Return to Glory

It's not that this week's winners have been completely out of the spotlight recently, but with other stories hogging the headlines -- Novak Djokovic's miraculous run this year, the return of Serena Williams, three first-time Grand Slam ladies' champions this year -- it's no wonder that other players have been relegated to the back pages. But in Asia this weekend, some players who've been sitting on the sidelines made some loud arguments that they should not yet be forgotten.

Andy Murray is clearly not down and out. The world #4 has only lost one match in the last two months, racking up titles in Cincinnati and Bangkok. This week he came to Tokyo as the second seed, but wasn't rewarded with a particularly easy draw -- he began with a two-and-a-half hour battle against Marcos Baghdatis, a man who'd beaten him earlier this year in Rotterdam, and then faced Alex Bogomolov, David Nalbandian and David Ferrer in succession. Against Rafael Nadal in the final, a man who'd handily beaten him in their last five meetings, I was nervous, but fairly certain his luck had run out.

But Murray was undeterred in Sunday's final. After getting down an early break to the Spaniard and losing the first set, he seemed to regain focus. He broke his opponent in the fourth game of the second and never looked back, ultimately blanking the former #1 in the decider and dropping just four points in the set. It was Murray's fourth title of the year and the twentieth of his career. And with just a handful of events left before the year-end championships, there's never been a better time for him to show his stuff.

The same could be said for Tomas Berdych who, though a shade off his career-high ranking, had gone over two years without a title to his name. He had made a couple good runs at tournaments this year, but failed to defend points both at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He'd lost to players like Thomaz Bellucci, Philipp Petzschner and Stephane Robert and had only notched two top-ten wins on the year, half the number he scored last year.

But this week in Beijing he seemed to be back in form. After a tough first round against a feisty Jurgen Melzer, he only dropped three games on the way to the semis. He endured a long match Saturday, however, against top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, himself fresh off a title in Metz, but eventually made it through, delivering a breadstick in the third set. He was similarly impressive in Sunday's final against former #9 Marin Cilic, a man who, though impressive, hadn't faced a seeded player on his way to the championship match. After losing the first set, Berdych eventually drew even and dominated the decider, closing out the match and earning his sixth career trophy. It may have come at the most opportune time, pulling him back into contention for the World Tour Finals. If he keeps his momentum up, he could be making a return to London.

The stakes were just as high for the ladies in Beijing, and Tokyo champion Aggie Radwanska was out to prove she deserves to be considered among the elite. A shade out of the top ten, she still held hopes of qualifying for the BNP Paribas Championships, but needed to put up a strong showing in China to keep those prospects alive. And after her impressive upset-filled run in Japan, she must have been happy to have her opponents clear the road for her this week. Sofia Arvidsson took out Wimbledon titleist Petra Kvitova, while Ana Ivanovic defeated world #4 Vera Zvonareva, and Flavia Pennetta ousted top seed Caroline Wozniacki. Not that any of these ladies should be overlooked, but certainly they were less intimidating than other options.

In any case, when Radwanska met Andrea Petkovic in the final, she hadn't lost a set in over a week. She ran off to a good start against the German, but kept losing every lead she built -- the two traded breaks for much of the first set before Aggie was ultimately able to consolidate. But the tide turned swiftly in the second and the ninth seed took less than half an hour to blank her opponent and force a decider. Here again it was a game of ups and downs for the Pole, but she was finally able to serve out the match, improving her record against Petkovic to a perfect 5-0 and garnering enough points to move her securely back into the top ten. She's now in position to qualify for the Championships for the third time in her career -- if she's able to hold on.

With so many of the biggest stars this year taking some time off to recoup -- or regroup -- it's the perfect chance for others to seize the reins, and all these athletes are making a valiant stab at doing just that.

As the 2011 season winds down they really could have an impact on how things end -- and it's certainly not to late to turn the tables in their favor.

