Welcome Back!

It's been a while since we saw Dinara Safina on a tennis court. The former world #1 has been MIA since the Australian Open as a nagging lower back injury forced her to withdraw from Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. But she returns to the circuit this week in Stuttgart, a tournament in which she made the finals last year.

It's a precarious time for the Russian player -- she's entering a month-long stretch where she has a lot of points to defend. Last year at this time, she reached four straight championship matches, winning titles in Rome and Madrid and also finishing second at the French Open.

She's been a little more quiet this year. She's dropped a bit in the rankings, has put together a less-than-impressive 4-2 record on the year and has only defeated one top twenty-five player since Cincinnati.



On Thursday Dinara faces her first test against Agnes Szavay, a woman who actually beat her a few years back in Charleston. It's not an easy opening round by any means, and certainly not the way I'd want to be greeted upon my return. But Safina should be somewhat mollified that Szavay struggled a bit in her first round match, ceding a set to Andrea Petkovic.

There's also the fact that other seeds (Safina retained enough points to hold on to the #2 spot in Germany) are dropping like flies. Last year's champion -- and Dinara's foil for most of the spring -- Svetlana Kuznetova was ousted by Na Li in the second round and Caroline Wozniacki, possibly still suffering through her fall in Charleston a few weeks back, lost in straight sets to Lucie Safarova earlier today.

Regardless, there are plenty of threats even if Dinara makes it through today, and it'll be a tough road ahead, no doubt. It takes the best players a while to regain their footing after injury -- and I'm not sure I'd put her in the same class as, say, Rafael Nadal, who took nearly a year to win his first title after being sidelined. I can't do the math to figure out just how far out of the top tier she'll fall if she can't repeat her performance from last year, but I think it's safe to say 2010 will have to be a rebuilding year for her.

Of course she might surprise me and rush out the gate swinging -- but if she doesn't, you can bet that plenty of others will be eager to take her place.

Top Tier Performances on the Second Tier

Fed Cup action was not all about the demolishment of the Czechs by the Italians or the nail-biting comeback of the U.S. over the perennial Russian powerhouses. Some of the most interesting action came in the World Group Playoffs, those matches deciding the nations that would compete in next year's main draw.

First up were the Belgians, arguably one of the strongest countries in the WTA, with three players in the top twenty-five. They shoud have had an easy time with the Estonians, whose top competitor Kaia Kanepi has seen her ranking drop from world #18 less than a year ago to #124 now. But things were not so easy.

Kim Clijsters opened up the tie with a straight set win over Maret Ani, a twenty-eight year old challenger who peaked at #63 in 2006. Yanina Wickmayer struggled a bit more in her rubber, dropping the second set to Kanepi before rolling through 6-1 in the third.

Justine Henin had a chance to close things out early on Sunday, but she ran into a surprising wall against Kanepi, who was able to regroup. After losing the first set in a tight tiebreaker, the Estonian shocked the seven-time Grand Slam winner to win the match and save her country from elimination.

Victory was short-lived though, as the new Belgian star, twenty-year-old Yanina Wickmayer herself rebounded after losing the first set in the fourth rubber to Ani and took the next two quickly. Though the winners lost the next doubles match, they'd earned enough wins to secure their spot in the 2011 World Group and attempt to reclaim the title they last won in 2001.



There was another close call in Frankfurt where a German team led by Andrea Petkovic took on the madamoiselles of France. The countries traded wins throughout the weekend, as the Germans took the lead, but the French drew even. Aravane Rezai, who hasn't had the best luck since she cracked the top twenty, continued to struggle -- she dropped a set to Tatjana Malek before winning that rubber and lost in straights to Petkovic on Sunday.

The saving grace for France was instead two former stars -- Julie Coin and one-time world #11 Alize Cornet teamed up for a quick win over the German doubles pair, 6-3, 6-1, to get their country back in the World Group next year.

But probably the closest match in the playoffs came between the Serbs and the Slovaks, two nations with a lot of talent but not a lot of follow-through. Former #1 Jelena Jankovic was missing her partner in crime as Ana Ivanovic lost both of her matches in their World Group first round against Russia. The Indian Wells champ was then left with eighteen-year-old Bojana Jovanovski, ranked #117 in the world.

The Slovaks were led by Daniela Hantuchova, a talented player who never seems to acheive quite as much as she should. The long-time Tour staple has done well this year, making the finals in Monterrey and getting ahead on Venus Williams in Miami before losing the heart-breaking three-setter.

On their opponents' courts, though, Daniela teamed with last year's Warsaw champ Magdalena Rybarikova to set the pace. She notched her second straight win over Jankovic to take the lead, two rubbers to one, and then partnered up to win the deciding doubles match. With the victory, the Slovaks return to the top tier of Fed Cup for the first time since 2004 and make the case for their position among the elite of women's tennis.



There was much less drama in the Ukraine, where visiting Australians swept their opponents. Sam Stosur, fresh off her win in Charleston, led her teammates to an easy win over the likes of Alona Bondarenko. We'll see the Aussies back in the World Group next year.

