Fed Cup Final Preview: A Chance for Redemption

It's not often that you see so many ladies who played the postseason take such a little break before getting back to action. But with this year's Fed Cup championship tie featuring more than a few players who made the cut in either Singapore or Zhuhai -- all of whom fell a little short over the last few championship events -- we might just be in for an extra-high quality battle for this trophy.

The Russians

The five-time champions came in second at Fed Cup twice this decade, even losing the final to their current opponents back in 2011. They're bringing even bigger guns to the fight this time around, but even these stars are looking for a comeback.

Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova, doubles finalists at Wimbleon, qualified for the paired draw in Singapore but had to pull out because of a leg injury for the latter. They haven't played together since Toronto -- Makarova, in fact, clearly the more accomplished on the singles circuit, has been out of action entirely since a fourth round loss in New York. But over the years they've won five titles together, two of them Majors, and while it may be tough to rebound immediately at such a high-stakes event, these two certainly have the talent to do it.

Maria Sharapova certainly seemed well on her way to her own rebound -- after sustaining her own injury at Wimbledon and skipping the U.S. Open, she lost her first round back, retiring in the third set of her opener in Wuhan. But came out swinging at the WTA Finals, surviving a test against eventual champion Aga Radwanska before rolling through the rest of her round robins unscathed. But just when it looked like her momentum was back in full swing, she ran into a wall, falling in straight sets to Petra Kvitova in the semis. As the Russians' leader she'll get a chance to avenge that loss this weekend, and with surprise Linz champ Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova rounding out the team, there might be enough firepower to bring home the Cup.

The Czechs

Of course the defending champs will be out in full force -- and while their heavy-hitters certainly have plenty to be proud of from their postseason showings, even they're looking for a bit of a bounce-back.

Two ladies on this team actually qualified for the year-end title in Singapore -- surprise French Open finalist Lucie Safarova just barley squeezed her way into the field, qualifying despite losing every match she played since the New Haven final. She was in danger of blanking in her Championships debut too, dropping her first two round robins in straight sets. But while she was able to avoid a total shut out, notching an upset over Angelique Kerber in her last match, she'll certainly hope to up her game this weekend. And Petra Kvitova, who won the whole shebang in her first trip to the WTA Finals four years ago, will want to make up for her somewhat unexpected loss to Radwanska in the championship.

Countrywoman Karolina Pliskova also fell just one match short of a big win herself. After a strong start to 2015, during which she reached finals in Brisbane and Dubai, she rose to #7 in the world. While she stumbled a bit later in the season and didn't quite make the cut in Singapore, for the second year in a row got to play for the consolation prize, and this time won both of her round robins in Zhuhai before rolling over Elina Svitolina in the semis. Her run was finally ended by Venus Williams in the title match, but if she gets back on track, she might just be the clincher this weekend. And with always-feisty Barbora Strycova on deck to help out, this team looks to be in a good position to repeat.

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As always there's a lot on the line when Fed Cup finals roll around, but this year, with an extra special slate of talent on board, the stakes may be even higher. And with so many looking for that one more win to make up for recent losses, we might be in for some of the biggest battles we've seen all year.

The Long Road Back

It's been more than five years since Venus Williams was ranked in the top ten -- but when the new WTA ranking come out on Monday the veteran American, thirty-five years young will have climbed back into the tennis elite, an accomplishment that may have seemed out of reach not that long ago.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has struggled with injury and illness over the past several seasons, revealing in 2011 that she'd been diagnosed with Sjögren's Syndrome, which might have hampered her ability to endure long matches and fight against the younger, more energized hitters. She dropped for a time into triple digits and lost a couple first round matches at the Majors. But she started to launch her comeback in earnest in 2012 -- she stunned third seed Petra Kvitova in Miami and scored wins over players like Sam Stosur, Jelena Jankovic and soon-to-be-powerhouse Simona Halep a couple times that year. She capped off that season with a title in Luxembourg, bringing her ranking from #134 when she first got back on court to #24 by the time she stepped off it.

