Biggest Surprises of 2011

Here's a look at eight players who have exceeded expectations to date in 2011.


ATP

Novak Djokovic - What's he doing here, you might ask? Well, were you expecting him to go 64-3 and win three Grand Slams the year after Nadal won three? I didn't think so.


Janko Tipsarevic - After being one of the most frustrating players for the opening years of his career, Tipsarevic's part in Serbia's Davis Cup win last winter seems to have done him some good. Tipsarevic has topped 40 wins for the first time in his career, and finally broken into the Top 20, in large part thanks to a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open and a semifinal trip at the Rogers Cup.

Viktor Troicki - Like his fellow Serbian, a little team winning got Troicki in gear and the 25-year-old has been ranked as high as 12th in 2011 (currently No. 15). Is Serbia turning into the new Spain for male players?  Troicki is 34-20 on the year and Serbia has three men ranked in the Top 20.

Alexandr Dolgopolov - Not only did Dolgopolov explode up the rankings with his performance at the Australian Open in January, but he's stayed there, even more impressive when you think about it.  He followed that with a finals appearance at Costa Do Sauipe, a win at Umag, a fourth-round trip at the US Open and another semifinal at Metz.

Milos Raonic - Injuries have been the only thing to stop the lanky, hard-serving 20-year-old Canadian.  He peaked at No. 25 in the rankings, but has since slipped back to 30th as his knees have kept him off the court.  Still, it's hard to deny his trip from the qualifier rounds to the fourth round of the Australian Open, which he followed up with a win at San Jose, a final at Memphis and the semifinals at Estoril. He missed three months following Wimbledon, but is still 26-14 on the year.

WTA
Li Na - Entering the season, Na was already the best Chinese player ever, having reached at least the quarterfinals of three different Grand Slams in her career and finishing in the Top 30 for five straight seasons. The native of Wuhan has taken a quantum leap forward in 2011, starting the year with a win over Kim Clijsters in Sydney and a trip to the Australian Open finals, where she fell to Clijsters.  After a rough month, she took the clay courts by storm by reaching two consecutive semifinals before winning the French Open, defeating defending champion Francesca Schiavone in the final. Although she bowed out early at Wimbledon and the US Open, she's still ranked fifth in the world and 31-14 on the year.

Shuai Peng - Quietly dominating in Na's shadow this season has been Peng, making the huge leap forward from 72nd at the end of 2010 to her current 15th. Peng has made the fourth round of three of the four majors in 2011 after never getting past a single third round before. She's basically played every tournament possible, racking up a 51-18 record.

Sabine Lisicki - Just five days past her 22nd birthday, Lisicki is an impressive 46-16 on the season with a win at Birmingham, semifinals at Wimbledon and Stanford and another victory at Dallas.



Petra Kvitova - At 45-11 on the year, Kvitova hasn't done much wrong this season, starting the year with a title at Brisbane and going forward from there, with a title at Paris over Clijsters, over Victoria Azarenka at Madrid and the big one - upending Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in dominant fashion.

Maria Sharapova - After dropping to 14th at the end of 2009 and to 18th at the end of 2010, Sharapova has come back strong, ranked No. 2 in the world for the first time since the end of 2006. Another Grand Slam title has thus far eluded her this year, but making the final at Wimbledon and the semifinals at the French Open is no slouch either.  She's 41-11 to date.