The US Open, which gets underway in 4 weeks time, will be a good barometer to judge if American tennis is really dying. Many American youngsters and juniors will make their way to Flushing Meadows with the hopes of having a breakthrough run at their home Grand Slam.
On the men’s side, there will be plenty of attention on Ryan Harrison, only 19 but already ranked no. 82 in the world after reaching his second semi-final in as many weeks in the US Open series, and Jack Sock, the 2010 junior US Open champion who only turned pro a week back. From the ladies, teenager Christina McHale and 21 year old Irina Falconi, both ranked at career-highs inside the top 100, will be hoping to have the kind of run that Melanie Oudin had 2 years ago.
But the Americans’ best hopes of coming away with a title in New York might come from a pair of 29 year old veterans – Serena Williams and Mardy Fish. Serena put herself as one of the favourites for the women’s singles title after a stunning run to the Bank of the West Classic title in Stanford on Sunday.
Playing in only her 3rd tournament after a 11 month injury lay-off that had many questioning if she would ever return to competitive tennis, Williams breezed through a trio of in-form players to capture her 38th career title. Serena dispatched world no. 5 Maria Sharapova and Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabine Lisicki for a combined loss of only 7 games; and then avenged her Wimbledon loss to Marion Bartoli – the 7-5, 6-1 win in the final sending Serena from no. 169 to no. 79 in the rankings.
With only 3 weeks to go before the seedings are announced, Serena may still end up unseeded in New York – making her the most dangerous floater in recent history. Serena has spoken openly about how she missed the game during her long lay-off. Combine that with her steely resolve and superior shot-making ability, and we could witnessing Serena inch closer to the Navratilova-Evert league of 18 Slam titles.
Also on the women’s tour, Russian Nadia Petrova, seeded 2nd, upset top seed Shahar Peer for the CIti Open title – her first in three years and 10th overall. At the same event, Sania Mirza, a first round singles loser, won her 3rd doubles title of the year and 12th overall as she and Yaroslava Shvedova (both their regular partners, Elena Vesnina and Vania King respectively, were taking a break this week) combined to beat Olga Govortsova / Alla Kudryavtseva in the final.
Mirza is back with Vesnina for this week’s stop in San Deigo where the duo are seeded 4th. The singles draw is headlined by world no. 3 Vera Zvonareva, Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova, and the rising German trio of Lisicki, Julia Georges and Andrea Petkovic.
On the men’s side, 29 year old Mardy Fish reached his second consecutive final in the US Open series but came up short in his attempt to win back-to-back titles, losing 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to the mercurial Latvian Ernests Gulbis. Fish moves to no. 8 in the world rankings and is quietly building on his status as the leading American. Fish will be hoping to replicate his success at the bigger stages – having never won an ATP 500 or Masters Series title and never been in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam event; and he knows that his time might be running out as he approaches 30 in December.
Gulbis’ win over Fish capped an impressive week which also saw him beat Juan Martin del Potro. The Latvian has been known to have one of the most potent games on tour but his lack of motivation and desire have restricted his success on court. Gulbis, the son of a wealthy Latvian investment banker, entered the tournament on a five-match losing streak, is better known for breaking rackets, partying and spending a night in jail.
His victory moves him from no. 87 to no. 55 in the rankings but it is unlikely that this is the beginning of a major run. Gulbis was hailed as the next big thing when he finally won his first title in Delray Beach last year – but he is more likely to be a case of unlimited potential but very limited success (aka Marcos Bagdhatis) rather than a case of Grand Slam winning headcase (aka Marat Safin).
In Umag, Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov became the 6th first-time winner on the ATP Tour in 2011 when he beat home favourite Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final of the Studena Croatia Open. Dolgopolov moves 5 spots to no. 21 in the rankings while Cilic climbs seven to no. 24.
And in Gstaad, Marcel Granollers capped a dream week - winning the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open title. The Spaniard beat countryman Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6,6-3 for his second career title which sees him move up to no. 33 in the world. 25-year-old Granollers also beat Stanislas Wawrinka and Mikhail Youzhny, to become the 7th different Spanish winner on the men’s tour this season.
Granollers will move to Kitzbuhel for the ATP clay event this week where he will battle with Juan Igancio Chela, Feliciano Lopez and Ivan Ljubicic for the title. Meanwhile, Mardy Fish will hope to continue his purple patch in Washington where he will face stiff competition from the likes of Gael Monfils, Verdasco, Bagdhatis, David Nalbandian and John Isner for the Legg Mason Classic title.
India’s Somdev Devvarman will also be in the singles draw. The Indian lost in the first round of the singles last week in Los Angeles but managed to reach his first ATP doubles final partnering with Philipino Treat Huey. The Asian duo went down to Mark Knowles and Xavier Malisse in the title match.
That's all for this week.. See you again next week!!
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