On a Roll

Neither of the results at today's finals in Indian Wells were particularly surprises, really, but what they might have lacked in drama they certainly made up for in decisiveness.

Victoria Azarenka came to the desert as the #1 ranked player in the world with an impressive 17-0 record and that breakthrough Grand Slam crown to her credit already this year. She struggled in her opener, battling a stomach bug that was nagging the entire field and squandering a huge lead against Mona Barthel before finally closing it out. But she got better with time, handily beating her next four opponents by dropping an average of just four games a match. Her victory over Angelique Kerber in the semis pushed her past Serena Williams to number four on the list of best all-time starts to a year.

In the final she met Maria Sharapova in a rematch of the surprisingly one-sided Melbourne final. The former #1 had been having her own string of success recently, making two Major finals in the past year and climbing back to the second spot in the rankings. In Indian Wells she battled from a set down against Maria Kirilenko in the quarters, and caught a bit of a break when Ana Ivanovic retired in the semis, but overall looked stronger than she had in quite some time.

That is, until she faced Vika in today's final. As had happened in so many of their recent meetings, Azarenka got off to a strong start, breaking her opponent off the bat and building a two-break lead in the second. Twice Maria was able to cut her deficit down, but each time the Belarusian had an answer, and despite a strong serve and some good gets she proved no match for the woman who hasn't dropped a set in this rivalry since 2009. Azarenka, now 23-0 on the year with four trophies on her mantle, has successfully escaped the curse that plagued so many of the first-time Slam champions in recent years, and though she may be loathe to make any comparisons, looks to be in a good place to set some big records in 2012.



The men's final featured another rematch of a big battle already waged this year. Roger Federer and John Isner last met a month ago when the big American shocked King Fed on his Davis Cup home court in just four sets. Since then Roger went on his own tear, winning ten straight matches and two titles coming to Indian Wells, and wracking up a dominating 33-2 record since last year's U.S. Open. He was challenged a bit in his early rounds this week, dropping sets to both Milos Raonic and Thomaz Bellucci before sailing past Juan Martin Del Potro and even long-time rival Rafael Nadal in the semis.

Isner was a little less obvious in his post-Davis Cup success. He failed to capitalize on his top seeding in Memphis or Delray Beach, but had nevertheless reached a career high ranking of #11 in the world. He wasn't challenged much early in the bracket, and perhaps without the pressure of being a favorite or by virtue of many of his biggest threats being eliminated for him, he was able to advance without much drama. He staged a solid victory against Gilles Simon in the quarters, and of course notched one of the two best career victories by beating reigning champ and top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semis.

To his credit, Isner kept things close in his first ever Masters final. Forcing a tiebreak in the first set, he earned a few minibreaks and even had a set point to take the early lead, but an unfortunate decision to let a mishit lob go at seven-all might have cost him the set. Roger raised his game in the second set, too, going nearly four games before conceding the only point on his serve and breaking the big man's game twice. Now with a record nineteenth Maters crown to his name and a solid lead in the race to London, he seems to be well on his way to return to #1 in the overall rankings as well.



Given what we've seen already in 2012, it shouldn't shock us to find either of this weekend's champions back atop the winner's circle today -- and it shouldn't surprise us if we see them back there again and again this year. Of course their current winning streaks will end eventually -- maybe even in their very next matches. But the way they're playing, they've both shown their power goes far deeper than anyone might have thought before.

Grudge Matches

Remember this?


Victoria Azarenka vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Doha semis - February 2012

Or this?


Tomas Berdych vs. Nicolas Almagro
Australian Open, 4th round - January 2012

Well it's a good thing these guys will never see each other again, right? Right?

Eh, not so much, it turns out. The elite players on the tennis Tour have no choice but to meet again and again, friends or not -- and both these pairs had rematches today in Indian Wells just weeks after their previous face-offs. Azarenka, previously criticized for her over-dramatization of an injury, showed no signs of lingering pain when she won eleven straight game off Radwanska on her way to a 6-0, 6-2 win over the world #5. And Almagro, ignored in his attempt to apologize for accidentally beaning Berdych in Melbourne, took just over an hour to dismiss the Czech this afternoon.

