The players might want changes to the Davis Cup, but you probably won’t find many fans who think the system needs tweaking. A bunch of five-setters, including one that stuck out from the rest, and other compelling storylines made this another international weekend to remember.
Several of the key figures feature in our Top 25 this month—with the leading ladies of course present, too. (The previous rankings can be seen here.)
On court, anyway, Williams has been fairly quiet since winning the Australian Open. She didn’t play against Argentina on the second day of U.S.’ Fed Cup tie and pulled out of Dubai, both times citing illness. But splitting with hitting partner Sascha Bajin made waves, and returning to Indian Wells won’t be a low-key event, will it?
How rare is it for Sharapova to hand an opponent a walkover? Since her comeback in 2009 from serious shoulder injury, it’s happened just twice. Judging by her Twitter feed, she’s feeling much better, though, after coming down with a stomach virus in Acapulco.
For someone who converted almost half of his break-point opportunities in 2014, going 0-for-7 in the Dubai final against Roger Federer is one telling stat. Djokovic also made things difficult for himself in his 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 semifinal win over Tomas Berdych. But better in Dubai than Melbourne. And he got back to winning ways in the Davis Cup against an under-strength Croatia.
Wawrinka’s upset loss to Sergiy Stakhovsky in Marseille is probably only a minor blip: He’s played a lot of tennis already this year, which included winning Rotterdam. Wawrinka and Berdych didn’t compete in the Davis Cup, but if any two players deserved a free pass, it’s those two. They’ve been regulars for the last decade.
A well-rested Federer didn’t lose a set in Dubai, giving him the perfect preparation for Indian Wells. And it’s no stretch to say he’s far from intimidated taking on Djokovic, boosting his record to 4-2 against the world No. 1 since the start of 2014. Three of the four wins came in straight sets; the two defeats were 7-6 in the third in Indian Wells, and 6-4 in the fifth at Wimbledon.
Project 45 could turn into Project 1 for Nishikori. No one should be discounting that now. Only the Big Four are ahead of the Japanese shot-maker in the rankings, and when they vacate the premises, Nishikori is looking good. He battled his way to the Memphis title, and there was little shame in losing to David Ferrer in the latter’s stronghold of Acapulco. Then he topped Milos Raonic in the Davis Cup, boosting his already tremendous fifth-set record.
Murray’s losses in Rotterdam and Dubai were, for him, pretty bad. Gilles Simon, who had lost to the Scot 12 straight times, handled him relatively comfortably, and Murray imploded against Borna Coric. It was a post-Melbourne hangover coupled with not having a traveling coach with him. Surrounded by buddies and at home, he rebounded in the Davis Cup versus an underwhelming U.S. bunch (apart from the Bryans).
The wins continue for Halep, who lived up to her top seeding in Dubai. Unfortunately, the withdrawals persist, too. Whereas last year Halep won in Doha and then retired in Dubai, she cited a rib injury sustained before Dubai this year in skipping Doha.
Entering his semifinal against Djokovic in Dubai, Berdych had lost 10 straight sets to the Serb. And they weren’t pretty—the last five were 6-2, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, and 6-2. But after being fed another bagel in the first set, he recovered to win the second and made the third tight. It’s more evidence that things are going well with new coach Dani Vallverdu.
How big was Ferrer’s win over Nishikori? Very. The Japanese had beaten the Spaniard five straight times, including in Melbourne, so Ferrer was desperate to end the skid. Having started the year 18-1, Ferru is on course to overturn a disappointing 2014.
Take a look at the women’s rankings and the number of tournaments contested (over the past 12 months). You’ll find that only one player in the Top 60 has hit 30. It’s Pliskova. Going forward she’ll need to manage her schedule better to avoid fatigue. Now, though, she’s on a roll, highlighted by making the finale in Dubai.
Any time Rafa doesn’t win a clay-court tournament he enters, it’s cause for concern, especially if he squanders a set-and-break lead, as he did against Fabio Fognini in Rio. But Nadal ensured he left South America on a high by triumphing in Buenos Aires. It still isn’t vintage Rafa on the dirt, but his first title since Roland Garros is bound to give him confidence.
Safarova defeated three Top 10 seeds en route to winning the biggest title of her career in Doha, but no doubt her most impressive victory came in the final against two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka. A consistent Top 30 performer, the much-liked Safarova is on the verge of cracking the Top 10.
Those waiting for Bacsinszky to blink will have to wait longer. After two wins in the Fed Cup in Sweden in February, the Swiss with the devastating backhand landed her first title in six years in Acapulco—and followed it up by downing Caroline Garcia again in the Monterrey final. She’s well on her way to being seeded at Roland Garros.
How has Keys fared since her great sojourn at the Australian Open? Well, we just don’t know, do we? Keys didn’t play in Dubai, Doha or anywhere else. Will the inactivity catch up with her ahead of the Indian Wells-Miami double?
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, what were you thinking giving Venus that stare down in Doha. (She’s got guts, we’ll give her that.) Venus’ winning streak in Dubai had to end sometime, though exiting to an in-form Safarova shouldn’t have bothered Williams all that much. Based on how she responded in Doha, it didn’t.
Makarova keeps her head down and gets on with things, an admirable trait. While the Russian lefty couldn’t match her accomplishments at the Australian Open, take note of who she lost to in Doha and Dubai: The eventual champions, and in three sets.
Muguruza, like her doubles partner, Carla Suarez Navarro, has a penchant for playing three-setters. She, however, wins most of them. Reaching the semifinals in Dubai counts as success, but illness ruined her chances in Doha.
At least in Italian tennis circles, he’ll go down as the man who lost to Simone Bolelli to end the latter’s record 0-for-35 drought against Top 10 opposition. And would you believe it happened indoors, on a hard court? Another setback for Raonic was losing at home to Nishikori in Davis Cup.
There seemed to be a lot going on with Wozniacki off the court in the past month, yet her recent results suggest she wasn’t distracted; losing to Halep in Dubai and Azarenka in Doha can’t be labeled upset losses. Wozniacki was last week’s recipient of the strange scheduling award, opting to play in Malaysia. But she won the tournament.
Team Azarenka continues to get a revamp. First Wim Fissette replaced Sam Sumyk. Now Bajin has joined as a (very respected) hitting partner. All the signs are positive, including making the final in Doha. Further, Azarenka was chuffed to meet David Beckham.
Getting healthy is probably of the utmost importance to Bouchard, who skipped both Monterrey and Dubai. Given her age and what’s expected to be a long career, she might not be overly preoccupied with defending points, but just for the record, she’s got a lot of them to defend over the next five months.
Yes, he had a two-set-and-a-break lead over Joao Souza. Yes, he blew 10 match points. But Mayer got the job done for Argentina against Brazil in the second longest singles match of all time. As Argentina’s No. 1, he won both his matches. It’ll help to make up for his tough loss to Federer last year.
Not shy on confidence, Coric is more than backing up his (seemingly) bold words. Down a set and break to eventual champion Simon in Marseille, Coric forced a third. Better yet was to come in Dubai, where he eased past Murray as a lucky loser.
Is Harrison on the way back to the Top 50, and possibly beyond? It’s too early to say. Indeed, let’s not get carried away. But the American, reunited with coach Grant Doyle, notched his first Top 10 win in Acapulco and reached the semifinals as an alternate in qualifying. Keep it up.
DROPPED OUT: Dominika Cibulkova, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov, Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic, Feliciano Lopez, Andreas Seppi.
Ravi Ubha (@RaviUbha) is a freelance journalist and broadcaster who has written for ESPN, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.