City of Mights

• Arrivederci Roma, and bonjour Paris! Roland Garros draws have been released, so now we have an idea of what might happen in the City of Lights. (Forgive the formatting; lack of time and blogging from an iPad that doesn't autocorrect tennis names and terms nowhere near the same level as my phone are conflicting positions...)
  
  
  • Serena might successfully defend Roland Garros for the time in her career, something she has achieved at the other three Slams. Her road to victory could be complicated, with a scheduled third round tussle with big sis and a potential round of 16 match against the always dangerous Sabine Lisicki. However, she hasn't lost to Venus on clay since 1998 and has lost a combined four games to Lisicki in their two meetings outside of SW19. Her biggest foe in her quarter is Sam Stosur, but she is owned by Maria Sharapova, her likely fourth round opponent.
  • The second quarter of the women's draw might feature a surprise semifinalist. Anchored by Aga Radwanska and Angelique Kerber, two unreliable clay courters, bet on proven clay specialist Carla Suarez Navarro, the dramatic hometown favorite Alizé Cornet, or possibly a resurgent Francesca Schiavone to come through. Or maybe even Taylor Townsend! #merica
  • Sloane might break her second week streak at Slams. Currently at five consecutive fourth rounds or better, Sloane has been slumping going into Roland Garros, losing three of her last four matches. Recent titles by cohorts Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig will add unwanted additional pressure to keep pace with her results.
  • Nadal might be a five-time defending champion at a Slam, erasing one of the few accomplishments in which Roger Federer has him beat. Rafa's draw is manageable, but his hiccups this clay season means nothing is guaranteed this year. He could run into semi-proven talent Dominic Thiem in the second round and the very proven talent Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals.
  • Djokovic might complete the Career Slam. He's been knocking on the door of this elusive Slam for the last three years, coming within one net violation of virtually taking the crown last year. Nole's win over Rafa in Rome should give him a ton of confidence, and he'll need every bit of it. He's due to meet Marin Cilic in the third round, French native Jo-Wilfried Tsongs in the fourth, and either Milos Raonic or Kei Nishikori in the quarters
  • Federer versus Gulbis might be really exciting. Granted, our beloved Ernie would have to get there, and he's been rather unreliable to make it past the first week of majors. Still, imagine the drama: Fed will feed off the crowd and Ernie's "boring" comments from last year, Ernie will settle into his villain role with aplomb, and the match will last five sets with darkness threatening before Roger eeks out the victory. Love it.
  So let's throw down, French Open! I might be looking forward to the second week already!

B-Squad High

The ATP has, at times, been equivocated to a high school. With a bunch of young-ish guys secluded together, cliques form, rivalries intensify, and there is a definitive cool kids table occupied by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. But let's imagine for a second that each member of the Big 4 transferred to a prep school, where do the others fall in the hierarchy now that we're back in Europe on red clay? I have a handy guide using senior superlatives and other high school words that I haven't used in years!

Stanislas Wawrinka, Valedictorian - Stan is suffering from a bit of Senioritis post-Melbourne, but being the first person to beat both Rafa and Novak at a Slam automatically vaults you to the head of the class. Not even Roger can boast such a feat (though we'll cut the Swiss No. 2 some slack). Back on clay, his favorite surface, we should see the return of Stan's best tennis.

Cutest Couple

Tomas Berdych, Salutatorian - has been the one member of the B-squad who has been, for years, consistently present at the top of the rankings and at the latter stages of majors relative to his peers. He has beaten Roger twice at Slams, Novak on another occasion, and, if weather and certain points had gone in his favor during the 2012 US Open and 2014 Aussie Open semifinals, very well could've added Murray and Nadal to his list of scalps. Despite all of this, he's still on the hunt for his maiden Slam trophy. It all comes down to playing the biggest matches and biggest points much better than he has. It made all the difference in the world for Wawrinka.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Class Clown - Oh Jo...before the year started, I tagged you as my pick ahead of your peers in the second tier to win a major this year. Sadly, you are proving me so, so wrong. Between your blow out loss to Federer in Melbourne and your horrendous choke job to a limping Gojowczyk in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, you have had a laughable season thus far. (I hope Jo reads this paragraph, seeing as I'm speaking directly to him.)