Grudge matches -- with or without the animosity -- are unavoidable in this and any sport. Later today Maria Sharapova will meet countrywoman Maria Kirilenko for the first time since the lower-ranked Russian shocked her in Australia two years ago. The world #2 has greatly improved her game since then, reaching the finals both at Wimbledon and Down Under, and become a more consistent force than we've seen in ages. But Kirilenko has been battle-tested in the desert, and has twice avenged that heart-breaking U.S. Open loss to Sam Stosur. She won't go away as quickly as her namesake might hope.

A little further down the road is the likely quarterfinal between Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro -- what would be their fourth meeting already this year. Federer is clearly on a roll and hasn't lost a set to the Argentine since the World Tour Finals in 2009. But DelPo has made each match closer and closer, and with solid, straight-set wins in his first two matches in Indian Wells, he might have the confidence to finally exact revenge over his opponent. Sure they both still have to get one more win in before that presumed match-up becomes a reality, but with Roger facing world #50 Thomaz Bellucci in the fourth round and Del Potro being handed Denis Istomin, one spot lower still, at this point it just seems inevitable.

It doesn't always work, of course -- poor Aggie! -- but the motivation to erase the memory of a disappointing loss can provide the extra oomph a player needs to eke out a win. Hopefully they're any to harness that good energy and let go of their frustrations -- whatever our differences, after all, this is the gentleman's sport. Let's keep it that way.

The Seeds Keep Falling

The seeds have taken to the courts in Indian Wells, and it's been far from smooth sailing for them.

Angelique Kerber trailed American wildcard Sloane Stephens 2-6, 1-5 and faced double match point, but somehow managed to eke out the victory. Andy Roddick was down a set and a break to Lukas Kubot earlier today before finally holding onto a lead in the third. Victoria Azarenka blew a commanding lead against Mona Barthel and needed to break her opponent twice just to stay in the match, ultimately winning the three-hour marathon.

And those were the one's who survived. After making the semis in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, 2010 champion Jelena Jankovic was broken five times in her opener by young Julie Jamie Hampton. And Sabine Lisicki, who's battled injury seemingly all season after staging an enormous comeback last year, fell in straight sets to veteran Lourdes Dominguez-Lino. The men weren't immune to the upsets either -- Richard Gasquet, serving for the match at 5-4 in the second against Albert Ramos, ultimately lost the tiebreak and the decider, winning zero points on his second serve. And early exits like these, as usual, give others a chance to shine.

Jarmila Gajdosova has been having a tough couple months. Though she peaked at #25 in the world less than a year ago, she's fallen out of the top fifty after failing to defend a title in Hobart and losing first round matches at three events already this year. But things are looking up for her in California, a place where she'd never won a main draw match before -- she's pulled off two come-from-behind victories against Coco Vandeweghe and twenty-second seed Yanina Wickmayer. And after Hampton's upset of JJ, her portion of the draw is opening up. If she can keep momentum on her side, she time out of the top ranks may be sharp-lived.

Maybe more impressive has been the performance of Vania King, who's nearly played more qualifying matches than main draw rounds this year. At #58 in the world, she's still a shade off her career-high ranking -- one she reached over five years ago -- but she was impressive in her first-round win over red-hot Sara Errani on Wednesday, and even more so against world #20 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova yesterday. It'll get tougher in the next round, of course, when she meets Kerber, but if King can take advantage of the tested German, she might score another win

Of course, there are some openings in the men's draw too -- and likely more to come. Pablo Andujar made his first mark on the sport a little less than a year ago when he won his first title in Casablanca and a few months later made the final in Stuttgart. Both those runs came on clay, though, and with only five career wins on hard court, he wasn't exactly a favorite here. But he rebounded after losing the first set to Robin Haase and shocked eighteenth seed Florian Mayer in a relatively quick two sets. He'll next face fellow underdog Ramos, who's already battled through two three-set matches to get here. With another win, Andujar might be in for a new set of successes this year.

There's of course a lot of ball left to be played in Indian Wells, and if early rounds are any indication, it sure looks like we're in store for some more surprises. As the favorites fall by the wayside, a slew of new stars get the chance to emerge. And there couldn't be a better place for them to take the opportunity.

