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.

Final Statements

The field may be set for this year's WTA Finals, but that doesn't mean the large majority of players who didn't make the cut aren't still trying to end their season with a bang. And whether they're hoping to recapture former glory or soar to new heights, this week a couple ladies could show us they're worth watching too.

There was only one player in Luxembourg who had an outside shot at qualifying for Singapore, but Timea Bacsinszky, whose meteoric rise this year brought her two titles, a top-ten ranking and a first Grand Slam semifinal, retired in the first set of her opener. But the beneficiary of that withdrawal has certainly capitalized -- twenty-seven year old Laura Siegemund peaked at a barely double-digit ranking just last month and only made the main draw here thanks to Lucie Hradecka pulling out. And after she got the win over the top seed, the German scored a solid upset over Kirsten Flipkens to reach the quarters. She's actually the on-paper favorite versus her next opponent, world #165 Stefanie Voegele, and with the other seeds in her half of the draw already eliminated, she stands a pretty good shot at reaching the final. Of course there's a bigger challenge in the bottom section of the bracket -- former #1 Jelena Jankovic is coming off her fifteenth career title in Hong Kong and her second trophy since the U.S. Open. She's kept her win streak going this week too and, as the highest ranked player left, she might just be able to gather up the momentum she needs to return to the elite in the new season.

The field was a little more stacked in Moscow where the original entry list boasted six players contending for the final four spots in Singapore -- but it's been those a little below the radar who're causing the biggest stir. Defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had fallen out of the top forty at times this year, but started regaining ground in the second half, defeating Belinda Bencic on her way to the Washington final and taking out U.S. Open champ Flavia Pennetta in Beijing. Last week she ran off with the title in Linz, dropping just one set, and then got right back to work in her homeland -- unseeded in Russia, she took out French Open finalist Lucie Safarova and rising star Margarita Gasparyan. In the semis she'll face Daria Kasatkina, last year's Juniors champ in Paris, but might just have what it takes to keep her run going. But perhaps the bigger story here is that of veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova who, after a fairly lackluster season, stands to win her first title of the year this week. She hasn't faced a seed yet, and certainly will be challenged by a talented Lesia Tsurenko for a spot in the championship match. But if she can use her experience to her advantage, there's no reason she can't prove that she's still more than just a contender.

Total Domination

We've seen a lot of amazing things on Tour this tennis season -- some late bloomers finally breaking through, a couple long-standing champions show their human side, a one-time one hit wonder prove his worth and maybe a comeback or two. But when you get down to it, there's only one man on the ATP who's come through when it counts the most -- and this week he reminded us why.

That's not to say there weren't other story lines worth following in Shanghai this year -- defending champion Roger Federer was stunned in his first match since the U.S. Open final, losing to qualifier Albert Ramos in the opening round. And Rafael Nadal, fresh off a runner-up showing in Beijing, scored arguably his best two wins of the year, taking out Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka back-to-back on his way to the semis. And even Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made up for a largely quiet year, rebounding after losing a bagel set to take out Rafa and make his first Masters final of the year.

But in spite of the hugely talented field, it was Novak Djokovic who came out on top -- the two time champion here has been unquestionably the strongest force on Tour in 2015, winning three of the four Majors, four more Masters crowns, and reaching at least the final of all but one tournament he's played. This week in Shanghai he picked up right where he left off last week, tested only once when Bernard Tomic pushed him to a tiebreak in the first set. But he wasn't fazed at all, trouncing newly-minted world #2 Andy Murray in the semis and taking out Tsonga with little more effort in Sunday's championship.

Sunday's win earned Nole his ninth trophy of the year, and puts him just one shy of that breakthrough 2011 season that really put him on the map. He's also spitting distance from Nadal's record twenty-seven Masters titles, and the way he's been playing all year it doesn't seem like we'll have to wait much longer before he hits either goal.

And when he does, he might just set himself apart in an era dominated by some of the greatest athletes the sport has ever seen -- and notch himself a place in history in his own right.

On the Bubble

We've gotten to that time of year when players are looking to put in their last arguments to qualify for the year-end championships. And with Serena Williams withdrawing from the event in Singapore, perhaps the field is more wide open than its been in ages, so it's no surprise everyone still in contention -- even a couple new faces -- is fighting for those last available spots.

Lucie Safarova didn't do too much to strengthen her case this week, but she still might be in good shape to qualify for her first ever season-ender. Long among the second tier players in the sport, the veteran Czech had a breakthrough last year when she reached the Wimbledon semis. And in 2015 she scored her biggest title to date in Doha, scoring wins over Ekaterina Makarova and Victoria Azarenka in the process. Her real crowning achievement, though, came in Paris where she stunned two former titleists in Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic on the way to her first Major final and even took a set off Serena in the championship match. She's slowed down a bit since then -- after a first round loss at the U.S. Open, she only got back on court this week in Linz and lost her opener to fellow Roland Garros standout Andreea Mitu. Still, at #7 on the year-end leaderboard with just a week of play left, she's in a solid spot -- after all she's already qualified for the doubles draw, winning crowns in Melbourne and France with Bethanie-Mattek Sands, so why not make the most out of her trip?