Sure, I'm ecstatic about the rematch of last year's final between the Americans and the Italians -- and especially how Bethanie Mattek-Sands was able to pull off two victories on Sunday to secure the win for the U.S. But as we've seen, there was plenty of other action to speak of. And if these ladies keep up the same level of play, we're in for a pretty exciting year.

Blogcast: Could This Be You? The U.S. Open National Playoffs

For the first time in its history, the USTA is allowing anyone to compete for a spot in the U.S. Open's qualifying draw. And that's drawing some new interest to the nation's biggest tennis tournament.

The Luckiest Winner

There were a lot of lucky losers in Barcelona this week as five-time defending champion Rafael Nadal elected to sit out the Masters 500 event and rest after his Monte Carlo win. Teimuraz Gabashvili took his place, but he wasn't the only one -- Ivan Navarro, Nicolas Lapentti and Mikhail Kukushkin all received entries after various seeds and invitees were forced to withdraw.

But, as it happened, only Navarro was able to make (a little) good on the opportunity -- he won his opener against Pablo Cuevas before falling to Eduardo Schwank in the second round. Instead, it seems, the real beneficiary of all these withdrawals might be one man who's been flying a bit under the radar this year, but now finds the road to a Barcelona title much more open.

Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling was the second seed in Spain -- he's famously beaten Rafa on clay before, so it's no surprise he knows how to win. And Fernando Verdasco, the runner-up in Monte Carlo last week, has a couple of titles on the dirt himself -- it shouldn't be a surprise if he thrives.

No, I feel the one with the biggest opportunity this week might be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the third seed. He's pulled together a pretty successful year, making the semis Down Under and the quarters in Miami, but he hasn't really made the big splash that has won him five career titles. The Frenchman has never played in Barcelona before, and has only entered eight clay-court tourneys in his career -- two of those being his home-town Slam. He has a middling 13-8 record on the surface, no trophies, and actually struggled through two rounds in Monaco last week.



But in Spain, Tsonga seems to be getting his footing a little bit. He had a quick win over Jan Hajek and scored his third win of the year over Nicolas Almagro earlier today. After dropping the first set to the world #34, he sailed through the second and got a late break in the third to take the match. I admit, I was expecting a different result.

He further benefits from another upset that occured a bit later on Thursday -- Thiemo de Bakker shocked Juan Carlos Ferrero in their third round match after two and a half hours and a couple of tiebreaks. Tsonga won his previous match-up with the Dutchman in last year's Davis Cup playoffs, so he's gotta like his chances of getting to the semis.

If he does, and especially if he advances evenfurther, he'll certainly be on everyone's radar come Paris. And what better way to set the stage for your return home.

Playing at Her Prime

It took a while for Sam Stosur to win her first title -- the twenty-six year old had been pro for about a decade before claiming that inaugural trophy in Osaka last year, but seeing her play in the Charleston finals today makes you wonder why it took so long. Now ranked #11 in the world, the Australian is playing some of the best tennis in her life. She made the semis in Indian Wells and the quarters in Miami before she took the South Carolina clay by storm.

Sam developed a lead early in most of her matches this week, and today got off to a quick start against Vera Zvonareva in the finals. In about twenty minutes she had captured the first set, bageling her more-decorated opponent and seeming to get under the Russian's skin just a bit. But while Vera threw racquets, (presumably) cussed loudly and took the opportunity to consult her coach on changeovers, Sam remained calm even after dropping back on serve in the second set. She bombed aces that kissed the corners, delivered winners that Zvonareva could barely get her racquet on, and immediately broke back and clinched her second title in the shortest-ever final at this tournament.

At her post-match press conference Stosur opined on her dominant play:

"You have a handful of matches where everything you hit is a good shot or winner and you just kind of can't miss, and they're the days that everyone talks about you're in a zone. It's just a great feeling, and you wish that you could do that every day, but it's not that easy. To be able to do it in a final is all the more pleasing."

It was a nice way to end a successful week. Stosur, the fourth seed here, had never made it past the second round at the Family Circle Cup, but with dominating performances both today and in the semifinals against Daniela Hantuchova on Saturday, she's certainly established herself as a threat for the French Open, where she made the final four last year.

"Whenever you win a title, you want to go into the rest of the season feeling like you can achieve more and win more titles ... If you can win a title in April, that's better than winning it in the last week of the year like I did last year."

And with just a few weeks left before the year's second Grand Slam, you can bet that a few others will be putting Samantha Stosur on their radar now.

No Way to Win -- or Lose

The first semifinal at the Family Circle Cup ended abruptly on Saturday when top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was forced to retire from her match against Vera Zvonareva with what looked like a very painful ankle injury.

Last week's winner in Ponte Vedra hadn't dropped a set in Charleston, looking in top form against Patty Schnyder in the third round and battling through a feisty Nadia Petrova last night. She had gotten herself down a break to start the match, but we've seen in the past how capable she is of coming back. I wasn't worried.

