took all three sets to decide the outcome -- they've split the wins, but Tanasugarn won the only final they played together.

But something tells me this time might be different.

As the hometown favorite, Kimiko has already used the crowd to her advantage all week, but wins over teenager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and former #1's Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina all this year alone, she's more than shown she can still hit with the youngsters. With an impressive 8-6 career record in finals compared to Tamarine's 3-7, she continues to prove she can handle the pressure. And if making history one time this weekend wasn't enough, she has the chance to become the oldest Tour champion ever, trumping Billie Jean King who has held the record since 1983.

On the other side of the world are two women who are going on two-years without that once common championship trophy. In Linz Austria, where Serena Williams had been planning to make her comeback, 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic took her place as a wildcard and stormed through her early rounds, beating Sorana Cirstea and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in just over two hours combined. Meanwhile, thirty-one year old Patty Schnyder took out three seeds -- Klara Zakopalova, Andrea Petkovic and top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova to make her second final of the year.



The pair have split their last eight meetings, but Ivanovic has won the last four, including a straight set win on her way to the '08 French Open trophy. But since then, she's had quite a hard time of things since then, and it's hard to count out Schnyder who, a veteran herself, still wins more matches than she loses on Tour. And making the finals here after that heart-breaking third-round loss at the U.S. Open, it's nice to see her on this side of things. I really don't know who's going to win this match, but the trophy would certainly put a well-deserved end to two very long droughts.

And at this point in all of their careers, they couldn't have asked for a better chance to make an impact.

Where'd They Go?

It's that time of year again, when the world's top players are vying for the last few spots at the year-end championships being contested in London at the end of next month. But with just a few events left in 2010, a couple players who started the year with such gusto may have chosen a bad time to fall off the radar.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were the first to make the cut, and Novak Djokovic's run in Beijing last week helped him to the third spot. Andy Murray, who won his third round match against Jeremy Chardy in Shanghai on Wednesday, followed up as number four. If the remaining qualifiers were decided by today's rankings, we'd see a veteran, a resurgent and a newbie fill out the mix -- but things are far from certain.

Fernando Verdasco had a dismal debut in London in 2009 -- he lost all three of his round robin matches -- but thanks to a title in San Jose and a finals appearance in Monte Carlo, he's a stone's throw from qualifying for a second straight year. Unfortunately a winless run in Asia has knocked him back a few spots, and I wouldn't be surprised if he accepted a few wildcard entries just to boost his point total.

In slightly better shape, but still at risk, is American #1 Andy Roddick. He began the year with a 9-0 record, taking the trophy in Brisbane before falling in the quarters in Australia. But he rebounded nicely to make the championship match in three of his next four tournaments, ultimately winning in Miami. These days things are a little more shaky for Roddick -- a second round loss in New York and an injury-caused retirement in Shanghai puts the rest of the year in question. He still plans on returning in Basel next month, but the lack of action could be worrisome for some die-hard fans.

Having just as hard a time of things recently is Tomas Berdych, also at a career high ranking a few spots below Robin. After his breakthrough in Miami and a magnificent run to the finals at the All England Club -- during which he beat both Djokovic and Federer -- the Czech star hasn't put together back-to-back wins since Toronto. He exited the U.S. Open in a straight-set, first-round loss and dropped both his Davis Cup semifinal matches. A good run in Shanghai could have sealed the deal for him, but the seventh seed fell earlier today in straight sets to red-hot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, a titlist a few weeks back in Bangkok. He'll need to manage the rest of the season well to keep his spot intact.

Two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling is probably most assured of making the Tour finals for the second time in his career. The world #5 has been staunchly at his best-ever ranking throughout the summer, helped by quarterfinal runs at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He's fallen early in a couple recent tournaments, but after exacting revenge for his Beijing loss to David Ferrer in Shanghai, he looks to be reminding us all of his strength. I doubt he'll lose his ticket to London at this rate, but he might want to put together a few more wins -- just to be safe.

But for all these guys it's important not to disappear into the night -- after all there are plenty of others in the wings ready to take their place.