Now or Never

The first balls of this year's BNP Paribas Open have been struck, with the ladies kicking off their main draw today while the men wrap up their qualifying matches. And while the seeded players all get byes for their first rounds, there's nevertheless a lot of pressure on everyone to perform from the start.

With just a handful of matches in the books, we've already seen a couple of disappointing results. Iveta Benesova, who's beaten Sabine Lisicki and Sam Stosur already this year, won her first set but dropped the next two to comeback kid Sorana Cirstea, and Memphis runner-up Marina Erakovic, looking for her first win in Indian Wells, was defeated in a two-and-a-half hour battle with Galina Voskoboeva. Meanwhile Sara Errani, fresh off singles and doubles crowns in Acapulco, surrendered a break lead to Vania King and lost in straights. But others hope to avoid similar fates.

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki has amassed a mediocre 7-4 record so far this year, and will fall out of the top five if she doesn't make at least the semis here. She comes to the desert as the #4 seed, but has more than a few potential spoilers in her part of the bracket. Her first opponent will either be Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who put up a fight at the Hopman Cup, or Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned Serena Williams in Melbourne. And if she survives those early tests, Caro may face a rematch of last year's final with Marion Bartoli just to make the final four. She'll need to raise her game if she's going to survive deep into this draw.

Jelena Jankovic, winner her two years ago, doesn't have quite so many points to defend this time around but may have as much on the line. She's been pretty busy this year, already playing six events in addition to Fed Cup, and marked some big wins -- Stosur in Dubai -- and some not-so-big losses -- Petra Martic in Kuala Lumpur. To her credit, she's hung around most draws, but she hasn't won a title since she lifted the trophy here. Ranked out of the top ten this year, JJ will first face American wildcard Julie Hampton, but is slated to meet Aggie Radwanska, who beat her in Dubai, in the fourth round and current #1 Victoria Azarenka in the quarters. It's going to be a tough fight if the Serb plans on using this to launch her comeback campaign.

There are a couple men with just as much on the line over the next ten days too. Fernando Verdasco had struggled over the past two years or so, declining to defend points in San Jose and failing to make any headway against the sport's top players -- he'd only beaten one top ten player since the spring of 2010. But his run to the Acapulco final last week might have come at the perfect time -- now back at #19 in the world, he comes to Indian Wells with more confidence than he's had in a while. He'll meet either Ryan Sweeting or Challenger champion Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in his opener, but will likely face a much tougher challenge in Juan Martin Del Potro a round later. If he can score a win there we'll really know he's back.

Andy Roddick, runner-up here in 2010 -- and doubles champ the year before -- is also out to claw his way back to the top. Now ranked #31, his lowest position in an astounding eleven years, he's logged a 4-4 record in 2012. Injury forced him out of the Australian Open, and he hasn't been able to hold onto leads in matches since then. He did score an impressive win against Roger Federer in an exhibition match at MSG on Monday night, so things aren't completely bleak. He'll be challenged from the start, though, facing either big-serving Ivo Karlovic or dangerous Pole Lukas Kubot in the second round, and should meet back-in-form Tomas Berdych after that. It'll be a long road for Roddick, but a couple big wins here would be a good start.

There's a lot riding on the results in Indian Wells this week -- sure some players may not have a lot of ranking points at stake here while may have plenty of time left in their careers to make up for any disappointing results. But if they're going to silence the naysayers and prove they're still real contenders in the sport, they'll all have to put up a fight in the California desert. And there's never been a better time for them to show us what they've got.

Like Old Times

At this time last year we hardly knew what we were in for. Novak Djokovic's title in Dubai had just capped off a fourteen-match win streak, one that would triple before it ended. Roger Federer had completed his first twelve-month run without a Grand Slam since 2003 and had lost two matches in a row to the ascendant Serb -- it would be almost an entire season before he claimed another title on Tour.

But then things started turning around. Fatigue and injury slowed Nole down at the end of the year while Federer went 15-0 to claim three titles of his own. His Slam-less streak continues, but he's not letting go of his hold on the top ranks of the sport, and after sailing to a win in Rotterdam, he came to Dubai looking for his first title here since 2007.

