Wk.17- The Business of Being Maria

We saw all of Maria Sharapova last week, from nearly every angle. She started out wearing her birthday suit, then ultimately ended the proceedings with seemingly nothing on but a great big smile.



No, no. I'm not talking about some new internet selfie scandal! I'm talking about Sharapova managing in a very short time to put on display nearly every facet of her public persona: the more comfortable off-court presence, the tennis player who sports a few flaws but who is still an intense competitor at her core, the athlete who has worked hard to turn her "cow on ice" clay court image into that of a player who now sports the best career win percentage on the surface among all active players and, last but not least, the tireless businesswoman who may yet prove that her current "career" could be simply a prelude to something even more interesting down the line. In the end, Sharapova's latest triumph was termed something of a "family" affair for the Russian who was once queen, and who still might have a shot to be all over again.

Sharapova's time in Germany began with the celebration of her 27th birthday in the old country. It doesn't matter that Germany might not actually be HER old country, of course, because the nation has actually still managed to become a key player in her career, both on and off-court. As the two-time defending champion in the event that has kicked off her red clay season the previous two years, both of which ended with trips to the Roland Garros final (champion in '12, runner-up in '13), Sharapova has used Stuttgart as her proving ground, not only to the outside world that never really considered her a legit clay threat until fairly recently, but maybe even for herself in order to validate all the training that has vastly improved the on-court movement that was once a deadly liability for her once she took off for Europe each spring.

Early last week, we saw a bit of the "bad" side of Sharapova, circa 2013-14, something which has become more common since her most recent shoulder issues last season. Ill-timed double-faults and, sometimes more alarmingly, some shakiness under pressure with her confidence waning when it comes to half of her game, has made her seem to be close to slipping out of the discussion of the very top players in the sport. She went into last week needing to put up a good result to avoid dropping out of the Top 10 for the first time in over three years (her 160-week run was second to only Victoria Azarenka's 186 weeks for the longest active Top 10 stretch on tour), but she very nearly blew a 5-1 3rd set lead over Lucie Safarova in the 1st Round of play. Sharapova held three match points before being forced to a deciding tie-break by the Czech, then finally advanced after converting her fourth MP.

Of course, Sharapova was also dominant.

In the 2nd Round, she avenged her February Paris indoors loss to countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, reasserting her career-long mastery over fellow Russians. In the QF against Aga Radwanska, a player who has at times (U.S. Open '07, Miami '12) in the past brought out the worst in her, Sharapova swiftly brushed the Pole aside, assuring her continued presence in the Top 10 following the tournament. Save for a stubborn stretch in the final two games in Stuttgart, Radwanska was hardly a match for Sharapova, who then dispatched Sara Errani in the semifinals even more efficiently than she had in the Roland Garros final two years ago.

In the final, Sharapova was rocky, then she got on a roll.

Ana Ivanovic raced to a 5-0 led in the 1st, and led 6-3/3-1 on the back of her powerful forehand. The Serb had a point for a 4-1 lead, but Sharapova got the break. A game later, Sharapova nearly gave the break back as AnaIvo reached BP for a 4-2 lead that might have been difficult to reverse yet again. But Sharapova, showing the gritty competitiveness that was the hallmark of her best seasons, saved the BP with a backhand winner and totally changed the complexion of the match. And maybe the WTA's EuroClay spring, too?

In nearly "Supernovic" fashion, the Russian won eleven of the final thirteen games, running her career head-to-head advantage over Ivanovic to 8-2, as the 3-6/6-4/6-1 victory was her seventh straight over AnaIvo. Stuttgart is now the first tournament at which Sharapova has managed a "three-peat" (she's 13-0 there for her career), and another undefeated week on clay means that Serena Williams is still the only player to have beaten her on the surface over the last three seasons.

Afterward, Sharapova was quite simply thrilled to have found once again the sort of inner fire that has made her a four-time slam champ, and talked of how much she loves tennis and has always worked very hard to be the best player that she can be. So far, her work ethic has now produced thirty career titles, including at least one in each of the last dozen seasons, a streak that is four years longer than any current run of success by any woman on the WTA tour.

Oh, but there's that other side to Sharapova, too. Make no mistake, she knows how to sell a product. While the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event has been great for her tennis, the business relationship that has grown around it isn't too shabby, either. The Russian's links to Porsche are everywhere, right down to the latest Sugarpova candy -- "Sweet Ride" -- that is shaped just like the Porsche 911 that was part of her third straight winner's package for taking this week's event.

During the post-match ceremony, Sharapova said that she considers herself a "small part of the Porsche family." Not quite as eye-rolling as Serena's, "That was a real G moment" line from a few years ago, but it let everyone know that Sharapova's eyes are as squarely focused on her future as they are on her present.

And speaking of her present, what is to be made of her chances in Paris now that she has finally lifted herself out of her early season doldrums? Remember, Serena hasn't quite been herself in '14, either. The Italians (or most of them) have been slumping. Aga can't close. While she's a Roland Garros champ, clay isn't Li Na's best surface. Simona Halep still hasn't actually TOTALLY risen, and AnaIvo, JJ and Sam Stosur, while contenders, surely provide a lot of reasons why one wouldn't think they could win the season's second slam.

But here's Sharapova, proving she still has "it" on the red stuff. Stuttgart might not make her an odds-on favorite to win a second RG title, or even reach a third straight final... but it surely inserts her back into the opening statement of the conversation, doesn't it?



*WEEK 17 CHAMPIONS*
STUTTGART, GERMANY (Premier $719K/RCI)
S: Maria Sharapova/RUS def. Ana Ivanovic/SRB 3-6/6-4/6-1
D: Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. Black/Mirza (ZIM/IND)
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO (Int'l $250K/RCO)
S: Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor/ESP def. Romina Oprandi/SUI 6-3/3-6/6-3
D: Muguruza/Oprandi (ESP/SUI) d. Piter/Zanevska (POL/UKR)


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Maria Sharapova/RUS

...while Serena Williams' place in the hierarchy of tennis greats is well known, Sharapova's name is slowly moving to near the top of quite a few lists, as well. Aside from her Career Slam feat following her win in Paris in '12, even with her shoulder problems, she's now put together a twelve-season streak of winning at least one title that is now only behind long runs by Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf. Also, her 30th career title ties her with Tracy Austin for 16th on the all-time WTA list, and her ability to put together a long career has allowed her own accomplishments to continue to dwarf the other members of the large Hordette contingent that Sharapova's Wimbledon triumph in 2004 arguably kick-started into high gear. Her all-time Russian record of 30 titles is nearly double that of the woman who is #2 on her list of countrywoman -- Elena Dementieva (16 titles, but no slams).
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RISERS: Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor/ESP & Garbine Muguruza/ESP