Looking for Follow-Through

It's not news that the schedule of a professional tennis player can be taxing. With nearly every week on the calendar featuring an event somewhere on the globe, athletes often head straight from one tournament to another, and those lucky enough to make the final rounds one week could easily find themselves right back in action days, even hours, later. So we shouldn't be too surprised to see signs of fatigue, and hopefully those who do pull through will be able to keep it up

It's not all good news, of course. Pablo Andujar, since making the final in Bucharest, has lost two straight first rounds, most recently to world #137 Matthew Ebden. And Marcos Baghdatis, who pulled off one upset after another last week in Kuala Lumpur, apparently didn't have one more in him, falling to Andy Murray in Tokyo earlier today, while Janko Tipsarevic, high off his first career title, lost a battle with Dmitry Tursunov right off the bat. Then there's Pan Pacific runner-up Vera Zvonareva -- she struggled against Klara Zakopalova in her Beijing opener and was subsequently drubbed by a resurgent Ana Ivanovic in the third round.

On the other hand, we shouldn't be surprised to see players like Bangkok titleist Murray and Japan Open champ Aggie Radwanska do well, at least in the early stages of a tournament. It's the more unlikely heroes we should be watching.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has spent most of the last three years in and around the top fifteen, but he hadn't won a title since 2009 until Metz a few weeks back. He's the top seed at the China Open and survived a potentially big challenge from up-and-comer Grigor Dimitrov in his first round. He'll meet wildcard Ze Zhang next, but has a tough quarter of the draw with former #1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych and one-time top-ten player Fernando Verdasco all playing some good ball these days. If he wants to be a real contender at the World Tour Finals, he'll have to keep his level up.

Kaia Kanepi hasn't been quite as consistent, but nevertheless has a chance to climb back into the sport's elite. Having dropped several ranking points the last few months after a foot injury kept her out of contention, she finally showed signs of the strength she had at the All England Club last year. She scored wins over U.S. Open standout Flavia Pennetta and world #1 Caroline Wozniacki in Tokyo last week, and benefitted in Beijing from the retirement of Sabine Lisicki. Tomorrow, she'll have a rematch with the Dane on Thursday, clearly no easy repeat. But if she's able to clear her path again, she'll certainly be well on her way to turning her year in a new direction.

There's certainly downside to playing such a physically demanding sport day in and day out, and hopefully none of these guys will pay a price for jumping right back into the game. If they are able to manage their schedules it could mean a very successful fall run -- they just have to be careful they don't suffer the fate of so many others.

The Major Leagues

At the first premier tournament of the ladies' Asian Swing this year, there was no shortage of stars in the draw -- seven of the top ten made their way to the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, but plenty who'd just missed nabbing a seed were in full display as well. And that certainly made for some interesting results early on in the week, and allowed those who advanced to show they truly belong among the elite.

World #1 Caroline Wozniacki survived a tough first round against Jarmila Gajdasova, but was promptly dismissed a round later by former top-twenty player Kaia Kanepi. Maria Sharapova, at her highest ranking at a tournament in more than three year, was looking good, but suffered an unfortunate ankle roll in her quarterfinal rematch against Petra Kvitova which puts the rest of her year in jeopardy. But despite early losses by the favorites, the women who made the final weekend in Tokyo were forced to put up some of their best fight all week long.

Two-time Major finalist Vera Zvonareva hasn't had as much success this year versus last, but she did make eight semifinals, including deep runs in Australia and New York. She held onto the fourth seed here, but her road was far from easy -- she was forced to avenge a third round Wimbledon loss to Tsvetana Pironkova right off the bat and followed it up with a crushing defeat of doubles stand-out Iveta Benesova. She was down 1-5 in the semis against Kvitova, but somehow managed to win the match in straight sets, knocking off eleven of the last twelve games in her favor.

In the other half of the draw Agnieszka Radwanska, one of my perennial favorites, was pulling out the big guns against some top-tier talent herself. After dismantling U.S. Open surprise semifinalist Angelique Kerber -- incidentally, her own vanquisher in New York -- she took on former #1 Jelena Jankovic, blanking her in the third set. Against hard-hitting Victoria Azarenka in the final four, Aggie stayed calm after losing a 4-2 lead in the second set and ran off to an early lead in the third. Though it took a few tries to get it done, she eventually secured the win after over two and a half hours of play.

