Heroes and Zeros: The Mighty Fed, Serena, Coco, and more WTA Firsts

By Chris Oddo

Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/ Getty

(July 16, 2012) -- In this week's edition of Heroes and Zeros we'll pay homage to Roger Federer, who is back to his record-shattering ways, along with a few WTA lesser-knowns who have officially worked their way onto our collective radar with breakout performances this past week.

Hero: Roger Federer

Call him The Swiss Maestro, The Mighty Fed, Fedtastic, just don't call him past his prime or late for a coronation. Today, even as Roger is probably cavorting at some seaside resort with Mirka and the twins, the man, the myth, and the legend that is Roger Federer celebrates another massive milestone in a career that has been so replete with milestones that to call it mind-boggling is on par with calling Michael Phelps a slacker.

It’s beyond mind-boggling, and stratospherically so. But I digress.

Federer's 287th week at the top of the ATP's rankings at age 30 is remarkable in so many ways. How in the world was this man able to climb back to the top of the rankings at age 30 with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal all basically five years younger than him and in the primes of their careers?

Well, we know how--he's a genius, a wizard of the racquet, and a master of all the Jedi mind tricks that help a player win matches when the margins are super thin. Still, if there was one achievement that we thought was beyond even The Mighty Fed's reach, it was getting back to No. 1. Now that he's done it, we are left to wonder, what's next for this man? Can he possibly even begin to approach Jimmy Connor's record of 1242 ATP wins? Does he have 20 Slams in him?

As Patrick McEnroe so aptly stated after this year's Wimbledon: "I'm done doubting him." Me too. So today, we'll celebrate the man that is a pretty safe bet to go down as the best tennis player the world has ever seen, even if he never breaks another record.

Zero: Bank of the West Linesmen and Women

During her 6-7, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Dominika Cibulkova at the Bank of the West Classic quarterfinals, Sorana Cirstea overturned six incorrect calls on the lines in the first set by using the challenge system. Talk about a paranoia-inspiring tennis experience. “If we didn’t have a challenge system I would be packing my bags for San Diego,” a relieved Cirstea said afterwards. 15 blistering aces helped the Romanian too, but it’s pretty sad when more people are itemizing the details of horrible officiating than the details of the match.

Hero: Janko Tipsarevic

Winning the Stuttgart title was amazing, but giving a Mercedes to his wife is what made Janko Tipsarevic a hero this week.

Hero: Bank of the West Classic Tournament Organizers

Moved to the week after Wimbledon because of the Olympics, organizers at the Bank of the West Classic somehow found a way to entice Serena Williams to fly her tired right shoulder across the pond and spruce up the draw with her imperial presence. Last year the draw had eight top 20 players, this year only three, but the tournament was a huge success based on Serena’s star power, and tournament organizers deserve a lot of credit for reeling her in for the fans.

Zero: Bernard Tomic

Not much was made of third-seeded Bernard Tomic’s early loss at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Why? Nobody really expects the 19-year-old to win at the moment. He hasn’t won two matches consecutively since early April, and it begs the question: Is this the kind of infuriating inconsistency that we should come to expect from the wildly talented Tomic?

Hero: Coco Vandeweghe

Coco jumps to a career-high 69 in the WTA rankings after reaching her first WTA final as a lucky loser, and giving Serena Williams a run for her money on Sunday (she had a set point in the first set, and one break made the difference in the second in yesterday's 7-5, 6-3 final). The 20-year-old’s signature serve was on display all week--it’s an aesthetically pleasing serve with great cadence and major pop--and even though Vandeweghe seemed to suffer from a lot of nerves in the final, when watching her one gets the impression that this is a woman who will have a lot of matches on her racquet in the upcoming years. She’s a very powerful server and her ground game is pretty electric also.

Zero: Nicolas Almagro

I’m hard on Almagro because I expect more than a 0-10 record against David Ferrer. I can handle Almagro’s 0-8 record against Rafael Nadal--that’s a lot easier to stomach--but something about Almagro not being able to get a win against Ferrer smacks of a lack of belief. C’mon Nicolas, you can do this! But since you haven’t, you get a zero this week.

Hero: Laura Robson

18-year-old Laura Robson reached the semifinals in Palermo, marking her first ever trip to the last four of a WTA main draw event. Hey, Palermo’s not exactly Wimbledon but it was a nice run for the very promising southpaw, and the effort brings her ranking to a career-best 91.

Hero: David Ferrer and Sara Errani

These two clay gurus keep stacking up titles in 2012. Errani won her fourth title of the season in Palermo, dropping 20 games in five matches to break the record for titles by an Italian in a single season.

Ferrer continued his winning ways in Bastad, upping his 2012 title count to five, and becoming the first ATP player to reach the 50-win plateau this season.

Zero: Clay

The Olympics will be played on grass in two weeks, and the hard court season will begin in full force in the U.S. immediately after. So why is everybody playing on clay? Well, I get it, it’s a surface that many excel on, and there are points and prize money to be had, but it’s a little underwhelming to watch clay-court tennis after the French Open has been played.

Hero: Serena Williams

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten Serena. After winning Wimbledon, Miss Williams hopped the pond, suited up in a neon top and neon shoelaces, and proceeded to give the Northern California fans a healthy dose of one of the greatest women to ever play the sport. Her 43rd title in Stanford--won with a serve that was called “woeful” by Rennae Stubbs over the weekend (relative comparison, btw)--places Serena in a tie with Venus for most WTA titles among active players.

Afterwards, Sam Gore asked Serena what else she wants to take from Venus now that she’s tied her with five Wimbledon titles and 43 overall titles: “I don’t know, I love her dog, but she won’t give him up,” Serena said.