...the parade of 21-year old or younger first-time champs not named Sloane continues. Earlier this season, Garbine Muguruza was a first-time title winner in Hobart. This past weekend, her countrywoman Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor followed in her footsteps in Marrakech. The Spaniard reached the final without dropping a set, defeating Bojana Jovanovski, Lara Arruabarrena, Polona Hercog and Muguruza, then outlasted Romina Oprandi in three sets in the final. Muguruza just hasn't had the same consistency and/or closing ability since her loss to Aga Radwanska at the AO. Remember, she opened her season with an eleven-match win streak that is still second to only Li Na's 13-match run so far in the '14 season. Since then, Muguruza has become quite adept at blowing big leads. She didn't totally pick up where she left off in Hobart last week in Morocco, but she did make a few inroads. She reached the semis without dropping a set, getting wins over Julia Glushko, Stefanie Voegele and Shahar Peer, and won her second career tour doubles title thanks to a successful week of partnering with Oprandi.
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SURPRISES: Antonia Lottner & Anna Zaja (GER/GER)
...before last week, neither of these Germans had ever won a main draw tour match in singles OR doubles. In fact, 17-year old Lottner had never played in a MD match in either, while 22-year old Zaja was just 0-1 (in Bad Gastein doubles last year). The pair entered the Stuttgart main draw last week after having been alternates, and all they did was claw their way to the semifinals, upsetting the likes of Barthel/Birnerova (10-8 in the match tie-break) and Huber/Husarova (in straight sets) before finally going down to Black/Mirza in another match tie-break (10-4) after having actually taken the 1st set from the veteran duo. Not surprisingly, both have climbed to new career-high doubles rankings, with Lottner up to #240 and Zaja at #145.
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VETERANS: Ana Ivanovic/SRB & Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS
...AnaIvo reached her third final of 2014 with wins over Sabine Lisicki, Julia Goerges, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic, but will her blown lead over Sharapova in the Stuttgart final be the more important result from the Serb's time in Stuttgart? The past few years, the answer to that question would have been easy, but Ivanovic has shown much more resiliency this season. With Roland Garros only a month away, she would be wise to keep on doing what she's doing. It's helped produce a 23-6 mark in 2014, with eight of her wins coming against Top 20 players. Hmmm, did Kuznetsova's mini-run in Stuttgart put her back on the fringes of the RG discussion? Sure, she only reached the QF, and is still just 4-5 on the season. But she's (currently) holding onto a ranking that will get her seeded in Paris (she's #30), and her 2nd Round win over Simona Halep last week was her first Top 5 victory since defeating Aga Radwanska at Roland Garros in 2012.
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COMEBACKS: Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci (ITA/ITA) & Romina Oprandi/SUI
...Errani/Vinci have lost their #1 ranking in 2014, but they managed to retain their Australian Open crown in January. They came into Stuttgart having gone just 5-4 since, with a three-match losing streak. But don't count out the Italians just yet. Last week's title run raised their doubles co-ranking from #5 to #3, and their 18th overall crown as a duo was their first on red clay since winning Roland Garros in 2012. Their good week didn't end there, either. Vinci actually got a main draw singles win (def. Annika Beck), a rarity for her this year, while Errani put up victories over Klara Koukalova, Kaia Kanepi and Carla Suarez-Navarro to reach the semifinals. 28-year old Oprandi was proving to be a late bloomer in 2013, reaching a pair of semifinals in Oeiras and Brussels after having had just two previous final four results in her career. Last June, she climbed to a career-high rank of #32, but then didn't play a match after Wimbledon due to an injured right shoulder. Well, slowly but surely, the Swiss is on her way back up the rankings. She reached a QF in Bogota a few weeks ago, then last week in Marrakech knocked off Yvonne Meusburger and top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova en route to the first tour singles final of her career. She lost in three sets to Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, but it was enough to raise her ranking from #101 to #78. She reached the doubles final, too, becoming the third player to make such a dual run at an event this season, and won her first career doubles crown with Garbine Muguruza.
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FRESH FACES: Taylor Townsend/USA & Jelena Ostapenko/LAT
...Townsend, 18, won both her first ITF singles and doubles titles at the $50K challenger in Charlottesville. Given a wild card into the draw, the Bannerette ran off victories over a list of opponents that included Irina Falconi, Anastasia Rodionova, Sesil Karatantcheva, fellow American wild card Sanaz Marand in the SF and then qualifier Monserrat Gonzalez (PAR) in the final. After going 0-2 in pro doubles finals last year, Townsend also joined with Asia Muhammad to swipe the doubles title, as well, defeating Falconi & Maria Sanchez in the final. Meanwhile, Ostapenko's great run continues as the 16-year old Latvian swept the singles and doubles at the $10K in Santa Margerita di Pula, Italy. Her win in the singles final over Yvonne Cavalle Reimers (ESP) pushed her career pro singles record to 5-0, while her doubles run with Rosalie van der Hoek (NED) makes her 7-0 there.
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DOWN: Francesca Schiavone/ITA & Lucie Safarova/CZE
...last year's unexpected title rub in Marrakech had the feeling of a potential last hurah for Schiavone, and it very well might have been. Since that title week, she's gone just 17-28, including 2-11 in 2014 with her 1st Round loss to qualifier Beatriz Garcia Vidagany while attempting to defend that '13 crown. She'd been on a 6-16 slide before going 5-0 in Morocco last April, too. Schiavone, the 2010 RG champ, will be 34 by the end of the summer. Meanwhile, Safarova continues to be the "hard luck" player of the season. She's played nine events in 2014, and three times she's been taken out by the eventual tournament champion, including after holding match point vs. Li Na at the Australian Open, as well as her near-successful comeback from 5-1 in the 3rd set in the 1st Round vs. Sharapova last week in Stuttgart. Charleston champ Andrea Petkovic also made her way through Safarova to get to her title.
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ITF PLAYER: Denisa Allertova/CZE
...Allertova, 21, claimed her circuit-leading third challenger crown of 2014 at the $50K event in Istanbul. Wins over Ximena Hermoso, Marta Sirotkina, Lyudmyla Kichenok, Ksenia Pervak and Yuliya Beygelzimer in the final gives the Czech Maiden six career titles and runs her record to 5-0 in singles finals since 2012.
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JUNIOR STAR: Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov/ESP
...the 16-year old Spaniard, the junior #7 and #1 seed in the event, won the Grade 1 19ème Open International Junior de Beaulieu-sur-Mer in France. She defeated unseeded Seone Mendez, the 14-year old Aussie who'd knocked off two seeds to reach her first career Grade 1 final. The win gives Zadoinov a second G1 crown this season after having already claimed the Banana Bowl in March. The two finalists had met just recently, with Zadoinov also defeating Mendez in the QF of the Juan Carlos Ferrero event in Trofeo two weeks ago.
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Now, a Caro the Comedian & Friends (oh, and Victor/Piotr, too) break. Kiss her adidas.




1. Stuttgart Final - Sharapova d. Ivanovic
...3-6/6-4/6-1. Sharapova has won six titles over the last two and a half seasons. Five of them have come on red clay. In the previous nine title-winning years of her career, only two of twenty-four crowns came on the red stuff, with none coming from 2003-09 (though she did win on green clay at Amelia Island in '08).
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2. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Sharapova d. Safarova
...7-6(5)/6-7(5)/7-6(2). The three-set win over Safarova in Miami lasted three hours. This one took nearly three-and-a-half.
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3. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Jankovic d. Barthel
...2-6/7-6(8)/6-3. Barthel led 6-2/3-1, but JJ battled back to serve for the 2nd at 5-4. After holding six set points, Jankovic was broken on Barthel's fourth break point of the game. In the tie-break, the German took a 6-2 lead and held four match points, only to see the Serb come back again and take the match.
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4. Marrakech Final - Torro-Flor d. Oprandi
...6-3/3-6/6-3. This was the second all-unseeded final this season, following the Venus/Cornet contest in Dubai. MTTF is yet another first-time Spanish champ, yet the top-ranked Spaniard -- Carla Suarez-Navarro -- is still looking for her maiden trophy.
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5. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Goerges d. Cirstea
...6-1/7-5. Cirstea lost early. But, then again, this happened.

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6. Stuttgart 2nd Rd. - Sharapova d. Pavlyuchenkova
...6-4/6-3. Putting the loss to her countrywoman in Paris behind her, Sharapova ran her career record vs. Russians to 78-23, including 16-1 since 2011.
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7. Stuttgart SF - Sharapova d. Errani 6-1/6-2
Stuttgart SF - Ivanovic d. Jankovic 6-3/7-5
...Errani won five games off Sharapova in the 2012 RG final, but just three here. JJ hasn't beaten AnaIvo since 2010, with Ivanovic now sporting a 9-3 head-to-head advantage.
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8. Marrakech SF - Torro-Flor d. Muguruza
...6-0/6-3. Torro-Flor won six games in a row, then Mugurza won three straight, only to drop six in a row to complete her Kvitova-like afternoon.
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9. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Pennetta d. Petkovic 7-5/3-6/6-1
Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Suarez-Navarro d. Makarova 6-0/6-4
Stuttgart 2nd Rd. - Suarez-Navarro d. Kerber 7-5/6-4
...the week after Fed Cup.
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10. Stuttgart 2nd Rd. - Kuznetsova d. Halep
...7-5/7-6(4). Halep led 5-2 in the 1st, and held three set points at 5-4 in the 2nd. Note: See #6 above. Oh, I see.
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11. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Kleybanova d. Kvitova
...6-2/7-6(3). Kvitova held a 5-3 advantage in the 2nd set. Fed Cup is over, and "the look" is back.

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12. $25K Chiasso Final - Lucie Hradecka/CZE d. Tereza Mrdeza/CRO
...6-3/7-6(4). The 28-year old Czech, now ranked #147 in singles, grabs her 19th career ITF title, her first since 2011.
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HM- $25K Namangan Final - Naomi Broady/GBR d. Nigina Abduraimova 6-3/6-4
$10K Sharm El Sheikh Final - Amy Bowtell/IRE d. Katie Boulter/GBR 6-7(5)/6-0/7-6(6)
$10K Antalya Final - Eleanor Dean/GBR d. Lena Reichel/AUT 5-1 ret.
...with varying degrees of difficulty, it was a good week to be a British tennis player. Well, unless you're Laura Robson, I guess.

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1. Stuttgart QF - Sharapova d. Aga Radwanska
...6-4/6-3. Sharapova needed to win this match to preserve her Top 10 ranking, but saw Radwanska save six match points in the penultimate game of the match. Sharapova won on MP #8 a game later. Yep, things turned out all right for her in Stuttgart.
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2. $50K Seoul 2nd Rd. - Misa Eguchi d. Hsieh Su-Wei 6-4/6-3
$50K Seoul QF - Misa Eguchi d. Erika Sema 7-5/6-3
$50K Seoul SF - Misa Eguchi d. Kristyna Pliskova 6-2/6-2
...sister star Eguchi knocked off three other sister stars en route to the final in Seoul, only to lose there to Misaki Doi. Maybe Misa should have asked if Misaki had a sister she could play instead.
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...a Vika update via Twitter & Vine: "Just wanted to give everyone an update on my recovery. Working hard to get fit again. Will be in touch soon! -V"



With Rome and Madrid now off the table, one has to wonder about the chances of Azarenka making it to Paris this year, as well. At least when it comes to playing tennis at Roland Garros. As it is, if she did show up she'd have either no clay match play, or possibly only something the week before play begins at in 2014's second slam. And is sliding around on the clay while coming off a bad foot injury -- in a tournament that she'd probably have a slim to no chance of winning anyway -- really any way to spend even a few weeks of her spring? It would seem like SW19 will be where we next see Vika, wouldn't you think?