But with Zvonareva serving at 40-30 in the sixth game of the match, we watched one of the best points of the tournament. The nineteen-year-old was able to get to one drop shot, but couldn't put away a volley to end the point. Instead both ladies got back to the baseline and traded a few strong forehands. Vera tried another short ball, but this time Caroline couldn't quite reach it, and when she tried to stop short she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground as a collective gasp rose from the watching crowds.



Wozniacki was carried off court, where she sat a few minutes icing her foot and trying to tape it in place. I have to admit I was surprised when she tried to come back and play. When I asked her about it in her press conference later, she said:

"I wanted to see if it was possible, and I was surprised that I could stand on my leg, which was very positive actually. But as soon as I was moving to the sides, it was impossible, so I couldn't play."

She retired while trailing the Russian 2-5. But as she pointed out, she was able to walk off the court -- hopefully a good sign for a speedy recovery.

Vera couldn't have felt good about the sequence off events -- it was, after all, just last year when she tore two ligaments in her own ankle when chasing down a ball at this very tournament. That injury caused her to pull out of the French Open and forced her to miss almost two months of play. In her press conference she said that watching Caroline gave her flashbacks and made her think she was having pain in her ankle again.



But Vera will have to push that out of her mind tomorrow when she plays the winner of the Sam Stosur/Daniela Hanutchova match that's going on now -- as she said, "It's great to be in the finals, but it's not great to be in the finals this way...I'll try to just come back on the court tomorrow and do my best."

And hopefully for Caroline, the runner-up here last year, recovery will be quick. She'll be getting an MRI tomorrow and then reassess the rest of the clay court season and her prospects for the French Open. I know fans will want to see her back soon.

As for her opponent, who made the final whether by default or not, she had some nice things to say.

"She's definitely a good player. She's been playing well this week, and Vera's going to be a tough opponent to beat tomorrow. "

Having watched those first few gamed, I'd have to agree.

Just Like Old Times

It's nice to see things back to normal.

While there were, of course, some upsets along the way, the semifinals at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters brought together four men with some of the best clay court results out there: top-seeded Novak Djokovic who has four titles on the surface including the 2008 Rome Masters, five-time and defending champRafael Nadal, who'd dropped only a handful of games in his first three matches here, Fernando Verdasco with titles in Umag and Valencia, and David Ferrer who has an impressive 162-81 record on the dirt. Three Spaniards and a Serb, all of whom were pretty familiar with each other.



Rafa and Ferrer took the court first, two men whose history runs deep. Not surprisingly, the Davis Cup teammates have met twelve times over the past six years, with Rafa holding a 9-3 edge. The last time Ferrer beat him was at the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup, but since then Nadal hadn't dropped even a set.

In Monte Carlo, I suppose there were reasons to believe the older Ferrer might have a chance -- he'd been stellar in his matches up to the semis, tested slightly by Ivan Ljubicic and Philipp Kohlschreiber, but otherwise looking on point. And if the injuries that have plagued Nadal over the past twelve months resurfaced, David could hold out hope. But this week, Rafa only dropped two games total in his first two matches. He traded a few breaks with Juan Carlos Ferrero in a rain-delayed quarter, but looked completely comfortable as he knocked off one player after another.

On Saturday Ferrer had a chance to break early, but instead crumbled in the first set. After just over half an hour, Nadal had broken his opponent twice and taken the first set. The second was a bit closer as three successive games that went to the receiver kept things fairly even. But finally Rafa pulled ahead and was able to save one more break opportunity to reach his forty-ninth career final and his second of the year.

Shortly after that match, Nole and Verdasco took the court with the Serb holding a 5-2 record over the sixth seed in Monaco. Djokovic, playing in his first Masters as a #1 seed, had lived up to his ranking all week, getting past Stanislas Wawrinka, last week's champ in Casablanca, and comeback story David Nalbandian fairly easily. Verdasco had been challenged a bit more, dropping sets to both Miami giant-killer Tomas Berdych and this week's Cinderella story Albert Montanes.

But it was a tumultuous couple of weeks for Novak -- he'd suffered a few upsets in Indian Wells and Miami, battled allergies, and had just announced that he'd split from coach Todd Martin. And Verdasco was able to take advantage of that. It had been four years since he was able to notch a "W" over last year's runner-up, but after a sloppy start to the match, he allowed the world #2 only four games -- the second fewest Novak has won in his career.

So that sets up the tenth career meeting for Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, and their third since that epic semifinal in Australia in '09. And somewhat surprisingly, since that day last January, Fernando hasn't been able to take one set from Rafa. I have a feeling it will be hard for him to do so on Sunday either -- after all, Monte Carlo is Nadal's second home -- after Roland Garros. And as the former #1 tries to win his first title in almost a year, he's not only playing some of his best tennis, but he's looking hungrier than I've ever seen him.

And I for one can't wait to see him back in the winner's circle!