David Ferrer, Super Senior - this category could almost be called "Senior Citizen." Daveed has tried really hard to live up to his billing as the guy who actually broke through the Top 4 rankings-wise while "Big 4" was a relevant term, but his inability to snag a victory over one of those members has held him back in a huge way. Niggling injuries and semi-puzzling losses have crept their way in and his status may continue to decline as the season progresses.

Grigor Dimitrov, Skipped a Grade - Baby Fed is nearly all grown up. Impressive performances in Melbourne and Acapulco have pretty much cemented his arrival. His March Masters swing was a bit underwhelming, winning just one match each in Indian Wells and Miami, but you can't deny how good he's been this year. Grigor heads to clay and grass soon and, with a nice bump in the rankings, should make a fair bit of noise at the two European Grand Slams. It's been an inspiration watching his development this season.

Juan Martin del Potro, Left Back - Cut down once again by his wrists, it looks more and more as if his 2009 U.S. Open victory was an outlier. Even still, putting his wrist problems aside for a moment, he has had some disappointing runs at a few majors in which he was healthy. Counting his incredible semifinal finish at last year's Wimbledon, DelPo's last four Slam results include two second-round exits and a DNP at Roland Garros.

Flying high

Ernests Gulbis, Most Improved - Ernie just might make it after all. Our beloved SeaGulbis is backing up his surprisingly positive 2013 season with some great play in the first quarter of 2014. Early losses in Miami (and now Monte Carlo) aside, it's been an impressively staid year for a such a volatile personality.

Jerzy Janowicz, Good Boy Gone Bad - speaking of volatile personalities, we're witnessing quite the implosion from Jerzy. For someone who won five matches at Wimbledon last year, he's been on the winning side only four times since the beginning of February. Male JJ may have benefited from a bit more recovery time after revealing an injured foot during the Australian Open, but has charged along through the indoor hard court swing, and he's paying the price now, suffering through a six-match losing streak.

Any other superlatives to add to the list? Leave a comment and tell me who!

Fixing Sloane Stephens

What to do with a player who has the talent, but lacks in the mental department? That's the situation with Sloane Stephens heading to red clay, arguably the surface which she's been the most consistently successful.

At a glance, Sloane's resume as one of the leading members of WTA's "Next Generation" is not too shabby. She's produced a couple of major upsets, has been a regular in the second week of Grand Slam tournaments, and hit a career high ranking of #11 back in October. However, many of those who know her talent and follow her from week to week find it hard to ignore some of the deep valleys she has found herself in. Her penchant for losing several consecutive games within a match while seemingly unable to find any sort of solution (and to lesser players) is astonishing, and alarming.

Deleting Twitter hate can't be taught, either

There is a belief within almost every sporting circle that you can teach an athlete the skills needed to play the game, but you can't teach an athlete how to perform under pressure. While "winning" can't be taught in practice, it can be learned through experience. In Charleston, Venus Williams herself said that she acquired some of her killer instinct not naturally, but by watching her sister Serena tough out close matches.

So there is hope for Sloane yet! She is a strong girl physically, but here are a few simple steps she can take towards building her heart and brain muscle that every champion needs:

1. Play smaller tournaments. She's already in the process of checking this one off since she will be playing in Bogota this week. More match play can only do good for a player who might be low on confidence. With only one other Top 50 opponent in the Bogota field, picking up momentum has never been easier.
2. Play more doubles, which she's also doing this week by pairing up with Paula Ormaechea! For someone who's known for her rocket forehand from the baseline, Sloane is surprisingly adept finishing in the forecourt. Extra reps at net may add some much-needed diversity to her gameplan in singles.
3. Play every point. While Sloane's 10-year outlook on her tennis career is correct, tennis is a sport where you're only as good as the last point you played and giving away points (or entire games) doesn't do you any favors. When Sharapova was on her double-bagel streak at the 2013 Australian Open, she was asked why she couldn't give away just one game. She replied, "That's not my style." If one wants to be successful in tennis, it shouldn't be anyone's style.

I have faith in Sloane's game and that she'll turn it around mentally. She's still very young and there is time to put all the pieces of her tennis together, but I hope she realizes time is as unrelenting an opponent as anyone she'll ever face and it won't be on her side forever.