Probably a smart move, too.



**ALL-TIME CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH TITLE**
21...Martina Navratilova, 1974-94
18...Chris Evert, 1971-88
14...Steffi Graf, 1986-99
12...MARIA SHARAPOVA, 2003-14
11...Evonne Goolagong, 1970-80
11...Virginia Wade, 1968-78

**2014 WTA FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS**
Sydney - Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (26, #107) - d. Kerber
Hobart - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (20, #58) - d. Koukalova
Rio - Kurumi Nara, JPN (22, #62) - d. Koukalova
Bogota - Caroline Garcia, FRA (20, #74)- d. Jankovic
Kuala Lumpur - Donna Vekic, CRO (17, #95) - d. Cibulkova
Marrakech - MARIA-TERESA TORRO-FLOR, ESP (21, #71) - d. Oprandi

**2014 WTA FIRST-TIME FINALISTS**
Sydney - Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL (W)
Hobart - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (W)
Rio - Kurumi Nara, JPN (W)
Acapulco - Christina McHale, USA (L)
Charleston - Jana Cepelova, SVK (L)
Monterrey - Jovana Jaksic, SRB (L)
Bogota - Carolina Garcia, FRA (W)
Katowice - Camila Giorgi, ITA (L)
Marrakech - MARIA-TERESA TORRO-FLOR, ESP (W)
Marrakech - ROMINA OPRANDI, SUI (L)

**SINGLES/DOUBLES FINAL IN EVENT**
Klara Zakopalova, CZE - Hobart (L - W)
Caroline Garcia, FRA - Bogota (W - W)
ROMINA OPRANDI, SUI - Marrakech (L - W)

**MOST WTA FINALS - 2012-14 (active)**
22 - Serena Williams (20-2)
16 - Victoria Azarenka (9-7)
15 - MARIA SHARAPPVA (6-9)
11 - Li Na (4-7)
10 - Agnieszka Radwanska (6-4)
10 - Sara Errani (5-5)

**2014 WTA SF**
4...Li Na (3-1)
4...Dominika Cibulkova (3-1)
4...Agnieszka Radwanska (1-3)
4...MARIA SHARAPOVA (1-3)
4...JELENA JANKOVIC (1-3)
3...ANA IVANOVIC (3-0)
3...Klara Koukalova (3-0)
3...Serena Williams (2-1)
3...Alize Cornet (2-1)
3...GARBINE MUGURUZA (2-1)

**LOW-RANKED 2014 SEMIFINALISTS**
#160 Nasstasja Burnett/ITA - Rio SF
#140 Belinda Bencic/SUI - Charleston SF
#137 Jovana Jaksic/SRB - Monterrey RU
#126 Andrea Hlavackova/CZE - Pattaya SF
#114 Estrella Cabeza-Candela/ESP - Hobart SF
#107 Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL - Sydney Champion
#102 Julia Goerges/GER - Pattaya SF
#101 ROMINA OPRANDI/SUI - Marrakech RU





OEIRAS, PORTUGAL (Int'l $250K/red clay outdoor)
13 Final: Pavlyuchenkova d. Suarez-Navarro
13 Doubles Final: Y.Chan/Mladenovic d. Jurak/Marosi
14 Top Seeds: Suarez-Navarro/Bouchard
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=SF=
#1 Suarez-Navarro d. #3 Stosur
#2 Bouchard d. #8 Vesnina
=FINAL=
#1 Suarez-Navarro d. #2 Bouchard

...working off the theory that one of them has to win their first title at some point. Right? Maybe the success of the other Spanish first-time champs will finally push CSN into the winner's circle for the first time. Maybe more importantly, though, she could face Safarova in the QF. Considering the Czech's recent penchant for playing the role of stepping-stone-to-a-title for the players who defeat her, that could be "good news" for CSN.


All for now.

Read more...

Wk.16- The Thrill of Fed Cup Victory, and the Agony of Short-Sightedness

When you see Aga being tossed into the air, you know it must be Fed Cup weekend.



When Germans are dancing, you know that Petko can't be far away.



When Dutch women are dousing Paul Haarhuis with alcohol... you think, "Oh, so that's what's happened to him since he lost to Jimmy Connors at the Open in 1991."



When Anastasia the Great is hand-slapping Hordettes, you know the Russian Fed Cup winter must finally be over.



And, last but not least, when Petra Kvitova is smiling and flashing victory signs...



Once again, it just HAS to be Fed Cup weekend. Well, either that or it's early July in 2011. But in this case, yes, it most definitely WAS a Fed Cup weekend.

*WEEK 16*

=Semifinals=
Germany def. Australia (H) 3-1
Czech Republic (H) def. Italy 4-0
=World Group Playoffs=
Russia (H) def. Argentina 4-0
Canada (H) def. Slovak Republic 3-1
France def. United States (H) 3-2
Poland def. Spain (H) 3-2
=World Group II Playoffs=
Romania (H) def. Serbia 4-1
Netherlands (H) def. Japan 3-2
Switzerland def. Brazil (H) 4-1
Sweden (H) def. Thailand 4-0
=Europe/Africa II Promotion Finals (at Lithuania)=
Liechtenstein def. Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-0
Georgia def. Finland 2-1

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (Int'l $250K/HCO)
S: Donna Vekic/CRO def. Dominika Cibulkova/SVK 5-7/7-5/7-6(4)
D: Babos/Chan Hao-Ching (HUN/TPE) d. Chan Yung-Jan/Zheng Saisai (TPE/CHN) 6-3/6-4


[Semifinal MVPs]
Angelique Kerber/GER [overall P.O.W.]
...in February, I gave the Fed Cup Player of the Week to Andrea Petkovic, although Kerber actually won two matches to Petko's one against the Slovak Republic. This time, Angie gets the barbecue. Again, Petkovic led off Germany's tie with Australia with a victory over Sam Stosur, but it was the way that Kerber, save for one set, destroyed her two opponents the rest of the weekend that couldn't help but leave everyone in awe. Against poor Casey Dellacqua, Kerber won 6-1/6-0 and fired thirty-one winners. On Sunday, with a 0-2 head-to-head mark vs. Stosur staring her in the face, all the German did after dropping the 1st set against an aggressive Sam was take the match (and Stosur) by the neck and drag Germany over the finish line. She won 4-6/6-0/6-4, sending Stosur to 0-2 for the tie although she really didn't play that badly at all. Kerber just was not to be denied. Again. Germany is in its first FC final since 1992, and don't think that the Czechs are going to easily coast to another crown. As long as this sometimes-injury prone German team can stay healthy into November, it just might do one better than simply REACHING the first Fed Cup final since the Graf era.
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Petra Kvitova/CZE

...for once, Kvitova looked confident, fit and healthy for an entire event. Sure, it was only two days long, but so what. Kvitova re-assumed her lead role on the Czech team, going 2-0 to run her career FC singles mark to 21-6. On Saturday, she dispatched Camila Giorgi (in for Roberta Vinci) 2 & 2, then on Sunday she did the same to Vinci (in for Sara Errani, whose 0-6 mark vs. Kvitova was far worse than RV's 2-1) by the tune of 3 & 5, closing the door every time the Italian vet threatened to put a little drama into the match and prevent Kvitova from clinching the tie. She wasn't successful, as Kvitova saved nine break points in her first four service games. Thus, the Czechs are heading back to the FC final for the third time in four years.
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[WORLD GROUP PLAYOFFS MVPs]
Ekaterina Makarova/RUS
...the weekend before the start of the Sochi Olympics in February, Makarova won a tour singles title in Pattaya. This weekend, the Hordette was actually IN Sochi helping the Russians avoid falling down into World Group II in 2015 after dropping two consecutive ties after a dispute between the players and the Russian Federation left the FC roster absent any experienced players in last year's final and in the '14 1st Round. Playing on indoor red clay, Makarova swept both her singles matches over Argentina's Paula Ormaechea and Maria Irigoyen in straight sets. The two wins equal Makarova's previous total of career FC singles wins. She's now 4-2.