Angelique Kerber has a little more experience in postseason play, and is trying to wrap up her case for a third appearance at the WTA Finals this week. After a shocking first round loss in Melbourne and more than a few tough draws early in the year -- Victoria Azarenka in her Doha opener, Sam Stosur in Madrid -- she got herself back on track with some top-notch wins. She beat Maria Sharapova on her way to the Stuttgart title, and Aga Radwanska in Stanford. She's currently ranked #9 in the world, but with four Premier-level titles this year she leads the pack of bubble contenders, and her performance this week could seal her spot. The second seed in Hong Kong, she was tested early by former Grand Slam champion Francesca Schiavone in her first round, but scored an easy win over Kurumi Nara earlier today. Next up she'll face always tricky Caroline Garcia, but if she lives up to her potential she could not only walk away with this trophy but also make a return to the season finale. She missed the cut last year and has only won one match in her previous two appearances, but she's shown she's got the ability to cause a stir among the highest ranks and might just be able to turn around her luck this time.

There are actually more than a few ladies trying to make the Singapore cut in Tianjin this week, and their experience runs the gamut. Veteran Flavia Pennetta, who unexpectedly picked up her first and likely only Grand Slam trophy in New York last month, is on the verge of qualifying for her first year-end championships at the very twilight of her career. She lost her first round in China, but at #8 on the Road to Singapore, there's a chance she hasn't yet played her last match on Tour. Trying to usurp her position, though, is 2015 breakout star Karolina Pliskova, also looking for her WTA Finals debut. The young Czech rose to a career high #7 in the world just ahead of the U.S. Open, with wins over formerly top-ranked players like Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic and trips to five finals this year -- she picked up her fourth career title in Prague. She lost a little ground last week, dropping points she won in Linz last year, but she's alive and kicking in Tianjin and could make them up quickly. Aga Radwanska certainly rebounded herself -- after falling to a recent low #15 in the world over the summer, a title in Tokyo brought her back up into the top eight, and she's well in the running to make her seventh postseason appearance. She's lost just three games this week, and if she keep her play at this level, it might not be long before she seals the deal.

There's a lot at stake, after all, for the four ladies who have yet to make the year-end final -- of the four already there, three have been struggling with injuries and form in the last few months, and any one of these women could certainly pounce on that opening. And who knows when they'll get another opportunity to close out the year with a bang.

Not For Nothing

Tennis is such an individual sport, and when players spend so much time on the court by themselves, of course the ones that are able to walk away with the titles should be lauded for their achievements. But every now and then it's worth looking at the guys who came in second place too -- after all, those who fall just short of the win may have nevertheless done something big too.

The door swung wide open early for the ladies in Beijing, with Serena Williams pulling out, top seed Simona Halep retiring from her opener and two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova getting knocked out in the first round. And with powerhouses like that out of the mix, maybe it wasn't so unexpected to see Wuhan runner-up #Garbiñe Muguruza ultimately walk away with the title -- but that doesn't diminish the showing we saw out of second place finisher Timea Bacsinsky. One of the biggest comeback stories of last year started 2015 off strong too, reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros and taking a set off Serena there too. But she'd slowed down a bit since, losing four straight matches after Wimbledon and skipping the trip to Wuhan where she had her breakthrough twelve months ago. She got back on track at the China Open though, taking out Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round and stunning a revived Ana Ivanovic a few matches later. She put up a fight in Sunday's championship too, keeping the Spaniard in check on serve and winning just a handful fewer points than her opponent. She may have just missed picking up her third title of the year, but at an event that attracts the best in the sport, she may have given herself a bigger boost that either of the others have.

The men's draw in China wasn't cracked quite so open this year, with three of the four top seeds making it to the semis. And Novak Djokovic, who's continued to dominate the ATP this year with seven titles, three of them Majors, and only five losses, kept his streak going on these courts as well. The five time champion in Beijing added trophy number six to his shelf without dropping a set over the past week, in fact losing less than twenty games during his run. But it was still refreshing to see him take on Rafael Nadal in a final again -- the Spaniard, after all, has been famously spotty in 2015, claiming just a couple trophies at smaller tournaments and scoring just two wins over top ten players this season. He didn't do any better on that front this week -- as the third seed he didn't face another favorite until Sunday's final against Nole -- but he may have gotten an even bigger chip off his shoulder. After easily handling Vasek Pospisil and coming back from a set down to an always-tough Jack Sock, the former #1 got revenge against Fabio Fognini, the man who so shockingly took him out at the U.S. Open last month. He's still lost to the feisty Italian in three of their five meetings this year, but he might be about to get things back on track after this mental win.

There were some impressive performances outside of Beijing too -- at the Japan Open in Tokyo, top seed Stan Wawrinka was able to avenge the loss he suffered to homegrown Tatsuma Ito here last year, and ultimately rode that momentum to his fourth title of the year. And while that may have cemented his place among the sport's elite in 2015, Benoit Paire may have made a case for himself to someday get there too. Once ranked just inside the top twenty-five, the young Frenchman dropped into triple digits late last year and spent much of his time early in 2015 on the ITF and Challengers' circuits. But it wasn't until midyear that he finally was able to catch a break when playing with the big boys -- unseeded in Bastad he stunned David Goffin and perennially strong veteran Tommy Robredo to capture his first ATP title and went on to stun New York runner-up Kei Nishikori at the U.S. Open. And this week, after opening with an upset of eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov, he took out Marcos Baghdatis and Nick Kyrgios before notching a second straight victory over the Japanese champion -- each win coming in three sets. Though he did eventually lose to Wawrinka on Sunday, his showing throughout the week may be enough to get him back up the rankings -- and perhaps this time he has what it takes to stay there.

Of course we can't ignore the performances of the guys and gals who won the titles this weekend, but even those who came in second deserve a little bit of notice. After all just because they didn't walk away with the trophies doesn't mean they didn't accomplish something meaningful over the last several days. And if they keep it going, there's no telling what they'll be able to do the next time they hit the courts.