Williams has been up and down since then -- the following year she put together a streak of first round losses and dealt with another injury that forced her to skip Wimbledon for the first time since 1996 -- but she still couldn't be counted out. In 2014 she fell just short of picking up a title in Auckland and then upset five players in a row to claim the title in Dubai. But her biggest win, of course, came a few months later when she took out little sister Serena in Montreal, for her first win over the world #1 since 2009. And after starting this year by making up for that loss in New Zealnd, she went on to reach the quarters in both Melbourne and New York and then battled through an impressive draw to claim the trophy in Wuhan.

Her performance earned her the top seed at the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy this past week in Zhuhai -- while qualification was slightly different from that of previous Tournaments of Champions, the event nevertheless attracted an impressive field of rising stars, former Slam champions, and a couple one-time #1s. But Venus was not intimidated -- she powered through her round robin matches and in Saturday's semi absolutely trounced the woman who'd shocked Serena at the U.S. Open. She had a bit more of a challenge against Karolina Pliskova today -- the talented Czech hit back from a 1-4 deficit in the first set to even the score and after narrowly dropping the opener, ran off to a 4-2 lead to start the second. But Williams came back swinging too, and closed out the match in a tight, two-hour two sets.

Venus's return to the top ten seems like a fitting way to end the best season she's had in quite some time -- her three titles this year are the most she's won since 2008 and her forty-one match wins are her best since 2007. Her showing this season shows that not only is she more than able to hit with and even outlast her opponents, but more importantly that she's still hungry on the court. And while she certainly may be one of the elder statesmen out there, there are probably few more capable of translating that hunger into even more lasting success.

The Paris Preview

Anyone else notice something interesting about the third round matches in Paris? Maybe not unsurprisingly, every player who's qualified for the year-end championships was in action, contesting their right to a spot in the quarterfinals. And perhaps their performances gave us a little hint of what we might expect from them in Paris.

The Long Shots

Kei Nishikori started the year off strong, backing up his stellar 2014 season with titles in Memphis, Barcelona and Washington -- but he's struggled a bit recently, falling spectacularly in the first round of the U.S. Open and losing early again in Shanghai. Though he secured his spot at the ATP Championships at the start of the week, against Richard Gasquet in Paris today he was down a set before retiring with an abdominal strain -- hopefully he's just buying himself some time to rest before making the trip to London, but if the injury plagues him, there might be more trouble ahead.

And I realize it might be a little blasphemous to call Roger Federer a long shot for anything, but the six-time year-end champion has been a little spotty since the U.S. Open final. He notched a huge loss to Albert Ramos while trying to defend his Shanghai crown, but rebounded to pick up a seventh title in Basel. And this week after easily avenging his Melbourne loss to Andreas Seppi in his Paris opener, he fell today in three sets to John Isner. It's not his only loss to the American #1, but on such a big stage, might be his most surprising -- and it could give everyone else in the London field a little more hope of their own.

The Redeemers

Meanwhile a couple other players are putting together the kind of late-season run that might just bode well for their chances in London. David Ferrer was the last man to qualify for the World Tour Finals, but the one-time runner-up hasn't let that bother him. After sitting out at Wimbledon and losing early in New York, he's scored trophies in Kuala Lumpur and Vienna. Seemingly rejuvenated, he took out an always-tough Alexandr Dolgopolov in Paris, came back from a set down to a resurgent Grigor Dimitrov to score another today, and with a Isner earning the right to be his surprising next opponent, the veteran Spaniard could stay alive a bit longer. And that might be just the kind of momentum he's looking for as he finishes prepping for London.

Tomas Berdych is also getting momentum back on his side -- though he put together a couple decent runs to start the year, he really seemed to struggle to close the deal. But he got his game back after the U.S. Open, rebounding from a shocking opening round loss in St. Petersburg to claim titles in Shenzhen and Stockholm during the fall -- somewhat surprisingly his first trophies of the season. He's gotten right back to work in Paris, battling past tricky Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin before handling former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier today. And while he's got a tough road ahead of him, he might have gotten the confidence he needs to fight through tougher challenges down the road.

Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, will look to scrounge up the strength that brought him his surprise second Grand Slam title earlier this year. While he's been far from a disappointment -- he did reach the semis in New York and earn a title last month in Tokyo, albeit without beating a top-thirty player -- he's also shown some vulnerabilities, needing five sets against world #177 Thiemo de Bakker in Davis Cup play and losing his homeland's opener in Switzerland last week. He's looked good so far in Paris though, getting past solid players like Bernard Tomic and Viktor Troicki in his early matches, and will look to avenge his Shanghai loss to Rafael Nadal on Friday. All that's good practice for his return to London -- after all, he'll want to make up for that razor-thin loss to Roger Federer in last year's semis and maybe this time last a couple matches longer.

Of course the player most in need of redemption is one of the most decorated in the field. It's not news that Rafael Nadal has has a slightly less-than-spectacular season, but he might just be starting to turn things around -- after almost dropping out of the top ten for much of the summer, the former world #1 has pulled himself back together the last few weeks. He made he way to the finals of both Beijing and Basel, and picked up his first wins over top ten players since May on his way to the Shanghai semis. The seventh seed in Paris, he's one of the longer shots this week, but drubbed former nemesis Lukas Rosol in his opener and then rallied against a talented Kevin Anderson to earn a spot in the quarters. From so far back in the pack it'll be hard for him to translate recent success into his first title in London, but if anyone's able to rise to the challenge, it's certainly him.

The Favorites

It's a little strange to say, but it feels like Andy Murray has very quietly risen to #2 in the world without a lot of fanfare -- while he has picked up a couple Masters titles, beating Novak Djokovic in Canada and Rafael Nadal in Spain, even reaching the final in Australia, he's been largely overshadowed by many of his colleagues. But this week he's been out to remind us just what he's capable of -- after an easy win over talented teen Borna Coric in his opener, he absolutely drubbed David Goffin on Thursday, losing just one game and winning all but two points on his first serve. It's been a while since he's done well in the post-season, skipping the championships in 2013 and falling in round robins last year. But it sure looks like this could be his year to sneak through that draw as well.

Of course the top seed will certainly have something to say about that. Novak Djokovic was running a three title win streak coming into Paris and, judging from his performance so far, he's well on track to tie Rafael Nadal's record twenty-seven Masters titles by the end of the week. He's already survived tests from tough opponents like Thomaz Bellucci and Gilles Simon and with only one loss before the final of any tournament this year, there's no reason to expect him to stop now. And unlike in the past when he's run out of steam in the middle of a match, or like his breakthrough 2011 season, where he didn't win a title after picking up the crown in New York, Nole is showing few signs of slowing down -- and with the hope of marking his most prolific year to date if he finishes with eleven trophies this season, he's got a little extra motivation to keep going strong.

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Of course all these guys have made the trip to London before, some of them many, many times, and they've all had more than enough experience facing off against each other over the years. But the next few days will give them -- at least the ones still standing -- a good taste of what's they're in for next week. And while success in Paris won't necessarily translate into a title at the year-end championships, the fact that these guys are upping their games sure suggests we're going to see some amazing battles when we get there.

Against All Odds

Now I know I've talked about how wide open the draw was in Singapore, but I'm not sure anyone expected things to go the way they did. From the opening blows, to stellar debuts, to surprising upsets we saw a little bit of everything at the WTA Finals this year. And at the end of it all not only was it one of the most unlikely candidates left standing, but she had nabbed by far the biggest win of her already successful career.

And the road wasn't easy for Aga Radwanska -- the former world #2 had for some time this year fallen well out of contention for the postseason, dropping out of the top ten this summer for the first time in years. But she rallied strong in the fall, picking up titles in Tokyo and Tianjin and came to the year-end championships with a little more momentum than most. But she struggled early, losing a marathon to a surprisingly strong Maria Sharapova, who'd scored her first match win since Wimbledon in their opener, and then getting bested again by U.S. Open champ Flavia Pennetta to build a 0-2 deficit. But a win over top seed Simona Halep on Wednesday kept her hopes alive and Sharapova's staying perfect in the round robins got the two of them tickets into the semifinals.