Once the Clouds Cleared...

Rain delayed the singles championships at the China Open in Beijing this weekend, forcing both the men's and women's finals to be played Monday. But the matches were certainly worth the wait.

There were plenty of upsets in the men's draw from the get-go. Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco were dropped in their opening matches, while second-seeded Andy Murray and #3 Robin Soderling lost two rounds later. That paved the way for defending champion Novak Djokovic and world #11 David Ferrer to advance to the title round.

I admit I'd almost written of Nole earlier in the year -- even though he'd notched a decent record, after a win in Dubai, he suffered early losses in Miami and Queen's Club and had to retire in the quarters of his home tournament in Belgrade. It wasn't until his magnificent run in New York that I started to take note of him again. Now firmly entrenched in the #2 spot, he qualified for the London championships with his semifinal win in China.

Ferrer has been slightly less on the radar this year, though he's really only had one bad loss -- to triple-digit ranked Stephane Robert in Johannesburg. He made the finals in Rome and Buenos Aires and took the title in Acapulco, and notched wins over Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych at previous tournaments before knocking out Soderling in Beijing.

But asking him to go up against a man on as good a roll as Djokovic is might have been too much. The two got in a couple games on Sunday before the storms rolled in, but Novak got off to an early lead before play was halted. He converted another break when play resumed on Monday and took the first set 6-2. Though play was closer in the second, ultimately the top seeded Serb was able to defend his title in straight sets and improved to 5-4 against Ferrer. It was the second time this year he successfully defended a title.

The ladies' final was slightly more dramatic with the two contenders poised to take their highest ever rankings once the latest rankings are released. Caroline Wozniacki secured her #1 ranking a few days ago when she defeated Petra Kvitova in Beijing while Vera Zvonareva's victory over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the quarters, pushed her up to #3. As the top two seeds in China, neither had to pull off any major coups to make the championship round, but pitting them against each other in a rematch of the U.S. Open semis seemed somehow appropriate. Vera had won that one in less than ninety minutes, rebounding nicely after losing to Wozniacki in the Montreal finals just a few weeks earlier.

But this time it was Caro's chance to rebound -- down a break early in the first set, she got back even and rattled off five straight games to take the lead. Though she allowed the Russian to get back in the match in the second set, she got the only break in the third, and held serve the rest of the match to win her sixth title of the year. Not a bad way to wrap up an Asian run in which she captured two straight titles at events where she'd never even won a match before this year.

With all the hype around the year's Grand Slams put to bed, it's nice to see the world's top players put in such big efforts at the remaining tournaments. And for Nole and Caro, it's even more impressive that they can follow through after reaching major milestones in their careers.

And what a great opportunity to really let their talent shine.

A Pretty Good Year

Wasn't it just a few months ago that critics were blasting Rafael Nadal's eleven-month title drought, claiming his run among the tennis elite was over?

Oh, how things have changed.

Earlier Sunday, the world #1 captured his seventh trophy of the year when he defeated Gael Monfils at the Japan Open. In his Tokyo debut, Rafa saved two match points in the semis against Victor Troicki, but ultimately battled through Monfils in straight sets, winning in about eighty minutes. And while that makes him the winningest player on Tour in 2010, it only marks the third most prolific yearsince turning pro -- he won eight championships in 2008, when he captured even Olympic gold, and a staggering eleven in 2005, when he was just starting to make a name for himself.



Even still, one could argue that this might be the best year of Rafa's career. Of course, after sweeping the clay court season, he made a more-than-successful return at Wimbledon earlier in the summer and his win in New York earned him a historic Grand Slam last month. He's sealed in the year-end top spot for the second time and was the first to qualify for the London championships next month. And he's won Majors on three different surfaces in the same year -- a feat even long-time rival Roger Federer has not accomplished.