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Eugenie Bouchard/CAN
...the Canadian resurgence is being led by the 20-year old Bouchard, and she's finding ways to stay on her feet even as the spotlight continues to get brighter and brighter. Back home in Quebec, with the Genie Army at full force, Bouchard went 2-0 in singles to put the finishing touches on Canada's win over the Slovaks. Not that it was easy. In her first match, Kristina Kucova led 3-0 in the 1st and served at 5-4, holding four set points. But Bouchard forced a tie-break, took it at love, then won in three after Kucova had claimed the 2nd. On Sunday, Jana Cepelova served at 5-3 in the 1st and held a set point at 6-5, but Bouchard took another tie-break and won in straight sets.
=============================
Caroline Garcia/FRA
...whew! Garcia's weekend, were it not for the primacy of the semifinals, was more than enough for her to be in contention for overall P.O.W., not just one of the MVP awards. Hot off her title run in Bogota, Garcia was often scalding in St.Louis against Team USA. She destroyed Sloane Stephens to start things off, showing zero signs of nerves in what was her FC debut, then threw the French team a huge life vest after Alize Cornet's injury and Virginie Razzano's replacement loss, downing Madison Keys in 1:09 and sending things to the doubles. There, teamed with the far-more-veteran, but also-far-more-nervous, Razzano it was Garcia that provided the glue for the effort, constantly turning back any threat provided by Keys/Stephens, even after they'd come back from a double-break down in the 2nd set to edge into the lead. The Pastries won 6-2/7-5 to stay in the World Group for 2015, and they have Garcia and her three wins in the 3-2 victory to thank for it. Well, that and captain Amelie Mauresmo's continued ability to pick versatile rosters, convince players (remember, she even got Bartoli to reach an agreement to play last year) to sign up, and read their psyches well enough to place them into the best game day positions to win. Considering the obstacles and situations that Mauresmo has had to maneuver around this year, it's hard to imagine a team captain doing a better job than she has in 2014.
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Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
...all hail, Aga. The Polish Queen of Fed Cup. Really, Radwanska IS Polish FC tennis, and she proved it all over against this weekend in Barcelona. While she went 2-0 in singles, allowing a total of nine games to Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor and running her FC winning streak to fourteen matches, her sister Ula went 0-2 against the same two Spaniards. U-Rad won her first set against MTTF, but then won just five games in her other four sets of play, as she's still obviously not yet fully recovered from the shoulder surgery that ended her '13 season early and delayed her '14 campaign. With Poland's place in the 2015 World Group at stake, Aga was called upon to add to her two singles points with another in doubles for the Poles to survive. This was the fourth time in Poland's last five ties that this scenario has occurred, as no Fed Cup team is more of a one-woman show than the one that stars A-Rad. Still, for the fourth time in four tries, Radwanska pulled it off, this time joining with Alicja Rosolska to defeat Anabel Medina-Garrigues and Soler-Espinosa 6-4/6-2 to give Poland the win and advance to next year's final eight. Aga now has a combined forty-one career FC singles & doubles match wins -- and she's only 25.
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[WORLD GROUP II PLAYOFFS MVPs]
Sorana Cirstea/ROU
...Simona Halep is still the Pride of Romania, but it was Cirstea who was called upon to carry the flag in the WG II Playoff with Serbia. Opening things with a spectacular 3-6/6-1/6-2 win over best friend Ana Ivanovic, the Swarmette would go on to be the star of the weekend in Bucharest. After Halep finished off an interrupted Day 1 match with Bojana Jovanovski with a victory, but then lost in the contest with AnaIvo that immediately followed, Cirstea was left with the task of also defeating BoJo in order to send Romania to 2015's WG II, setting the stage for a potential run at a FC title in 2016. Her match with Jovanovski was a wild affair, as the Romanian led 6-3/5-2, but failed to convert three MP (DF-ing on one) before being forced to a tie-break, which the Serb won 9-7. Cirstea eventually pulled away in the 3rd, converting MP #6 to end the two and a half hour match and clinch the latest Romanian triumph.
=============================
Kiki Bertens/NED
...the Dutch-hosted tie with Japan figured to be a nip-and-tuck affair. It was, but if not for Bertens it might have been even closer. Her three-hour match #3 win over Kurumi Nara gave the Netherlands a 2-1 lead that was never relinquished. In the Nara match, Bertens overcame a 3-1 3rd set deficit, winning the final set at 9-7 on her fifth match point. She's now 14-1 in her Fed Cup career, including a spotless 8-0 in singles.
=============================
Timea Bacsinszky/SUI
...The Kid, aka Belinda Bencic, was the focus of conversation before Switzerland's tie with Brazil, but it was 24-year old Bacsinszky who kept the Swiss team from falling back into zone play for 2015, opening play with a straight sets win over Brazilian #1 Teliana Pereira (who'd come back to defeat Bencic on Sunday) and then clinching the tie with a win over Paula Cristina Goncalves that prevented things from going to the deciding doubles.
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Johanna Larsson/SWE
...Sofia Arvidsson is into the 50's when it comes to FC ties in which she's participated in, but Larsson is no neophyte. She has nearly forty ties to her credit, and she's currently the only Top 100 player representing Sweden. She provided two of the Swedes' three singles win in their 4-0 win over Thailand, clinching the tie with a win on Sunday over Luksika Kumkhum one day after Arvidsson had sullied the Thai's previously-undefeated career FC record.
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[Zone Play MVPs]
Stephanie Vogt/LIE
...Vogt, 24, is the best player in the history of Liechtenstein tennis, so it's fitting that she's the player to lead her tiny nation out of Zone II action for the very first time. She went 6-1 in pool and promotional playoff singles & doubles action in Europe/Africa II zone competition, notching the clinching 6-3/6-1 win over Bosnian revelation Jasmina Tinjic to secure her team's 2-0 promotional playoff victory.
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Sofia Shapatava/GEO
...it's hard to say there was a better player in zone play last week than the 25-year old Georgian. After all, she never lost any of her seven singles and doubles matches. And Georgia needed them all. The squad squeaked out of pool play, and had to go to a deciding doubles match against Finland in order to win the promotional playoff. Shapatava teamed with Oksana Kalashnikova for that decisive win.
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[RISERS]
Kurumi Nara/JPN
...2014 Rio champ Nara is this year's Fed Cup Hard Luck Award winner. In February, she unsuccessfully battled Argentina's Maria Irigoyen on the road in a match that might have tipped the tie in Japan's favor had Nara been able to escape with the win. In match #3 vs. the Dutch in the Netherlands, Nara again did battle in a match that might have tipped the tie to the Japanese side. With the nations tied at 1-1, as Nara had opened play with a three-set win over Arantxa Rus, the 22-year old took NED #1 Kiki Bertens to three sets, as well. In the 3:00 match, Nara actually led 3-1 in the 3rd before Bertens caught her and then won on her fifth match point.
=============================
Elena Vesnina/RUS
...maybe the Russian Federation's dispute with the players ended behind closed doors, or possibly it was Anastasia Myskina fully assuming team captain duties that was key. Or maybe it's not really over, and this face-saving tie win is just an aberration and the return of "C"-team squads will be in store in 2015. It could be that Vesnina was in action this weekend because Sochi is her home town, too. Whatever the case, the Russian, who had just one career FC singles win before this weekend, arguably put up the top single victory of the tie when she opened Day 1 by taking out Paula Ormaechea 6-3/6-3, putting the Argentine in her place despite her 11-1 record in her previous twelve FC matches.
=============================

[FRESH FACES]
Madison Keys/USA
...Keys was a lost soul in her FC debut vs. Italy in February, left to twist in the wind by U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez. After Sloane Stephens lost to Caroline Garcia to open the tie with France on Saturday, it was easy to think that Keys would do the same against Alize Cornet. She often played well, showing power and shot-making ability, but also an inconsistency and lack of a game plan that prevented her from holding onto any sort of advantage. But, sometimes, just not giving up is enough. Keys never did against Cornet, even as the Pastry was serving at 7-6/5-4. Eventually, Cornet's thigh injury slowed her down, and Keys kept enough of her powerful shots in the court to seize control of the match, twice going up a double-break (Cornet cut that lead in half both times) and win the 3:00 contest, knotting the tie and knocking Cornet out of action for Day 2. Heck, a case could be made that Keys even inspired Sloane Stephens to put up a decent effort and notch her first career FC win. THAT might be her biggest accomplishment of the weekend, actually. In the end, though, Keys was totally outclassed by Garcia in match #4, then her doubles inexperience showed in the deciding match with Stephens vs. Garcia and Virginie Razzano. Still, the small glimpse of Future Madison was enticing. It'll likely even be enough to keep MJF in place as the American captain for years. Not that that's necessarily a good thing, mind you.
=============================
Belinda Bencic/SUI
...17-year old Bencic wasn't THE star of the Swiss team this time around, but she played her role, winning match #2 over Brazil's Paula Cristina Goncalves to give Switzerland a 2-0 lead on Day 1. She lost on Sunday to Teliana Pereira, but Timea Bacsinszky picked up the slack and clinched the WG II Playoff win one match later. Bencic returned to play the "dead" doubles rubber, joining with Viktorija Golubic to push the final Swiss victory margin to 4-1 and run her career FC record to 5-3.
=============================

[SURPRISES]
Jasmina Tinjic/BIH & Team Bosnia/Herzegovina
...no one would have ever guessed that 23-year old Tinjic and the Bosnia/Herzegovina team would be the surprise revelations of Europe/Africa II zone play action. She notched two pool singles victories during the week, including an important one over RSA's Chanel Simmonds in Bosnia's 2-1 win over South Africa on Day 1 of action. That Bosnian win was the difference between one nation advancing to the promotional playoff instead of the other. Ultimately, Bosnia/Herzegovina lost to Liechenstein, but Tinjic took her place as the likely heir to the team leader role formerly held by Mervana Jugic-Salkic.
=============================