Any other Sloane backers out there? Leave a comment and keep me company on this quickly emptying bandwagon!

All's Indian Wells That Ends Indian Wells

World Tennis Day has come and gone, but which players can use a holiday boost in the desert? Below are a few players who could benefit from a good run at the Fifth Slam:

Novak Djokovic - While he's only played 8 matches this year, it's clear that Nole has been off to an uncharacteristic start. It's the first time since 2006 that he has come into Indian Wells title-less. He took the first set of both matches he lost (and was up a break in the fifth set against Wawrinka in Melbourne), leading to many questions regarding his mental state and lacking killer instinct. Djokovic has a nice draw to the final though, being the only one of the Big 4 in his half.

Andy Murray - It's been a slow comeback for Muzz and he's traditionally struggled in California, but the courts at Indian Wells suit his game and he SHOULD do well. If we get the quarterfinal matchup between him and Rafa, we'll really get a sense as to where Andy is at compared to his Big 4 brethren.

Milos can't pull off this look

Milos Raonic - The Canadian Missile has definitely been shunted to the side by his cohorts as of late, most notably Grigor Dimitrov, winner of Acapulco and all-around cutie pie. He's had to pull out of Davis Cup and withdraw from Zagreb due to a bum ankle, but winning a potential showdown against Jerzy Janowicz in the third round can ease a lot of the pain.

Petra Kvitova - Two years after being a few points of the No. 1 ranking, Petra suddenly has a lot to prove. This year's first round loss in Australia sounded several alarms, whether it was her continued struggles in warm playing conditions or her penchant to go completely off the rails with her groundstrokes. She needs a big result at a relevant tournament to quell the questioners. A semifinal or better run at Indian Wells (or Miami) would help Kvitova's cause.

Australian coffee is her kryptonite

Sam Stosur - Sam is in a bit of a career crossroads, but with some of the top players stumbling out of the gates this season, she has the opportunity to make something of a run in the desert. If she gets through her early rounds, Sam is a dangerous opponent for any of the WTA's upper crust. Indian Wells should be a good surface for her playstyle and hopefully she's confident in her abilities after her best result in Australia in awhile, reaching the third round of Melbourne. (That sounded rude, but it's the truth.)

Sloane Stephens - Obviously (Sloane's favorite word) she has been in a funk. Although she went 0 for the Middle East yet again, Sloane can silence a bunch of critics with a deep run, and she has a draw that could break her way if she takes care of business on the front end. A decent result here can give her ranking a bolster, too, as she isn't defending any points from 2013.

Anyone else in mind that could use Indian Wells as a springboard to 2014 success? Leave a comment and tell me who! Should be a fun tournament, as always. Please God, let men's doubles have decent TV coverage in the early rounds...

The Tiring (Semi-)Retirees

He'll have to get a haircut before his first day

Good news for non-Nadal fans: Robin Söderling isn't retired after all!

But...wait. He just took the position of Tournament Director of the Stockholm Open and Swedish Open. How will this work? Well, unless he plans on making history of being the first person to ever win an ATP event which he also ran, it won't work.

Someone who is planning a comeback wouldn't have such a behind-the-scenes job in the tennis world. Does he plan on being active at all in 2014? Söderling should know that it gets harder and harder to get back to the tour grind the longer you are sidelined. Maybe he thinks he'll pull a Pim Pim Johannson, but the likelihood of that happening is quite low.

Another adamantly non-retired person is Mardy Fish. The tennis player turned maybe-golf pro has denied rumors of his retirement on several occasions. Unfortunately for him, the assumptions have a lot of teeth to them as we've seen more news about him missing cuts at amateur golf tournaments than him having a hit on a practice court.

I am not one to say whether someone should come back to tennis or not. Soderling can become the tournament director at Roland Garros and Wimbledon if he wants to. Fish should try his hand at golf or bowling or shuffleboard if he pleases, it's his life. I just want them to own up to it. If you aren't ready to play yet, say it! What irks me is their insistence that their careers are not over and not only not doing anything to actively dispel those rumors, but actively supporting them by running tennis tournaments and taking up an entirely different sport.

What do you guys think of our former Top 10ers? Are you sick of them, too, or am I being a wee bit harsh? Whether you're retired or unretired, leave a comment!