So Saturday's final ended up being a rematch of the Carlsbad championship, one which the Pole won relatively easily after also having endured a couple three-setters earlier in the week. And this time too Radwanska was able to seize the reins early -- after dropping her first service game, she rattled off four in a row and took the early set lead. She took an early lead in the second as well, and never looked back. In short order she'd scored the win -- her third straight over the Russian -- and claimed the biggest title of her still-young career.



For years I've been waiting for Radwanska to win herself a Big Girl's trophy, and it's so satisfying to see her do it. It may not be a Grand Slam, but she had to display the same standard of skill to get it. After notching her seventh top-ten win this year, she's certainly shown she can hang in with the top brass.

Now she just has to do it on the big stage.

Avoiding the Meltdown

The sports pages in the U.S. today are all a-twitter over the stunning results of the last few hours -- minutes, even -- of the 2011 baseball season. A couple amazing rallies and a few unprecedented burnouts turned the year on its head, and what had been such a promising start for some ended with more than a few heads hanging in defeat.

Tennis players are more than capable of staging their own flame-outs. Sam Querrey raced into the elite, peaking at #17 in the world this past January, but went through a six-month period in which he won only one match -- dogged by injury most of this year, he's now ranked out of the top hundred. And Aravane Rezai, who climbed into the top fifteen less than a year ago, hadn't won more than two matches at a tournament all year until making the Dallas finals in August -- she's now just out of double-digit territory. But a couple players are trying to avoid similar fates this week in Asia -- after all, the last thing they want is to collapse fizzle out like the sad boys in Boston and Atlanta.

Andy Murray is probably the least likely to suffer a monstrous breakdown -- at #4 in the world, I have to begrudgingly admit he's probably the most talented player without a Major title. But he has periods of weakness -- he didn't win a match for more than two months after the Australian Open -- and he routinely allows opponents to walk all over him on the biggest stages. As the stronger hardcourt player, he probably should have won his U.S. Open semifinal against Rafael Nadal, but instead he was barely able to put a chink in the armor.

The Scot begins his Asia tour as the top seed in Bangkok, and really should seize the opportunity to make a statement -- especially with both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer pulling out of the China Open. Earlier today he thumped veteran Michael Berrer in straight sets, setting up a meeting with up-and-comer Grigor Dimitrov. The young Bulgarian has certainly shown he's got talent, and if he's able to get under Murray's skin it could get tough for the favorite. Still, as long as Andy keeps his cool -- something he is want to lose now and again -- it could bode well for his tournament.

A problem may arise, though, if he has another run-in with U.S. Open standout Donald Young. The surprise vanquisher of both Stanislas Wawrinka and Juan Ignacio Chela in New York has already notched wins over Murray and Jurgen Melzer this year and climbed to within a stone's throw of the top fifty. It may have taken a little longer than most pundits expected, but he certainly looks ready now to carry the mantle of next-gen American tennis stars.

Of course, he shouldn't rest on his laurels. Another one prone to letting emotions get the better of his game -- and his off-court behavior -- he still has a lot of work to do in Bangkok. Though he was impressive in his dismissal of fourth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Thursday, he still potentially faces a challenge from world #9 Gael Monfils if he's going to make his first Tour final. It's not out of his reach, but something he'll need to keep his focus in order to achieve.

Unlike these guys, Marcos Baghdatis isn't one susceptible to throwing tantrums -- the friendly Cypriot is one of the calmest guys on Tour -- but his game is certainly one with ups and downs. Once ranked in the top ten, he failed to defend most of his points from last summer and has since fallen out of the top fifty. This year he's beaten Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Murray, but also lost eleven opening rounds.

He took a wildcard entry into Kuala Lumpur, though, and opened with a solid victory over quick-rising Alex Bogomolov, Jr. He followed it up with a win over Somdev Devvarman, a man with whom he's split his last two meetings. He'll face doubles start Jurgen Melzer next, but the Austrian has been a little spotty himself recently and hasn't made a third round since July. If Baghdatis is at his best, I wouldn't be surprised to see an upset here too.