Alicja Rosolska/POL ...you sort of get the feeling that it doesn't really matter which player might get teamed with Aga Radwanska in a deciding Fed Cup doubles match. They'll win just because of the overwhelming drive of her artistic, but driven partner. Well, for the second time in 2014, after a win over Sweden's Arvidsson/Larrson in February, it was Rosolska who teamed with A-Rad to carry Poland to victory, as the pair took out Anabel Medina-Garrigues & Silvia Soler-Espinosa to finish off a 3-2 defeat of Spain.
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[VETERANS]
Lucie Safarova/CZE
...two years ago, it was Safarova who starred rather than the ill Petra Kvitova on the Czech Republic's successful FC final weekend. She only played one match in Ostrava, but her 6-4/6-1 first match win over Sara Errani knocked the already-lacking-confidence Team Italia off-kilter so much that it never recovered. The Italians were scrambling before a single ball was struck, fretting about the Czech advantage on indoor hard court in an arena where they'd beaten the Italians in the past. From the start, Roberta Vinci was subbed for on Day 1 by Camila Giori, presumably on a hunch that didn't pan out. When the "maybe" win over Safarova didn't come, since the Italians (rightly) seemed to think they had no chance against a healthy Kvitova under the roof, they threw their hands up. Vinci was suddenly brought in to face Kvitova on Day 2 after she wasn't allowed to do so on Day 1. That didn't work, either. Credit Safarova, mistress of shattered Italian dreams, for the wonderful mess that fell fully in the Czechs' favor.
=============================
Aleksandra Wozniak/CAN
...Wozniak is the top Fed Cup player in Canadian history, and she added a chapter to her under-the-radar legacy in the World Group Playoff against the Slovak Republic in Quebec City. In the opening singles match against Jana Cepelova, A-Woz overcame a 6-4/5-2 deficit with the young Slovak serving at 5-3, then did it again when Cepelova served at 5-3 in the 3rd set, getting to within two points of victory. When Kristina Kucova pushed Eugenie Bouchard to three sets in match #2 (Genie eventually won) it was clear just how important Wozniak's win actually was.
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[COMEBACKS]
Andrea Petkovic/GER
...after providing the tone-setting match #1 win over Dominika Cibulkova (back from MP) against the Slovaks in February, German Secret Weapon Petkovic did the same in Brisbane against Sam Stosur. She was on top of the Aussie from the start, jumping her like a mugger in an alley, knocking her over the head and carrying off a 6-1 1st set before Stosur knew what hit her. She recovered in time to take a 5-3 lead in the 2nd, and served for the set at 5-4. But one moment of hesitation -- a DF at 30/15 -- and Petkovic was all over her again. It ultimately took Petko five match points to finally claim the match, with the potential that her nerves could get to her in the 3rd if it came to that surely playing on her mind. She didn't let it deviate her from her comeback course, though. With two starring Fed Cup roles and a Charleston title in her pocket, everyone is starting to remember just how exciting a presence the German was on tour a few seasons ago. Let's hope her body stays healthy enough for her to climb all the way back up to where she was back in 2011 before her career was so rudely interrupted.
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Sloane Stephens/USA
...yeah, maybe this is a BIT of a stretch. After all, the listless Current Sloane WAS in attendance in St.Louis on Saturday in her loss to Carolina Garcia in the U.S.'s World Group Playoff match-up with France. But after Madison Keys' stick-with-it win over Alize Cornet, and the resulting thigh injury that kept the Pastry out of her scheduled match on Day 2 with Stephens, the American was finally chagrined enough to put up a good effort to give the Bannerettes at 2-1 lead with a victory over replacement Pastry Virginie Razzano. Okay, maybe Current Sloane wasn't so embarrassed by Keys' victory -- after all, the recent success of the likes of the younger Bouchard, Garcia, Svitolina and now Vekic hasn't seemed to make a difference with her on-court drive to strive -- that she played like Future Sloane to save face, but the win WAS her first career FC victory. One is more than zero. Progress. Or close enough. Being placed into the deciding doubles match with Keys -- two players with no real experience, though Stephens was a good doubles player as a junior -- by U.S. coach Mary Joe Fernandez was never going to be a favorable situation, so that the pair came back from two breaks down in the 2nd against Garcia and Razzano to briefly take the lead, only to lose in straight sets, has to be looked at as neither a good or bad effort. It's basically a wash. Still, Stephens left St.Louis with SOMETHING good on her resume, and I can't say that I was really expecting that.
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Arantxa Rus/NED
...Rus has had her share of troubles over the last couple of seasons on the WTA tour -- she's yet to record a main draw win in '14 after suffering through a similar 17-match such streak from 2012-13 -- but she's played just fine in Fed Cup action. She opened the Netherlands' tie with Japan with a three-set loss to Kurumi Nara, but she redeemed herself on Sunday by getting the clinching point in a straight sets win over Misaki Doi.
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Emma Laine/FIN
...the 28-year undertook the role of player/captain for the Fin team in Europe/Africa II zone action, and she very nearly put the team on her back all the way to promotion. The all-time Fin leader in FC wins (30+ singles victories in 40 ties), Laine hadn't played a Fed Cup match in two years and came in ranked barely in the WTA Top 1000. Still, she went 5-1 in singles & doubles in pool play and got Finland to within the deciding doubles of winning the promotional playoff against Georgia.
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[DOWN]
Team SRB
...I'm tempted to say that the Serbs deserve what they get for failing to include Serbian Good Luck Charm Aleksandra Krunic on the roster. Although, since the tie never actually came down to the deciding doubles, the faux pas wasn't nearly as egregious as Mary Joe Fernandez not including an experienced doubles player on the U.S. roster, eventually ensuring defeat. Still, it's something of a karmic victory that ever since the Serbs started to throw anyone and everyone with "SRB" by their name onto FC rosters instead of (now-only-added-to-the-roster-if-multiple-players-get-injured) Krunic, who participated in a series of successful deciding doubles matches during the team's climb to the 2012 Fed Cup final, Serbia has yet to win a single tie. The 4-1 loss to Romania in the World Group II Playoffs gives Team Serbia five straight tie defeats, and the return to zone play in '15 is now complete as even the addition of AnaIvo to the roster this weekend wasn't enough to turn the tide of what became a 4-1 defeat. Serves them right.
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Mary Joe Fernandez
...oh, MJF isn't going anywhere as the U.S. FC team captain, but once again her maneuvers on a Fed Cup weekend left much to be desired. You can't judge a FC (or any other) captain/coach by what happens when a team includes someone, like, say Serena Williams. It's when the team doesn't have a virtual nuclear weapon at its disposal that you can see whether or not any real decision-making is taking place. Whether it be sudden stars on the other side of the net (Karin Knapp, Caroline Garcia) or injuries (to Serena Williams, Varvara Lepchenko, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, etc.), MJF always seems to have a ready reason to get her off the hook for the U.S.'s continued Fed Cup failures. But, unlike with the woeful U.S. men's Davis Cup team, Fernandez has a deep and/or young pool of players to build a roster from these days. Still, MJF can't get anything accomplished unless the Williams Sisters put the team on their backs and carry it over the finish line. While the U.S. losing effort in the World Group Playoff vs. France in St.Louis wasn't the same disaster on the court that the one in Cleveland vs. Italy was in February, the glaring holes in MJF's captaincy were just as apparent. Two months ago, she threw her young roster members to the sharks and watched them drown, not putting more stable players into action (or, in the case of Lepchenko that particular week, even including her on the 1st Round roster) who'd have a better chance of winning until it was too late. This weekend, she got more than a little lucky, as the French team was without doubles star Kristina Mladenovic, and then Alize Cornet's injury led to one French loss on Saturday, and arguably another on Sunday when Virginie Razzano was a late singles replacement. Still, it wasn't enough, as French captain Amelie Mauresmo -- with one and half hands tied behind her back -- was still able to put together a more competent doubles duo from her decimated roster than MJF was from her's, which didn't include a single doubles player, even with doubles specialists such as Liezel Huber, Lisa Raymond, Raquel Kops-Jones, Abigail Spears and (the perfect singles/doubles combo player/vet, if versatility was an issue) Vania King (who just reached the singles SF and doubles final in Bogota) all sporting American credentials. As it was, roster members Christina McHale and Lauren Davis served as mere uniform-clad, not-particularly-vocal cheerleaders next to the posing-for-Mount-Rushmore visage provided by MJF. Oh, and speaking of Mauresmo, the contrast between the two captains on the sidelines couldn't have been greater. While Mauresmo constantly encouraged her charges, firing them up and spurring them on (sort of a pre-requisite in FC settings, right?), MJF usually sat stoically watching the action, looking as if she was solving some complex quadratic equation in her head while, say, Sloane Stephens was running the U.S. effort into a ditch in match #1 on Saturday. But, as I said, MJF got lucky thanks to Cornet's injury, and she should give Keys a big hug for making her look good, even if the young Bannerette's best move was just to not give up on herself when it looked as if Cornet was going to run away with match #2. What could have been a shutout loss turned into a near-victory that looks better on paper than it was in reality. But the Tennis Reaper got Fernandez in the end, thanks to the poor roster-building skills (either hers or those of other Powers That Be) that failed to provide ANY clear option if things went to the deciding doubles. I'm glad the American team lost... aside from anything that actually happened between the lines of the court, the U.S. didn't deserve to win. Being short-sighted shouldn't be rewarded.
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Team SVK
...no Cibulkova. No Hantuchova. No fun. Although, it should be noted that new Team SVK leader Jana Cepelova, the Charleston runner-up a few weeks ago, DID manage to follow in her veteran countrywomen's footsteps, considering their fumbled tie vs. Germany in February and blown 2-0 semifinal lead over the Russians last year. So the vets were in Quebec City in spirit, I guess. On Day 1 against Aleksandra Wozniak, Cepelova led 6-4/5-2 and served at 5-3, only to be forced to a 3rd set, then led 3-1 and served at 5-3 in the 3rd set, only to lose despite coming within two points of victory. On Day 2, Cepelova led Genie Bouchard 5-3 in the 1st, and held a set point at 6-5. She lost in straight sets. Yeah, I know I could have given Cepelova the "DOWN" designation rather than the entire Slovak team, which on the whole played fairly well. Kristina Kucova pushed Bouchard on Sunday, and the doubles team of Janette Husarova and Anna Schmiedlova got a win in the "dead" doubles rubber over Gabriela Dabrowski and Sharon Fichman. I COULD have done that. But, really, after her run in Charleston, I just didn't have the heart to come down hard on Cepelova, who really shouldn't have been forced to carry such a big load ALONE (hmmm... that's become a pattern with her, hasn't it?) less than a year after a filled-with-talent Slovak team was THIS CLOSE to reaching the final.
=============================
Chanel Simmonds/RSA
...there were seemingly four top teams in Europe/Africa II zone pool play, and three of them advanced to the promotional playoff round. The only one that didn't was South Africa. Simmonds, the third highest-ranked player in last week's pool play, put up a combined 1-4 record in singles & doubles (w/ the win coming via a retirement) in pool action that played the monster role in the poor end result. As it turned out, the South African team was behind the eight ball right from the start, dropping its opening tie of pool play against Bosnia & Herzegovina when Simmonds and vet Natalie Grandin lost the deciding doubles match to Jasmina Tinjic (who'd also beaten Simmonds in singles) and Anita Husaric. Simmonds finally got an actual win in the relegation playoff, but all it did was help RSA finish in 5th place in the zone.
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WTA PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Donna Vekic/CRO
...as it turned out, Vekic's third trip to a WTA singles final was the charm. In a week that saw the Croat face off against rain delays and having to come back from a set down on three occasions -- vs. Chan Yung-Jan, Kristyna Pliskova and Zhang Shuai -- just to get into the final, Vekic had a whole different set of problems once she got their against Dominika Cibulkova. Looking to grab her first career title, as well as notch the first Top 10 (and Top 20) win of her career, Vekic took a 4-2 1st set led, only to drop the set and then fall behind 7-5/5-4. She turned things around, winning seven straight games to claim the 2nd and go up 4-0, then 5-1, in the 3rd. She held four match points at 5-2, but Cibulkova, as she is wont to do in 2014, refused to give up and got the match into a deciding tie-break. Vekic finally won the 2:51 match on her seventh MP, becoming the fifth maiden WTA singles champ this season and the youngest -- at 17 years and just under 11 months -- on tour since Vania King won in Bangkok in 2006 at 17 years, eight and a half months of age. So, add another name to the suddenly growing list of 21-and-under players not named Sloane who are picking up tour singles titles. Vekic is on her way up and ready to make a name for herself... even if a Tennis Channel graphic on Sunday asked whether or not she "The Next SERBIAN Star."
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RISER: Timea Babos/HUN
...move over Kristina Mladenovic? Babos, too, is a young former junior singles star who has put up much greater results in doubles in the early stages of her WTA career. The Hungarian grabbed the Kuala Lumpur doubles title with Chan Hao-Ching, her second title of '14 and her seventh -- with six different partners -- over a stretch of less than two years. Babos has yet to crack the Top 20 in doubles, but she surely looks on track to do so in the near future.
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SURPRISES: Cagla Buyukakcay/TUR, Chan Hao-Ching/TPE and Chan Yung-Jan/TPE
...24-year old Buyukakcay, after advancing past Kimiko Date-Krumm (retired) and Tadeja Majeric in Kuala Lumpur, became the first Turk to reach a tour singles quarterfinal. Meanwhile, the Chan sisters performing well on the doubles court isn't a surprise, as both are accomplished players. That they both played in the Kuala Lumpur final isn't a shock, either. After all, they won a WTA crown together in Shenzhen last year and combined to reach the Charleston final just a few weeks ago. What is a surprise is that after reaching six professional doubles finals as an all-sister duo, their berths in the final this weekend in Malaysia marked the first time they'd faced off AGAINST each other on such an occasion. Hao-Ching & Timea Babos defeated Yung-Jan and Zheng Saisai in straight sets, with the younger sister grabbing career WTA title #3. Oh, well... at least now the Chans will surely how have something different to talk about.
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FRESH FACE: Zarina Diyas/KAZ
...the 20-year old Kazakh reached her first tour QF in two years in Kuala Lumpur, where she took the opening set and pushed Dominika Cibulkova. The Slovak saved twenty of the twenty-six break points Diyas held on her serve, winning in three sets. Diyas has been making steady progress in 2014, having recently climbed into the Top 100 and this seek setting a new career-high ranking of #85. She previously notched wins over Camila Giorgi, Marina Erakovic and Aleksandra Krunic this season.
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ITF PLAYER: Grace Min/USA
...Min, 19, defeated fellow American teen Vicky Duval, 18, to claim the $50K challenger in Dothan, Alabama. Min got wins over Heidi El Tabakh, Veronica Cepede Royg and Allie Kiick to reach final, and the 6-3/6-1 win over Duval gives her five career ITF singles crowns.
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JUNIOR STARS: Kristina Schmiedlova/SVK & Katarina Jokic/SRB
...while Anna Schmiedlova was getting a FC doubles win in Quebec City, and the Serbs were losing in Bucharest, these two were in Florence, Italy looking to grab a Grade 2 junior crown that will be decided on the red clay on Monday. Schmiedlova, 16, is the #10-ranked junior and the #1-seed at the event. She enters the final at 13-1 on the season in junior action, with a ten-match winning streak that includes a win over Jokic in a Grade 1 final in Umag. Jokic, also 16, is the #2 seed and #65-ranked girl. She arrives in the final riding a nine-match overall winning streak that includes a $10K challenger title in Croatia two weeks ago.
Note: Jokic defeated Schmiedlova in the final.
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1. KL Final - Vekic d. Cibulkova
...5-7/7-5/7-6(4). Cibulkova erased a 4-2 1st set deficit to grab the lead, but then saw her own 7-5/5-4 lead get reversed by the Croat. In the 3rd, it was Vekic's turn to lose a lead, as Cibulkova came back from 5-1 and 4 MP down to force a tie-break. Vekic's win means that fourteen different nations have produced singles champions in the WTA's first twenty events.
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2. KL QF - Cibulkova d. Diyas
...4-6/6-2/6-4. Cepelova could have used a few of those twenty break points that Cibulkova saved here.
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1. KL SF - Cibukova d. Karolina Pliskova
...6-7(3)/6-3/6-3. En route to the final, Cibulkova twice had to come back from a set down, including here against defending champion Pliskova. Still, her 24 match wins lead the tour this season.
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2. KL 2nd Rd. - Vekic d. Kristyna Pliskova
...1-6/6-3/7-5. Apparently, dropping the 1st set to a Czech sibling was the way to reach the final.
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3. KL Doubles Final - Babos/Chan Hao-Ching d. Chan Yung-Jan/Zheng Saisai
...6-3/6-4. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
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**2015 FED CUP**
=World Group=
Australia
Canada
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Italy
Poland
Russia
=World Group II=
Argentina
Netherlands
Romania
Slovak Republic
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United States

