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!