Dream Thiem

Thiem would lose the arm wrestling contest 6-0, 6-0

Last week in Rotterdam, the tennis world was introduced to qualifier Dominic Thiem, 20 year-old Austrian and new member of the ATP Top 100. He pushed Andy Murray to three sets in a losing effort and impressed everyone with his shotmaking ability off of both wings. After just one match of seeing him play, you can consider me an expert on Thiem's potential as a tennis star. Here are three basic things you need to know about this addition to our Next Generation roster of talent.

First and foremost, he hits the ball hard. For someone who isn't physically imposing, he really goes for his shots. He can clock the forehand and will pull the trigger early (to his detriment, at times) on the down-the-line backhand. Watching him run Andy from side to side was entertaining.

Second, and already most exhausting, he has a one-handed backhand. Wielding a one-hander is almost a guarantee that experts will talk about you and how beautiful (elegant, free-flowing, gorgeous, awe-striking, etc.) that one singular groundstroke is. Every one-hander is different, but I would compare the way it zips through the court to that of Richard Gasquet's. However, unlike Reesh, Thiem isn't content to sit back and do all the heavy lifting from that wing.

Lastly, he's a fighter. After getting down an early break in the final set, he did well to stay in touch with Andy until the end, making Andy serve his way out of the match.

It's always fun seeing an up-and-comer rise up and test a big name. Thiem's game seems perfectly suited for clay, so it should be a player to keep an eye on when April rolls around. I daresay he has a better chance to pull off a big upset then!

What do you think of the baby-faced Thiem's upside? Leave a comment!

21 Questions

The summer sun has set in Australia for the ATP and WTA. Tennis has left the continent until 2015, but the train rolls along to the hard courts, whether outdoors or otherwise, of the Middle East and Europe. Many players take much needed breaks to enjoy family time, serve food to drivers stuck in blizzard traffic, or cover the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Still, there are many other unanswered questions that need to be tended to before we hit the restart button. U.S. hard courts and the Euroclay swing will be here sooner than we think! Here are some inquiries that will potentially require the rest of the year to investigate and uncover:

1. Will Serena recover from a disappointing Oz for a third straight year? It's been hard luck Down Under for Serena. She's skipping Doha which may signal a more serious back issue than originally thought, but she should be well rested for Miami. Patrick Mouratoglou should be #proud either way.
2. Does Li Na have a healthy chance to get even closer to a Career Slam? The fact that this is even in the cards for her is a testament to her recent consistency. Li is great on all surfaces and, given Serena's occasional frailty at recent Slams, she should have a decent shot at a Wimbledon or U.S. Open title.
3. Will MaSha be ready to rev up her season post-Sochi? She was decent in Brisbane and off her game in Melbourne and the Paris Indoors. Sharapova's the defending champ at Indian Wells, so she'll have to find her form quickly.
4. How often will we hear "Pome!" at the other large events? Cibulkova showed every facet of her results by busting through to the final at the Australian Open, then losing her two singles rubbers in Fed Cup. I expect largely the same, though I wouldn't be surprised to see her have similar successes at Roland Garros.
5. Can Aga fight her own demons and nab that elusive maiden major title? Another Slam semifinal, another bitter disappointment. These are getting harder swallow for Radwanska. The Middle East and American hard court swing will be a good gauge to see where her head is at?
6. Will we see Auckland Venus or Melbourne Venus (or both) in 2014? She had many chances against Makarova in Australia, but played well through poor patches to push Ivanovic in New Zealand. It's a toss-up, but I think we'll see more of vintage Venus this year.
7. How can Vika get her groove back? She owned Aga, but got sliced open and carbo-loaded in Melbourne. Now she's dealing with a bum foot. Azarenka isn't defending until the summer hard courts, so these next few months present a big opportunity to pick up much needed momentum.
8. Will Genie 2014 mirror Sloane's 2013? Bouchard is steadier and is mentally ready for the pressure of being a top player. Expect her to use this rankings gain to her advantage.
9. How much confidence did Ana Ivanovic gain from her Australian summer? A title run and a win over Serena is pretty darn impressive. She looks happier with her team, too. Ana could be a threat to do some things in the coming months, especially as we head towards the clay.
10. Is Simona Halep ready for primetime? She's defending almost nothing in the next few months, but the pressure cooker will be on high once Rome rolls around. Making a Slam quarter should be good for her confidence.
11. Will Wozniacki fall even further? Eight Slams, zero second-week appearances. It's become a bad trend for Woz to get hit off the court without much of a fight. Still, with Serena, MaSha, Vika, and Aga in somewhat vulnerable mindsets, she can scrape together some solid results to get the train back on the tracks; she is derailed at the moment.
12. What is #Stanimal's follow up act? Wawrinka did something that even Federer can't boast, and that's defeat the Top 2 players AND defeat Rafa and Nole to win a Grand Slam. Hard to follow that up, but the current rankings don't lie. He's definitely the third likeliest to win the French Open this season.
13. Will Stan's win start a shift to a post-Big 4 era? Unlike Del Potro in 2009, Stan's title run did not seem like a "lightning in a bottle" type of performance. However, as we've seen with DelPo, it'll take more consistent, day-in and day-out high-level tennis than the result of a singular Grand Slam to shake the core of the Big 4 (I like to rhyme occasionally).
14. What does Dimitrov do next to impress? Baby Fed's game is awe-striking and dynamic and we finally have a very good Grand Slam result to back up the hype. His performance against Rafa was notable for the way he won the first set as much as it was for his reaction to ultimately losing the match. He's got the goods to play on all surfaces and a higher ranking should boost his chances of making three more second-week appearances at Slams this year.
15. What can Milos Raonic do regain control of the "Next Generation" conversation? Bernard Tomic was the first to make a Slam quarterfinal, Jerzy Janowicz made a Slam semi, and Dimitrov has that big win over a No. 1 and also made a quarterfinal appearance, beating out Raonic in the process. A loss to his cohort has shifted the attention away from Milos in a big way. He will need a stellar performance at either Indian Wells or Miami, semis or better, to grab back some of the hype that has been redistributed amongst his peers.
16. Has Novak lost his killer instinct? I wrote my remarks about Novak's recent Slam struggles here, but maybe losing Oz will galvanize him for the remainder of the year, just as losing the No. 1 ranking was a springboard for his immaculate fall. He's still, in my eyes, the best player on tour all things equal and that should give him some confidence going forward (I hope).
17. Is Nadal scheduled for a dip in results? The one thing Rafa has never done was earn the year-end No. 1 ranking for consecutive seasons. It'll be hard to match his amazing 2013, but he's ripe to hold onto the top spot given his big lead and Djokovic's shakiness.
18. Is Roger back on track? He ran circles around an out-of-sorts Tsonga and dazzled, though not without a slight stumble, against Murray. But then he was beaten down, mentally and otherwise, by Nadal. It was a great run and losing to Nadal isn't anything new for Federer, but the way he lost to him (and in Brisbane to Hewitt) has me hesitating to proclaim Roger "back." I need a bigger sample size.
19. When should we expect Andy Murray to return to form? Losing to an in-form Roger isn't the end of the world. Still, he has a chunk of points to defend before the European clay swing, and will want to get back on his horse quickly. Then again, Andy Murray and the month of March generally don't get along.
20. Are DelPo and Isner doomed to disappoint at the Slams? Both big men won titles the weekend before the Australian Open commenced and both were cut down during the heat wave, citing injuries. Del Potro has been dealing with the left wrist for some time and Isner said he had ankle issues in Auckland, you would think they would manage their schedules better to avoid early Slam exits. Our expectations of these talents are so much higher than their results on the major stages, and I don't see them improving too much on that front this year.
21. How different will the Slam winners look this year? An interesting question because both top-ranked players on each of the tours should expect at least some decline from their monstrous 2013 seasons and the No. 2s are in a bit of a professional flux. The French Open is likely the biggest opportunity for a Slam-less WTAer to nab her first major and I think the U.S. Open could be a chance for the ATP B-squad, particularly Berdych and Tsonga, to join Stan as this year's first-time champions.

Woof, that was long! Any questions you want answered for the remainder of 2014? Have a different answer to any of the questions already posed? Leave a comment! Doha and Rotterdam are underway, and it may give us some clues regarding these inquiries.