His road to the final was not an easy one. Facing off first against last week's Marseille finalist Michael Llodra, he delivered one bagel set but battled through a tight tiebreak to take the second. He then squared off against former top-ten player Mikhail Youzhny, himself on a comeback trail after dispatching Mardy Fish in the second round. In his semifinal against one-time vanquisher Juan Martin Del Potro, he was unable to convert on any of six break points, but took the two-tiebreak win in just under two hours.

In the final he faced a familiar foe in Andy Murray who, somewhat surprisingly, had never made it past the quarters in the UAE. He began his campaign with a little rust on his swing, losing serve five times to world #116 Michael Berrer in his three-set first round. He cleaned up his game in the days that followed, though, stopping Montpellier champ Tomas Berdych in his tracks and then stunning three-time defending champion Djokovic in under an hour and a half.

His luck ran out in Saturday's final. After failing to convert on two break chances in the sixth game, Murray found himself on the losing side of the first set. Federer got off to a good start in the second as well, breaking his opponent in the third game and building a 3-1 lead. The Scot came back immediately and evened the score, but then King Roger ticked off three straight games to seal the deal.



The win marks Roger's fifth title in Dubai, his first in five years. And with wins over two real top-ten players -- and a couple looking like they're in the top-ten -- he's reiterated that he continues to be a contender at the big events. He may not have begun the year with as much flash and glamour as we've become used to, but if he's really looking to make the climb back to the top of the sport, it sure looks like he's off to a good start. And with just two losses in his last thirty-five matches, it sure looks like he might get there sooner than we think.

Men vs. Boys

There is of course a difference in sports -- and tennis in particular -- between the athletes who prove to be flashes in the pan and those that can deliver year-in and year-out. Some players can have a great run one week and, overwhelmed by the effort, fall early and often in the tournaments that come. But others, the real powerhouses, come back week after week and dominate the field. And the thin line that separates them marks a real distinction between winners and champions.

Jurgen Melzer isn't exactly a slouch, but his victory in Memphis last week came after a string of disappointing results. He probably had the right to be exhausted when he came to Delray Beach this week, after battling through three seeded players to take the title, but his loss to Tim Smyczek in his opener was nevertheless a surprise. His exit, though, may have cleared the way for others in the draw -- John Isner lost to Melzer in the Memphis quarters, but now will face a dangerous, but slightly less intimidating Bernard Tomic later today. And while Andy Roddick, trying to make his own comeback in Florida, may be able to gain some traction knowing the field is slightly cleared out for him.

Sofia Arvidsson, the other titleist in Memphis last weekend, was no more successful than Melzer when she came to Acapulco. Still well off her career-high ranking at #55 in the world, she was in seeding territory for the Abierto Mexicano. But though she got up a set against two-time winner Flavia Pennetta in their second round and could have closed out the match in a tiebreak, she ultimately succumbed 6-1 in the deciding set. Her exit could give the Italian a clear road to at least the final, as she looks to win her first title in nearly two years. But top seeded Roberta Vinci, who's quarterfinal run so far marks only the second time in 2012 that she's won more than two matches at one event, may have even more to prove. She's been spotty of late, but a good run here might put her back on the track that won her three trophies last year.

The men's draw in Acapulco also features one of last week's victors. David Ferrer, twice a champion here before, came to Mexico fresh off a title in Buenos Aires, and looks to extend his success during this season's Golden Swing. He's only lost a handful of games in his first two matches, and with many of his contemporaries getting upset he'll face no seeds through at least the semis. If everything goes as planned, he'd likely face Nicolas Almagro for the title, a rematch of last Sunday's championship match, but with a 9-0 record against his compatriot, something tells me Ferrer's streak is good to go.

Like Ferrer, Aggie Radwanska began this week on her own winning streak. With her title in Dubai, she came to Kuala Lumpur with an impressive 15-3 record on the year -- all three of those losses coming at the hands of current world #1 Victoria Azarenka. Playing some of the best tennis of her career, the Pole didn't drop a set in her Thursday double-header, beating both Akgul Amanmuradova and Karolina Pliskova in straight sets. There are, of course, still obstacles in her way -- Jelena Jankovic, one of the few remaining seeds left in Malaysia, took her to three sets in last week's semi -- but as Radwanska's star continues to rise, she should be able to handle the challenges she's dealt.