Things came down to the wire in the other draw group as well, and were turned a little on their heads there too. While Garbiñe Muguruza, fresh off a title in Beijing, seemed to sail through her postseason debut -- she dominated her round robin matches, only dropping one set late in the week, and secured her spot in the semis with little drams -- the fate of everyone else remained up in the air until the end. And Petra Kvitova, who won this title during her groundbreaking 2011 season, was kept on the edge of her seat -- after losing her first match to Angelique Kerber, she was constantly playing catch up, only securing her spot in the final four after Singapore newbie Lucie Safarova shocked Kerber for her only win of the event, and sealing an entry for her compatriot.

The biggest surprises, though, came in Saturday's semifinals which pitted the two players who'd rocketed through their early rounds against a couple ladies who barely made it out of their group matches. But Radwanska brought her late burst of momentum with her -- against Muguruza, a woman who'd won every one of their meetings this year, including one just weeks ago in Beijing, the Pole was finally able to turn the tables, coming back after dropping a tight first set and powering through for the three-set win. And Kvitova, who'd largely struggled against Sharapova since that unexpected victory at Wimbledon years ago, had an even easier time, finally ending the long-ago champion's impressive run in Singapore. With both of the favorites getting a little spooked in their Halloween matches, we were treated to a final no one could have predicted.

Aga was the underdog there too -- with a disappointing 2-6 record against the two-time Major winner, and only one win over a top ten player this year before coming to Singapore, her chances were pretty slim. But the world #6 built herself an early lead, taking the first set and grabbing an early break in the second. Kvitova fought back and even got ahead in the decider, but Radwanska stayed strong, committing just five errors throughout the match and breaking her opponent an astonishing seven times. And after another two hours on court, the lady who hadn't claimed her spot at the WTA finals until just a week before it began, was triumphantly -- and frankly, by the skin of her teeth -- the one walking away with the trophy.

It's quite an ending for a woman who for so much of the season looked like her best days were behind her. And even if she started off slow this week, by finishing with some of the biggest wins of her career, she's certainly reasserted herself as a real force in the sport for when the new year starts. And while the threats will surely be bigger in the months ahead, perhaps the opportunities will be too -- and after she battled her way through this draw, there's not much else I expect she can't handle.

Maybe Next Year

There are still a few spots left at the ATP Finals in London, but for the vast majority of men on Tour, their hopes of qualifying at this point are slim at best. Still a couple guys this week might just be making a case to put themselves in the conversation next season.

In Valencia some long shots were actually given a bit of a helping hand from the field's favorites. With Feliciano Lopez losing today to Vienna standout Steve Johnson and players like Bernard Tomic and even giant-killer Fabio Fognini getting upset early, the draw has been opened wide. That could present an opportunity for veteran Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who's quietly picked up two titles this year and actually climbed back to near his career-high ranking. He powered through a tough opener against Fernando Verdasco, and while he's actually lost his only previous meeting with Johnson, his quarterfinal opponent, he's been riding a pretty hot streak this fall and might just keep it up. Then there's Roberto Bautista Agut, who's been picking up steam himself in recent weeks -- he's had a tough draw, facing off against former top-ten player Nicolas Almagro in his first round and then battling talented teen Andrey Rublev earlier today. If he keeps up his level of play, not only could he walk away with the title, but he might just put himself back on track to do even more damage next year.

There's a little more on the line in Basel, where -- despite the noticeably more-stacked draw -- some of the contenders do still have an outside chance of making this year's cut. Marin Cilic, fresh off a successful title defense in Moscow, is currently eleventh on the London leaderboard and would need a lot of things to go his way if he wants to make his second trip to the ATP Championships -- still, straight set wins this week, including one today over an always-tough Teymuraz Gabashvili, could help him make a stronger case next year. And David Goffin, who took out Andreas Seppi and Adrian Mannarino already this week, seems to be building on the success made him one of the best comeback stories of 2014. But the real story in Switzerland might be Richard Gasquet, who could earn himself a ticket this year if he keeps his run going a little while longer -- the Wimbledon semifinalist has wins over Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka already this year, and has picked off two rising stars this week too. He'd have to win titles in Basel and Paris next week, what would be his first Masters trophy ever -- but he might be better off saving his energy to come out swinging when the new year starts.