**18 or under WTA TITLES SINCE 2007**
5...Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (2008-09)
2...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (2010-11)
2...Agnieszka Radwanska, POL (2007)
2...Agnes Szavay, HUN (2008)
1...Timea Babos, HUN (2012)
1...Sorana Cirstea, ROU (2008)
1...Alize Cornet, FRA (2008)
1...Petra Kvitova, CZE (2009)
1...Elina Svitolina, UKR (2013)
1...DONNA VEKIC, CRO (2014)
--
NOTE: Vania King (17) in Bangkok '06 was last under-18 before Vekic

**YOUNGEST 2014 CHAMPIONS**
17...DONNA VEKIC, CRO (KUALA LUMPUR)
20...Caroline Garcia, FRA (Bogota)
20...Garbine Muguruza, ESP (Hobart)
22...Simona Halep, ROU (Doha)
22...Kurumi Nara, JPN (Rio)
22...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS (Paris)

**2014 WTA FINALS**
3...Li Na, CHN (2-1)
3...DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA, SVK (1-2)
3...Klara Koukalova, CZE (1-2)

**2014 - DEFEATED #1 SEED, WON TITLE**
Paris - A.Pavlyuchenkova (SF-Sharapova)
Rio - Kurumi Nara (F-Zakopalova)
Florianopolis - Klara Zakopalova (SF-Suarez-Navarro)
Indian Wells - Flavia Pennetta (SF-Li)
Katowice - Alize Cornet (SF-A.Radwanska)
Bogota - Caroline Garcia (F-Jankovic)
Kuala Lumpur - DONNA VEKIC (F-Cibulkova)






...Vika, still on ice. In this case, literally.