And while his title count might be lower in 2010, that's less a function of his performance on Tour than of his smart scheduling choices, ones that will hopefully keep him off the disabled list for some time. Well rested and even better-trained, Nadal has put together a fantastic 66-8 record this year and hasn't lost before the quarters at any tournament, despite facing some tough opponents even in early rounds. He didn't play a single tournament between Australia and Indian Wells while he recovered from that nagging knee injury, and skipped Barcelona, where he was the five-time defending champion, back in the spring. He only played two hard court events leading up to the U.S. Open, and is actually putting in the most face time on the Asian leg of the Tour.

Rafa heads to China this week where he'll play the Shanghai Masters -- it's the first time all year he's put together three back-to-back events. And though he has a bye in the first round, he'll be forced to get right back to work, facing either Stanislas Wawrinka or a resurgent Gilles Simon in the second round.

Hopefully his body will be able to handle it -- I'd certainly want to see this year end on a high note.

One Win Away

We're still a bit away, but Monday could be the dawn of a new era: if Caroline Wozniacki wins her match against Petra Kvitova today in Beijing, she'll become #1 in the world, only the twentieth woman to achieve that feat in the Open Era and supplanting Serena Williams, who's held that spot since last November.

Some might argue that, after the year the Dane has had, it should have happened sooner, but these days no one can say she doesn't deserve it. Sure, Serena has been sidelined with a foot injury since Wimbledon and sister Venus, who played only the U.S. Open in the same period, will skip the rest of the year with a knee injury -- you might think Wozniacki hasn't faced the very best.

But here's a telling statistic: the twenty-year-old has compiled a 4-2 record against top-ten players this year. That compares to a 1-3 mark for Serena, who only beat Victoria Azarenka in Melbourne. She's also won five titles to Williams' two -- albeit, both were Majors. They haven't played each other since the Tour championships last year, though, so a true comparison is nearly impossible, but based solely on performance this year, it's hard to make a case against Caro.



Of course the #1 honor isn't hers quite yet -- the last time she met Kvitova at Wimbledon this year, Wozniacki was smacked, 6-2, 6-0 in just forty-six minutes. She is on a better run these days, though -- four of her trophies have come since that loss in July -- so I have a feeling the one-sidedness might be on the opposite side this time.

Players are so often reluctant to discuss the possibility of climbing to the top spot in the rankings, just as they are to talk about any match further in the future than their next one. But you have to think it's been a goal of Wozniacki's all year -- and it can never have felt so close.

From Out of the Ashes

It's been an interesting year for Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. After losing five matches in a row to start the year, the twenty-seven year old Spaniard seemed to be coming into his own during the spring, running over Marin Cilic in Indian Wells, dropping only five games to Lleyton Hewitt in Rome and fighting to the finals in Eastbourne.

But in the last few months, he's been less than impressive. Though he was my pick to make the semifinals at Roland Garros, the barely seeded Garcia-Lopez lost in the second round to Thiemo De Bakker and, other than Eastbourne, only won three matches since. He hadn't beaten a top twenty player since March and fell from a career-high ranking out of the top fifty.

Then he came to Bangkok. In his Thailand debut he faced a tough road from the start. He opened with a straight-set win over eighth seeded Michael Berrer -- his only two-setter the entire tournament. He had to fight much harder against Florent Serra and Ernests Gulbis, but put up his biggest win when he saved twenty-four of twenty-six break points against world #1 Rafael Nadal in the semis -- it was the only time he'd even won a set from his countryman.

In the finals against Finn Jarkko Nieminen, Guillermo had the early lead, but allowed his opponent back in the game after holding the 3-1 advantage in the third set. He stayed strong after squandering a few match points in the tenth game and ultimately closed out the championships almost two hours after the match ended.



It was Garcia-Lopez's second career title -- he'd beaten Julien Benneteau in the Kitzbühel final last year, and certainly a solid victory as he travels to Tokyo this week. Still unseeded at the Japan Open, he faces a potential second round against '09 U.S. Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro or just-as-intimidating sixth seed Feliciano Lopez. It will certainly be a tough task to repeat his run from Bangkok, but his wins this week should give him an additional boost of confidence when he touches down.

And like the phoenix before him, he might just be able to fly from the ashes of his disappointing summer into a much more successful fall.