After all, it won't be long before everyone wipes their slates clean and starts over -- and if any of these guys can bring their current momentum with them into 2016, there's no reason they can't really shake up the standings from the start.

Opening Salvos

This year's WTA Finals could be one of the most interesting year-end championships we've seen in years -- with the most dominant player on Tour sitting out the postseason, nearly half the qualifiers making just their first appearance at this event, and each and every entrant showing a little vulnerability since the U.S. Open, it really is anybody's game. And with the first round robin matches in the books, we've gotten a glimpse of who might be most willing to take advantage of the opportunity.

Play kicked off Sunday with a rematch of the first shocking semi in New York this year -- eventual champion Flavia Pennetta, who at thirty-three has said this would be the last professional event of her career, hoped to repeat against top seed Simona Halep. Both have been below their best recently -- the Italian was upset by a qualifier in Tianjin and withdrew from the Moscow quarters with a foot injury, just after clinching her entry to Singapore, while the world #2 retired from the draw in Beijing after early losses in both Guangzhou and Wuhan. That could have presented an opportunity for Pennetta to pounce, but this time the Romanian was able to take charge, dropping just three games in the barely hour-long match. It was an important start for the favorite, who in her debut last year reached the final with a victory over Serena Williams in the early rounds. If she wants to go one better this time, she'll need to show her recent struggles were just a fluke and such a decisive win to start off may have done just that.

The second match in Singapore was just a little more challenging -- Maria Sharapova, by far the most experienced of the field, took on Aga Radwanska, who'd made a solid late-season push to qualify for her seventh appearance here. MaSha, who won this event an entire eleven years ago, started the year off strong, but a leg injury sustained during her Wimbledon semifinal lost forced her out of summer events and the U.S. Open -- when she finally did return to play in Wuhan, she retired in the third set of her opener with an arm ailment. The Pole meanwhile, who'd fallen as low as #15 in the world after a weak start to 2015, made a nice jump higher with a semi showing at the All England Club and titles in Tokyo and Tianjin. While she pulled out of Moscow last week, she seemed to have the momentum that could take her far at the Finals, but Sharapova may have stopped that. After dropping the first set the Russian roared back in the second and fought off a late surge from her opponent in the decider and, in the nearly three-hour match, Sharapova was the one left somewhat unexpectedly standing. But she'll have to regroup quick if she's going to keep up her streak -- with a match against a decidedly more rested Halep on Tuesday, she'll need every ounce of energy she's got.

Things were just as interesting in Monday's contests, where the first match-up in the White Group pitted two newbies against each other. Wimbledon finalist Garbiñe Muguruza faced off against Roland Garros runner-up Lucie Safarova, both of whom scored their best Major results this year, and both of whom are also playing the doubles event in Singapore. Here too though, there were some questions hanging above the players -- the Spaniard retired from the final in Wuhan, seemed to recover for a title in Beijing a week later, and then pulled out of Hong Kong. Safarova, meanwhile, has struggled a bit more -- the last woman to qualify for this event lost openers in Linz and Moscow, not to mention at the U.S. Open and now hasn't won a match since New Haven. And that gave Muguruza the opening she needed -- the twenty-two year old fired off ten aces and forced fifteen break opportunities -- and even though the Czech was able to keep things tight at the end, the second seed may have shaken off her debut nerves a bit better and be in the prime spot to power through from here.

The last round robin might have resulted in the only real surprise we've seen at the tournament so far. Relative veterans Petra Kvitova, the only one in this group to beat Serena Williams this year, and Angelique Kerber, who's very quietly picked up four titles in 2015, might have been two of the most closely matched opponents to open against each other -- all but one of their six previous meetings have gone three sets. Still Kvitova lost early in both Wuhan and Beijing and Kerber, after reaching the final in Hong Kong skipped out on Moscow, leaving her fate in qualifying for Singapore in other players' hands. But the sixth seed came out swinging in her opener, grabbing the first set without allowing a break opportunity. Though things were closer in the second, Kerber was able to stay more focused in the tiebreak, able to score her first win over the Czech in more than three years. The only player to have notched an upset, the German is actually at the top of her round robin group and if she keeps hitting the way she did Monday, she might just stay that way.