All that's not to say, of course, that sometimes spotty players won't be able to turn around their streaks -- Azarenka, after all, was only of the most inconsistent champions on Tour just last year -- or that the current stars won't see their successes come to a sharp end. But early performances this week certainly draw a line between players with staying power and those who might need some time to recover.

And that difference has the opportunity to make a big impact on the top ranks of the sport this year.

Back in Form

It seems to have been a good weekend for players that had something to prove. A shade or two off their best rankings, a couple champions made their return to the winners' circle on Sunday, and may have just reminded us all they're still forces to be reckoned with.

Juan Martin Del Potro has been working his way back to the sport's top echelon for some time and took titles last year in Delray Beach and Estoril. But it's been a while since he's been a threat to the top guys. Remember when he practically owned Rafael Nadal? On the way to his 2009 U.S. Open crown, the big Argentine went 3-0 against the one-time #1. He's 0-3 since then. DelPo did notch a couple victories over an ailing Robin Soderling early last year, but was largely ineffective against top-ten players that season.

Things seemed to have turned a corner in 2012, though. After beating world #7 Tomas Berdych on the way to the Rotterdam final, Del Potro seemed to have a renewed confidence. The fourth seed in Marseille, he was dealt a tough draw from the start, splitting sets with a re-invigorated Nikolay Davydenko in his opener before advancing on his opponent's retirement. He survived a close call against Richard Gasquet a match later, but scored an even bigger victory against top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semis. In a match with forty-one aces -- the majority, somewhat surprisingly, coming from the Frenchman -- and a super-close second set tiebreak, things could have gone either way. But after nearly three hours, DelPo was able to close out the match and make his second straight final.

There he met a similarly resurgent Michael Llodra. Nearly in the top twenty less than a year ago, the Frenchman won no ATP-level matches after the U.S. Open in 2011. He pulled off an upset over Alexandr Dolgopolov in his Marseille second round and pulled off a major win against Janko Tipsarevic in the semis to make his first final in almost two years. His comeback ended quickly on Sunday, though as the Argentine won a more-than-solid ninety percent of his first serves and never allowed Llodra a chance to break. In his shortest match of the event, DelPo earned his tenth career title and reasserted himself as a powerful force against even the big guns.



Austrian Jurgen Melzer is less temporally removed from his career-high ranking, having peaked at #8 in the world just about a year ago. But after failing to defend points at Roland Garros or his trophy in Vienna, he started out 2012 outside the top thirty. A first round loss in Australia and an upset at the hands of Michael Berrer in Zagreb pushed him even further out of the spotlight.

Melzer was unseeded by the time he came to Memphis and found himself under the gun from the start. Down a set in his first two rounds, he needed third-set tiebreaks in both to advance. He scored the biggest on-paper upset of the tournament when he ousted big-serving American John Isner in the quarters, but upped his game even further Sunday when he met Milos Raonic, fresh off a win at the SAP Open in San Jose. The six-foot-five Canadian was playing his second straight final here, after losing last year on one of the most spectacular shots ever seen, and despite a middling fourth seed may have been the favorite even when Isner was still in contention.

But Melzer was on point in the championship match this year. After staying close to start, the veteran thirty year old broke in the eleventh game of the contest and served out the first set. Raonic wouldn't back down, though, and climbed to a 4-1 lead in the second before the Austrian fought back to even. The two battled to a tiebreak, but Melzer got the better of his opponent there too and, despite twenty-two aces and an eighty-plus first serve percentage from the world #32, closed out the match in less than two hours. The win halved the winner's ranking as of Monday's stats, bringing him back to #19 and reminding us he's a threat on more than just a doubles court.



Both these guys scored some milestone wins over the past week, and while there's still a ways to go before they regain their topmost form, their back-to-back upsets and victories should surely get them noticed again. And now that they're back on the radar, there are not many who will be able to rest easy.