STUTTGART, GERMANY (Premier $719K/red clay indoor)
13 Final: Sharapova d. Li (Sharapova 2012-13)
13 Doubles Final: Barthel/Lisicki d. Mattek-Sands/Mirza
14 Top Seeds: A.Radwanska/Halep
=============================
=SF=
#6 Sharapova d. #4 Kerber
#2 Halep d. Ivanovic #5 Jankovic
=FINAL=
#2 Halep d. #6 Sharapova

...so many crazy match-ups here, including JJ/AnaIvo in the 1st Round, as well as Petkovic/Pennetta. It's a really well-stocked draw, as long as all the FC participants actually play, as Kvitova, Lisicki, Kuznetsova, Errani, Wozniacki, Makarova, Safarova, Pavlyuchenkova, Koukalova, Cirstea and Vinci are all also in the draw. I'll go with Simona, just because she might want to immediately put behind her that second-match-of-the-day loss to AnaIvo on Sunday.

NOTE: So far, Wozniacki and Cibulkova have already pulled out, moving AnaIvo's spot in the draw, so I'll go with JJ in the semis.


MARRAKECH, MOROCCO (Int'l $250K/red clay outdoor)
13 Final: Schiavone d. Dominguez-Lino
13 Doubles Final: Babos/Minella d. Martic/Mladenovic
14 Top Seeds: Hantuchova/Svitolina
=============================
=SF=
#8 Schiavone d. Dominguez-Lino
#5 Muguruza d. Torro-Flor
=FINAL=
#5 Muguruza d. #8 Schiavone

...man, this is a messy draw, especially the top half. So, I'll go with a for-old-time's-sake semi in the top half which is actually a rematch of last year's final. Meanwhile, if Muguruza can just get out of her own way...


All right, it looks like it's time to put this thing to bed. So...



All for now.

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FC II Day 1 Update, Part 2: Cornet + Cramps = Future Madison?

We might have glimpsed a tiny bit of the future on Saturday night in the USA/France tie, but it wasn't Future Sloane who made a cameo.



It was... Future Madison? Of course, it took the cramping up of Alize Cornet to drag her out into the spotlight.


**WORLD GROUP PLAYOFFS**
The final FC II action of Saturday took place in the late afternoon and into the evening in North America. In both ties, the host nations had something to smile about on the eve of Day 2.

In Quebec City, Team Canada took a 2-0 lead against the visiting Slovak Republic. But, whew, it wasn't an easy task. In the opening match, all-time Canadian FC star Aleksandra Wozniak (30 singles wins in 33 ties) faced off with Charleston finalist Jana Cepelova, suddenly the top-ranked player in action from her nation with the absence of Dominika Cibulkova and Daniela Hantuchova. As it turned out, the 20-year did a right fine impersonation of the sort of results that both her more veteran countrywomen had in February.

And that isn't a good thing.

Cepelova led Wozniak 6-4/5-2 and seemed on course for a win. She served for the match at 5-3, only to be broken and drop the set 7-5. In the 3rd, she led 3-1 and served once again for the match at 5-3. After getting within two points of victory, she was broken again and Wozniak went on to take the 2:22 opening match 4-6/7-5/7-5.

In the second match, Eugenie Bouchard played Kristina Kucova, who turned out to be anything but a pushover. The Slovak grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the 1st, and served for the set at 5-4. She held four set points. But Bouchard took the set to a tie-break, which the Canadian won 7-0. Kucova didn't go away, though, and took the 2nd set to knot the match. Finally, with the all-volunteer Genie Army having predictably pulled together a vocal majority in Quebec, Bouchard took the match 7-6(0)/2-6/6-1.



There was even more drama in the USA/France tie in St.Louis, though early on it didn't look as if that was going to be the case.



In the opening match, Bogota champ Caroline Garcia easily dispatched the "more experienced" Fed Cup player Sloane Stephens, dominating from the start and showing zero nerves in a 6-3/6-2 victory. While Garcia was constantly bolstered by vocal French captain Amelie Mauresmo, the low energy-looking Current Sloane was supported by the low-energy looking U.S. bench and a very serious Mary Joe Fernandez. Tennis Channel commentator Rennae Stubbs, in direct opposition to what she was seeing with the U.S. team, talked about how vocal she and her Aussie teammates were during her Fed Cup career. I found myself agreeing with her, especially noting the great contrast with how MJF did very little to emotionally prop up Stephens and how Mauresmo expertly handled Garcia. But, then again, it was also easy to wonder if any amount of cheering or support would spark Current Sloane. Just ask Paul Annacone, who's still trying (in vain?) to find exactly what it is that will motivate Stephens on a match in and match out basis. The commentators at TC seemed to think that Stephens' loss was some huge shock. But, really, anyone who's been watching over the past year would have been more shocked if it'd been Future Sloane who'd shown up in St.Louis, rather than the same old Current Sloane who did.

Maybe how Madison Keys hung in and eventually outlasted Alize Cornet in the second match will do the trick for Stephens on Day 2, dragging her future self out into the light somewhere other than at a slam? Yeah, probably not. Still, on the same night that fellow generational stars Garcia and Bouchard notched big wins, Stephens' inability to follow suit speaks loads... even if she's too distracted to hear it.

Keys was a ghost of a player in her FC debut in February, where she also took to the court with the U.S. trailing 1-0. She had a hard time even winning a game vs. Italy. That wasn't the case here, as she flashed her power strokes and had quite a few nice winners. Unfortunately, she usually followed them up with errors that gave back to Cornet whatever advantage she'd grabbed or change of momentum she might have kicked off. Keys broke Cornet when the Pastry served for the 1st at 5-3, forcing things to a tie-break, but the Frenchwoman won it 7-4 to take the lead one hour into the match.

Katowice champ Cornet went up 3-1 in the 2nd, saving six break points in a 14-minute game, but things began to fall apart not long afterward when her movement and serve began to be compromised by cramping in her left thigh. Three double-faults (she couldn't push off her leg) in a single game broke Cornet for 3-3, but Keys couldn't keep the advantage. Trying to end things and not be forced into the unknown territory of a 3rd set, the Pastry reached 5-3 and served for the match at 5-4. But the Bannerette stuck with it, got the break and improved her play down the stretch as Cornet's game became more and more limited. Pulling away at 4-4 in the 2nd set tie-break, Keys won 7-4 then took a two-break lead in the 3rd. The double-break was a necessity, it turned out, since Cornet twice cut the lead in half by getting breaks of her own (usually helped along by Keys errors and/or ill-timed double-faults). It wasn't enough, though. Keys, exponentially more fired up than Stephens, showed a bit of what she might eventually be able to do with a little more WTA seasoning, winning 6-7(4)/7-6(4)/6-3 in nearly three hours.

Maybe more importantly for the Bannerette team, Cornet is scheduled to face Stephens in the first match on Sunday afternoon. If she can't physically make the start time, Mauresmo will once again to called upon to expertly juggle her roster in a way that will give it a chance for success. Oh, where is La Trufflette when Mauresmo needs her? Cornet would likely be replaced by Virginie Razzano in the opening match, giving Stephens, in the wake of the Keys success that she watched from the sidelines, the chance to put up a win that would make the Garcia/Keys meeting in the second match a potentially titanic (or maybe Titanic, depending on what happens) clash.

Of course, the likelihood of another "Sloany" performance from Stephens would probably make Razzano the unexpected star of Day 2. under such circumstances. But the U.S. doesn't necessarily need a win from Stephens to win the tie. Remember, doubles player extraordinaire Kristina Mladenovic is also out injured, meaning Mauresmo might choose to keep Cornet in reserve for that possible no-holds-barred match, or use her team-reading skills to come up with the right doubles combo for success on a roster that is suddenly limping toward the finish line.

If Mauresmo, with one (and maybe half of another) hand tied behind her back, can still find the lineup that can take out the U.S. squad, her captaincy abilities will once more dwarf those we've seen from MJF in any tie that hasn't involved a Williams.

**WORLD GROUP II PLAYOFFS**

Well, if the Brazilians were pinning all their hopes on the idea that Belinda Bencic's tempter and youth would cause her to fold in the clutch so that they could advance past the Swiss and out of zone play in 2015 for the first ever, it looks like they were mightily mistaken. After Brazilian #1 Teliana Periera's first match loss to Timea Bacsinszky, 17-year old Bencic followed up with a straight sets win over Paula Cristina Goncalves, coming back from an early break in the 1st to win 6-3/6-3 to give her squad a commanding 2-0 lead. Bencic can clinch the win for Switzerland with an opening match victory over Peliana on Sunday.


All for now.

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FC II Day 1 Update, Part 1: Ding-Dong, Aussies No Home

After (most of) Day 1 of the second weekend of Fed Cup action in 2014, some national dreams are still alive. As for others... well, they're looking like a half-eaten chocolate egg on an Easter holiday weekend.



A quick update on the activity so far, with Part 2 covering the remaining action in North and South America arriving a little later on...


**Semifinals**
...the semifinal match-ups were a study in contrasts, as recent FC powerhouses Italy and the Czech Republic met for one berth in the final, while Australia and Germany faced off with the winner set to reach the Fed Cup final for the first time in twenty years. As it turned out, the Day 1 matches were studies in contrast, too. And that wasn't a good thing for the defending champion Italians and hosting Aussies.

