The Oscars inspired its share of memorable celebrations on Sunday night, but the awards show had nothing on the tennis tours. Simona Halep, David Ferrer, Ivo Karlovic, Sara Errani, and Gilles Simon all let us know much it meant to them to win a tournament, even a small tournament, on their respective circuits. At the moment of victory, most of this weekend’s champs crouched down and clenched their fists in a show of immediate and, at least to me, surprisingly deep feeling. So deep that they had to hide it away from the rest of us and savor it on their own for a second or two.
That’s tennis, where every week gives us a new set of kings and queens, and even a relatively slow month can produce what looks like once-in-a-lifetime emotion on a regular basis. But that relatively slow month is nearing its end, and the sport, especially on the men's side, is coming out of hibernation. There are two 500-level ATP events scheduled, and for the first time since the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray will all be in action.