Friday Files: Surprises Aplenty Mark Frantic Week in Australia

By Chris Oddo

(January 4, 2012) -- The 2013 tennis season is five days old and already we've seen more surprises than a typical month produces on the tennis tour. And I'm not talking about your average, run-of-the-mill naked hot tub wrestling surprises -- I'm talking about real tennis, people!

From the sudden resurgence of Nikolay Davydenko (did he even play in 2012?) to the good-to-great stylings of Grigor Dimitrov, the first week of tennis has been wildly entertaining, wildly unpredictable and, thanks in large part to the mad Aussies who show up in droves to support the tour, a rousing success in every aspect.

Without any further ado, here are five surprises made us go hmmm in week one:

1. Davydenko Back from the Dead: Okay, at least back from relative obscurity. It's no surprise that a player as talented as 31-year-old Nikolay Davydenko would find his way back to the upper echelon of tennis at some point. Wait a second, yes it is. As good as we all know Davydenko can be (he's a former World No. 3 with 21 career titles to his name), he's been performing at a .500 clip for the last two seasons, and he hasn't really seemed to mind. He's played like a player who is happy to make a living on tour but one that is unwilling to make the sacrifices to be a real shaker in the trenches.

That all changed this week in Qatar, as Davydenko ran roughshod over David Ferrer, looking stronger and fitter than the World No. 5 while doing so. The win places Davydenko in his first final since 2011, but more important, Davydenko's improved fitness and movement makes him a player to watch in the ensuing weeks down under.

2. Pavlyuchenkova Gets Nasty: It would be unfair to say that Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a horrible year in 2012 but it'd be dirty-faced lie to say that she didn't disappoint. After reaching the quarters of the French Open and Wimbledon in 2011, Pavlyuchenkova slumped mightily in 2012, failing to get past the second round in 17 of 23 events.

But massive upsets over Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber have propelled Pavs into her first Premier-level final in Brisbane. She'll face Serena Williams in Saturday's final with a chance to pull the biggest shocker of the season. Not bad for a partial week's work.

3. Bernie Tomic All Business at Hopman Cup: When we are talking about Bernard Tomic, the exceptionally gifted Aussie wunderkind who is just 20 years of age (check his driver's license if you don't believe me), and we are not discussing reckless driving, tanking matches, drunken shenanigans or much-publicized father-son disputes, that alone is a surprise. When we are talking about Tomic after he's notched three consecutive exhibition victories over Tommy Haas, Novak Djokovic (yes, that's right) and Andreas Seppi, that is indeed a BIG surprise. Add to that the fact that when he was asked to describe himself in one word this week in Perth, the word "competitor" was the first thing to come out of Tomic's mouth. Surprised yet?

4. Dimitrov Going From Good to Great? Grigor Dimitrov has hit 37 aces in three matches in 2012, so he's averaging approximately 5 more aces per match than he did last season. That alone is surprising. What is even more shocking is how casually the No. 1 Bulgarian brushed aside Milos Raonic in his second-round tilt with the big Canadian in Brisbane, not losing a single point on his first serve in the match. Could this be the beginning of a strong surge for Dimitrov? Will he be in the top 20 -- maybe even top 10 -- by the end of the year? Hard to say, but it is clear that the 21-year-old has benefited from a new coaching relationship with Magnus Norman, Niklas Kulti and Mikael Tillstrom of Norman's fledgling tennis Academy in Sweden, which is aptly named the Good to Great Tennis Academy.

Dimitrov's physical talent and feel for the game has never been in question. Now, with his confidence blooming, he could be on the fast track to elite status.

5. The Tour is a Grind, aka Azarenka Withdraws After Pedicure Gone Bad: Allow me to have fun with this one for a moment: "Yesterday it got really infected, and it was really red," said Azarenka of her swollen big right toe, which caused her to withdraw from her highly anticipated semifinal tilt with Serena Williams in Brisbane. Hmmm, have you considered that the red stuff might be red nail polish from your recent pedicure, Miss Azarenka? "It just got infected from a bad pedicure experience," the World No. 1 went on to say. "The doctor said it happens a lot; it never happened to me."

The withdrawal itself wasn't so surprising. The fact that Azarenka called whatever medical procedure she had to remove/ treat the infection "a minor surgery" in this video is what really surprised us.

Funny aside: Go to the 3:50 mark of the video to see Azarenka’s off-kilter sense of humor in all its glory.

Were there any surprises we left out? Keep us posted in the comments...

(Photo Credit: AP)