In Brisbane, just as she did against the Slovak Republic in February, Charleston champ Andrea Petkovic, while not the highest-ranked German, led things off against the opponent's #1-ranked player. Two months ago, she saved a match point against Dominika Cibulkova and set the table -- and tone -- for a German victory. She did the same against Samantha Stosur on Saturday, though she didn't find herself pushed into a desperate corner like she did against the Slovak. Instead it was Petkovic who came out on top of Stosur from the start, dominating a 6-1 1st set. Stosur rebounded in the 2nd, pulling her game together and taking a 5-3 lead. She served for the set at 5-4, but then Stosur blinked (a DF at 30/15) and Petkovic's forehand once again began to dominate the match. She got the break and pushed things to a tie-break, taking a 3-1 lead before Stosur got back to 3-3. Petkovic reached triple match point at 6-3, only to see Stosur save four match points, making Petkovic play more shots and hoping that nerves would take hold. In the end, they didn't, and then Stosur flew a forehand long on MP #5 and Petkovic won 6-1/7-6(7).

Once again, Petkovic had set the German tone. Meanwhile, Stosur had put Casey Dellacqua into a tremendously pressure-packed situation with a win in match #2 now a necessity. It was a situation she didn't didn't handle well, either. Or maybe it'd be just as accurate to say that Angelique Kerber, as she did against the Slovak Republic, took the baton from Petkovic and shoved it down her opponent's throat. Kerber raced to a 4-0 lead and won 6-1/6-0 in less thanan hour. Still, her winner counter hit 31 for the quick match.

Ding-dong, the Aussies look dead.

Although Australian captain Alicia Molik says, in a worst case scenario, she thought her team would be knotted at 1-1 (it's nice to have confidence, but I'm not really sure where it came from), the Aussies are down 2-0 and their remaining chances to advance to the final would appear to be as solid as a melted Fed Cup chocolate egg. Petkovic got her own "Easter egg" in the match, as it turned out, when she whacked her left shin with her racket during a serve. The result was a throbbing lump and a slight cut. Said Petkorazzi, "It is hurting lots. I think I like broke my leg, but what can you do? It’s Easter and this is my Easter Egg."

Things weren't much better for the Italians in Ostrava, minus any actual blood loss.



Smarting from a loss in the last year's FC semis on clay against a hosting Italian squad, the Czechs were all about confidence on the indoor hard court in the Czech Republic. Before a ball was struck in the tie, it was apparent that the Italians were worried. I'm not sure whether it says more about the Czech squad, Italian team captain Corrado Barazzutti, slumping Roberta Vinci (who openly talked of the Czech advantage on the CEZ Arena court surface this week) or spark plug Camila Giorgi, but that Vinci was left off the Day 1 playing schedule said quite a bit about a lot of things. Remember, this is the same Vinci who led Team Italia to the FC title last year, and who notched a win over Kvitova on indoor hard court in Katowice last spring... but she's also the player who's gone a nightmarish 2-9 this season since starring in last year's FC final. If confidence is as confidence does, then there was very little where Vinci was concerned.

Errani, to be honest, hasn't been a great deal better in '14, losing her Top 10 ranking. Still, as the highest-ranked Italian, she was placed in the lead role for this tie. Thing is, she opened with a 6-4/6-1 loss to Lucie Safarova. Then Giorgi, in the lineup in place of Vinci, was run over by a 6-2/6-2 score by Petra Kvitova, reverting to her usual great FC form even in the middle of another trying WTA season. On Sunday, Kvitova can clinch the Czechs' third trip to the FC final in four years with a win in the opening match against Errani.

A Czech advancement seems nearly a fait accompli, but there might be a smidgen of a shot for the Aussies. Stosur opens Day 2 against Kerber, against whom she's 2-0, including a win in FC play in 2012. If Petkovic had been pushed to a 3rd set by Stosur, nerves might have become a factor there for the German, and with the final on the line against Dellacqua in match #4, they could become the third player on the court. The Barty/Dellacqua doubles combo would give Australia a shot in the deciding doubles to pull off the same sort of comeback from 2-0 that the Slovaks accomplished against Russia in last year's semifinals. It's getting to that final match that is going to be an egg of a challenge.

**WORLD GROUP PLAYOFFS**
...while the semifinals are a bit lopsided, the playoffs for a spot in the 2015 World Group are a bit more competitive. Well, some of them.

In Sochi, Elena Vesnina returned to her hometown and got the Hordette team off to a good start, defeating Argentina's Paula Ormaechea on the red clay 6-3/6-3. Ekaterina Makarova followed up with a 7-5/6-1 victory over Maria Irigoyen to give Russia a solid 2-0 lead. The story of this tie is the Anastasia Myskina's team is actually sporting proven WTA talent this time around, and Saturday's results show why the Russians have been a dominant FC force for a decade. Vesnina and Makarova are the 2nd and 5th-ranked women from their nation, but they were more than enough to grab a big advantage over an Argentine team playing on its favorite surface. The regular, slam-winning doubles pair won't likely even have to team up for the doubles.



In Barcelona, once again, the Polish Fed Cup effort will center around Aga Radwanska, as the entire tie looks as if it will rest on her shoulders . No big surprise, really. Poland's best-ever player opened with a 6-2/6-2 win over Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa, but when her little sister Ula lost 4-6/6-0/6-1 to Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor in match #2 it put the pressure squarely on A-Rad for Sunday. If Poland is going to advance, Aga will likely have to play a part in all three of the points needed to win. A win over the big-hitting MTTF isn't a given for her, either. If the Spaniard end's Aga's now 13-match FC singles winning streak, Ula will have to rise up against SSE to push things to the doubles. This one could get dicey. Aga might need some additional "help," if you know what I mean... but she seems to have been "going it alone" since last year's Wimbledon semifinal.

The USA/FRA and CAN/SVK ties in North America will be played later this afternoon. I'll post an update on those later.

**WORLD GROUP II PLAYOFFS**
...with spots in the 2015 World Group II at stake, the cream is rising.



The majority of the Romania/Serbia tie in Bucharest will have to wait until Sunday, as rain stopped played with Simona Halep up 3-1 over Bojana Jovanovski in match #2 on Saturday. But what's already happened is quite noteworthy, as Sorana Cirstea opened play with a stunning 3-6/6-1/6-2 win over her friend Ana Ivanovic, whose 2014 1Q resurgence was hoped to be set to prevent the Serbian squad from dropping a fifth straight tie since reaching the 2012 FC final. This one has the potential to be a great contest, but if AnaIvo isn't going to hold up her end of the deal it might be a whitewash as long as the rain doesn't wash away the entire weekend. The chances for this to be a case of a team on the rise going by a one-time power like two ships passing in the night were always great, but that's even more the case now.

In 's-Hertogenbosch, with the Dutch hosting a tie for the first time in fifteen years, it was Japan that struck the first blow as Kurumi Nara took out Arantxa Rus in three sets 7-5/2-6/6-1 on the indoor red clay. Kiki Bertens knotted things with a 6-0/7-6(3) win over Misaki Doi. This one has the distinct smell of a tie that's going to get to the deciding doubles contest.

In Lidkoping, the host Swedes put the tie on the shoulders of the team's veterans and, unlike Serbia, no one was disappointed in the least. Johanna Larsson opened with a 6-1/6-3 win over Thailand's Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, then 50-tie participant Sofia Arvidsson ended Luksika Kumkhum's undefeated FC run (8-0) with a 6-4/6-2 win that puts Sweden in a commanding position. At the very least, it'd be nice to see the doubles match played here -- even as a dead rubber -- just so that Tammy Tanasugarn can maybe get onto the court. The 36-year old is in her 53rd career tie, with the first having come twenty-one years ago when she was just 15.

In Catanduva, the host Brazilians are trying to finally climb out of zone play for the first time ever, and they began by poking the bear before the first match was played. "The bear," of course, is young Belinda Bencic, who starred in Switzerland's February loss to France. Brazilian captain Carla Tiene noted the expected enthusiasm of the Brazilian crowd in Catanduva the other day, and she questioned whether the teenager's temper and nerves might get the better of her in such an atmosphere. Well, after Brazil's best player, Teliana Pereira (pulling some "boxing/MMA press conference" moves on Bencic the other day) opened the tie by losing to Timea Bacsinszky by a 6-3/6-3 score, the Brazilians are now going to need Bencic to falter if they're going to have any sort of chance (she's playing Paula Cristina Goncalves, having come back from an early break to win the 1st set, as I post this update). Either way, Sunday's Bencic/Pereira match is going to be key.



**Zone Play**
=EUROPE/AFRICA II at Siauliai, Lithuania=
...the two team that earned promotion from Zone II are Liechtenstein and Georgia.

Liechenstein reached a new all-time FC stage today with a 2-0 win in the promotional playoff over Bosnia & Herzegovina. After Kathinka von Deichmann's opening match victory, Stephanie Vogt clinched the advancement with a 6-3/6-1 win over zone group revelation-of-the-week Jasmina Tinjic. Meanwhile, Georgia had to win a deciding doubles match over Finland in a 2-1 victory. Oksana Kalashnikova and Sofia Shapatava defeated playing captain Emma Laine and Piia Suomalainen 6-4/6-1 to advance, as Shapatava pushed her singles/doubles mark for the week to 7-0.


Following Part II later tonight, I'll have the complete weekly wrap-up of FC play posted for Monday.


All for now.

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