Serbian star Janko Tipsarevic is similarly likely to see his game break down. Last year after stunning Andy Roddick in the second round of the U.S. Open he promptly dropped in four sets to Gael Monfils. And back in February he was in total control versus Del Potro in the Delray Beach final before he broke down and ceded victory to the Argentine. But though he squandered his chance in another final in Eastbourne, he finally seemed to gain ground late in the summer -- he made the semifinals in Montreal and broke into the top fifteen after reaching the quarters in New York.

That record was enough to get him a third seed in Kuala Lumpur, where today he made the final eight with a win over Flavio Cipolla. The road only gets harder from her, as he next faces one-time world #3 Nikolay Davydenko, who's in the process of getting himself back together after his own injury sabbatical. The Russian has won their previous two meetings, but the last one was more than three years ago. If Tipsarevic is able to play as consistently has he had the last few months, he should make good on his favored position.

It's important for all these guys to keep momentum on their side. We've still got a few weeks to go before the end of their season, but this is certainly not the time to start slacking off. After all, none of us want to see another set of slumps that rival what's already happened in September -- especially the players themselves.

Before Moving On...

This week the men begin their tour of Asia in the last leg of the 2011 season. But before traveling to the other side of the globe, a couple spent this past weekend getting in their last blows in Europe, and those that prospered most are on their way to ending their year on the highest note.

On the red clay of Bucharest -- that's right, we're still not done with the dirt -- some players were right at home. Defending champion and top-seed Juan Ignacio Chela made his way to the semis without dropping a set, but he was eventually bested by Casablanca winner Pablo Andujar. On the bottom half of the draw, Munich finalist Florian Mayer, who survived a close call to Carlos Berlocq in his opener, eventually reached his fifth career championship match, playing in top form.

Mayer's experience eventually got the better of the Spaniard as he survived a trade-of-breaks in the first set and capitalized on a double fault by his opponent to draw even. He won eight games in a row and ran off to a 5-0 lead in the second, virtually sealing the match. After just over an hour the twenty-seven year old German was hoisting his first ever trophy, proving it's never too late to make a stand in this sport.



A little further west in Metz, the top seeds were again putting on a show. Fresh off a Davis Cup drubbing, hometown boy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rebounded quickly and ran to the final -- his third of the year -- with wins over (lower case) marathon man Nicolas Mahut and rising star Alexandr Dolgopolov. And though world #15 Richard Gasquet was upended in his second match, veteran Ivan Ljubicic made good on the opening to advance to his second final of the year, outperforming his fourth seeding.

But things again proceeded as the numbers suggested. Tsonga got off to a quick start, taking the opening set in under forty minutes, but squandered a break lead in the second as the Croat forced a tiebreak and a deciding set. The Frenchman regained control, though, forging ahead early in the third and finally closing out the match. It was his first title since 2009, but more importantly it bumped him up the World Tour Finals rankings, where he now stands at #7. If he holds on, it would be his first appearance at the year-end championships since 2008, and the way he's playing recently, could be his best chance yet to make a big statement.



While most other players in the sport were traveling to Asia, it seems the decision to stay in the Western Hemisphere has behooved both of this weekend's champions. And as the season winds down there could be no better time to take advantage of every opportunity. Because once they make it over to the other continent, everyone should be put on notice.

The Asian Swings

The courts at the U.S. Open aren't event cold yet and already the ladies have made their way to the other side of the globe for the first leg of the fall season. And some players are already wielding their racquets in an attempt to end their years on a high note.

There haven't been too many huge upsets at the Guangzhou International Women's Open, where three of the four remaining athletes are seeded at the event. Though defending champion Jarmila Gajdasova was ousted earlier today, top seed Maria Kirilenko -- a real fighter, as she proved in New York -- has been relentless in her progress. The world #28 hasn't won a title since 2008, but has so far not dropped a set in China, and with a semifinal meeting against Chanelle Scheepers, who proved herself a journeywoman against Francesca Schiavone in her U.S. Open third round, she has a good chance to at least get back to a final -- the South African has played deciders in all three of her matches so far, and eventually the effort will catch up with her.