Of course there is still plenty more ball left before this year's final trophy is awarded. And while the ladies who opened their campaigns with a win are certainly at an early advantage, anything can still happen from here. And in just about a week one of these players might have just established herself as the one to beat in the new year.

A Week to Remember

There are still a couple weeks left for the guys this tennis season, but as we've learned it's never too late to make a stand. And this week, even the men who came in second place have something to be proud of.

It's been a bit of a disappointing year for 2014's unexpected U.S. Open winner -- after taking a few months off to nurse an injury, he spent some time getting his groove back. Though he made a couple deep runs at tournaments here and there, and even got all the way back to the semis in New York, he didn't score one win over a top-ten player all season and was utterly dismantled by Novak Djokovic in Flushing Meadows. But this week he had a chance to put that all behind him -- returning as the defending champ in Moscow, the Croat had one last opportunity to reclaim a title this year. He stumbled early against Denis Istomin, but got through later rounds without much of a struggle, ultimately reaching his first final of the year on Sunday. There he met second seed Roberto Bautista Agut, another man who's had his own troubles following up his breakthrough 2014 and has seen his ranking fall from a career-high #14 this time last season to out of the top twenty-five now. He had a decidedly tougher route in Russia too, facing off against an always-tough Philipp Kohlschrieber in the semis, but he too got through the challenge to set up a repeat of last year's championship match. And Cilic took the lead this time too -- grabbing the only two breaks of the match, the top seed was able to finish off his opponent again in straight sets and capped the year the way he must have hoped to have started it. And if he's able to stay healthy this time, there's no reason he won't be able to make up ground in the months that come.

Over in Vienna David Ferrer also capitalized on his top seed -- after dealing with his own injuries this year, the one-time Roland Garros runner-up seems to have more than gotten his form back. Since skipping Wimbledon and losing in the third round in New York, he picked up career title #25 in Kuala Lumpur and reached the semis in Beijing. He dropped a set early this week at the Erste Bank Open, but nevertheless made it to his fifth final of the year without breaking a sweat. But the real story here might have been the surge we saw from eventual finalist Steve Johnson -- the young American has long been on the outskirts of the sports elite, but this year has finally been making a play to get some more consideration. He made it to the semis in DC with wins over Bernard Tomic and Grigor Dimitrov and took out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Winston-Salem too. This week, still outside of seeding territory, he stunned U.S. Open standout Kevin Anderson and took out a seemingly-revived Ernests Gulbis on Saturday. In his first ever ATP final he even ran off to an early lead against Ferrer, grabbing the first set off the heavy favorite -- but even though he did eventually lose the closer-than-you-might-imagine championship match, he might have finally proved he's got what it takes to hit with the big boys. And as he starts to prep for the new year, there may never have been a better time for him to do it.

Second place didn't seem so bad in Stockholm either. Top seed Tomas Berdych prevailed here too, picking up his second title of the year and solidifying his case for another post season appearance. But the bigger breakthrough in Sweden came for another young American, Jack Sock -- the twenty-three year old may be more decorated in doubles, but he's also making a stand on the solo circuit, winning his first career title early this season in Houston and putting up a nice fight against Rafael Nadal this year in his French Open fourth round. He'd risen up the rankings enough to earn himself a seventh seed this week, but he outdid even those expectations, staying strong against an always feisty Fernando Verdasco before taking out two heavy favorites, Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet, to make Sunday's final. Like his compatriot in Austria, he also put up a fight in the championship, getting a break early to start the match. And while he wasn't able to keep his momentum going quite so long, he certainly shown he can give the top guys a run for their money. And if he can take that confidence with him into the new season, there may be many more -- and bigger -- rewards to come.