But the real story in Guangzhou has been homegrown Jie Zheng, once ranked fifteenth in the world. A semifinalist in Melbourne last year, she notched wins over Maria Sharapova and now-retired Elena Dementieva in 2010, but a wrist injury has largely kept her out of contention for the last twelve months. Now hanging around the low eighties, she's way out of seeding territory, but you know she's capable of doing damage well beyond her rank. So far, she's taken out Alberta Brianti and Petra Martic. And if she truly is back in form, I wouldn't be surprised to see her handle Magdalena Rybarikova in the semis and make a real push for this title.

The stakes were slightly higher in Seoul, where four of the top twenty-five women in the world entered the draw, but the upsets were also more striking. Last year's French Open champion Schiavone dropped her opener to Vera Dushevina and talented, if not slightly spotty, Marion Bartoli fell one round later, giving American doubles specialist Vania King her first ever top-ten victory. That opens the door for remaining seeds like Dominika Cibulkova who, at twenty-two -- in rank and in age -- still hasn't claimed that maiden title. She's shown signs of brilliance, of course, beating world #1 Caroline Wozniacki twice this year and scoring victories over Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva to boot, but she has yet to really shine. If she can make it past the quarters, though, this could be her turn.

Unfortunately for Cibu, she's in the same half of the draw as a girl who's having her own breakthrough this year. Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva has been pro for nearly a decade, but hadn't spent a lot of time in the top hundred -- consistent performances on the ITF Tour and upsets of several top-thirty players, though, has pushed her to a new level. She isn't seeded in Seoul, but pulled off wins over Ekaterina Makarova and veteran Iveta Benesova already on her way to the quarters. She next faces Dushevina, not an easy task, as she's lost four of their five previous meetings, but certainly less intimidating than the Slam titleist she should have met.

There aren't many more weeks left in the 2011 season, and as the ladies wrap up there is a chance for some to prove they belong with the big girls and others to make a name for themselves. There's no telling yet who'll ultimately end up on top, but those who swing the hardest now may be the ones who hold the advantage.

New on the Scene

The ladies in the winners' circles this weekend are far from household names. But with the four who contested the trophies all going after their maiden crowns, it might not be long before they find themselves more in the spotlight. Twenty-year-old Ksenia Pervak came to Uzbekistan with on of her more successful summers. She'd made the fourth round at Wimbledon with wins over Shahar Peer and Andrea Petkovic and run to the finals at Baku. A shade off her highest-ever ranking, the fifty-second ranked player was still the top seed in Tashkent and worked her way through the draw without dropping a set. There she met little-known Czech Eva Birnerova, a pro for almost ten years who's spent most of her career making a mark on the ITF tour. She had a tougher road to the championship match, having three set victories two rounds in a row and advancing when Alla Kudryavtseva retired up a set in their semi. Easily the less experienced player in Saturday's match, Birnerova didn't put up much of a fight, allowing Pervak to win about two-thirds of her return points, breaking serve seven times. It was only the Russian's second final of her career, but with the way she's been playing this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see her around much more in the coming months. In Quebec City the stakes might have been a little higher, as the top four seeds all held rankings at least better than fifty. But world #23 Daniela Hantuchova was stopped in the third round by New Zealand's Marina Erakovic on the way to her first ever Tour final -- she hadn't made a semi since 2008. On the bottom half of the draw, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, fourteen times a doubles champion, benefitted from the early departure of Lucie Safarova as she made her first final since Prague last year. Though Erakovic got off to a good start, the tables turned quickly and the Czech #7 -- ranked globally at #75 -- only dropped one game in the last thirteen. Playing some of her most aggressive tennis now, at twenty-five years of age, she should see her profile in the sport much enhanced. All these ladies have the potential to do some damage among the ranks of the top stars, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them take the confidence they gained this weekend into future matches. It could take a while for them to make the biggest impact, but they've certainly shown how capable they are of doing it now.