By Chris Oddo | Monday, April 14, 2014
Fernando Verdasco notched his first title in nearly four years on Sunday, proving that he can still be a factor on the ATP Tour.
Photo Source: AP
Tournaments in the U.S. and abroad were dominated by Spanish men and French women last week. It wasn’t surprising that the Spanish men made a strong showing on the red clay of Houston and Casablanca (though their level of domination did get a few fists pumping, as Spain placed five men in the eight semifinal spots on offer, and created two all-Spanish finals from them), but the performances of Frenchwomen Alize Cornet and Caroline Garcia was quite a happy shock.
Katowice: Cornet Edges Giorgi | Casablanca: Garcia-Lopez Nets Title | Houston: Bryans Notch Title No. 97 | Bogota: Garcia Wins Maiden Title
Without any further ado, let’s get on to the heroes/zeros:
Hero: Fernando Verdasco
Verdasco ended what was nearly a four-year title drought in Houston, and it was a well-deserved return to form for a player that has struggled mightily in finals over the course of his career, not for lack of talent but more often for a lack of nerve.
On Sunday against Nicolas Almagro, Verdasco walked the balance beam ever so carefully, wavering at times to one side and the other, but when he needed to find his center it was there, and he was able to keep Almagro off balance and pinned behind the baseline with his devastating forehand as well as some pretty snazzy movement on the clay. The matchup with Almagro on clay has been good to Verdasco over the years for all the obvious reasons (see Nadal v. Federer), and to his credit Verdasco got out of his own way and let his hitting do the talking on Sunday.
Verdasco also took a dip in the Royal Oaks Country Club pool after the match, which is, in a way, a tradition like many others, but still really cool to see:
And when things got tense, as they did in the second set when Verdasco trailed 1-4, 0-30, there was a sense of calm, and an ease with which Verdasco struck the ball. No inexplicable bottom-of-the-net backhands, no double-fault binges, just a steady march to a title that meant a great deal to Verdasco.
"It’s been a long time since I’ve won a singles title," he said. "It’s a very important day for me to win a tournament after a few years, and after the injury in my knee the last couple years, not feeling so well and not being able to play a few matches in a row feeling well. I’m so happy for everything in general."
Will we see more of this from Verdasco now that he’s a member of tennis’s over-30 club? One can only hope.
Zero: Ryan Harrison
The American only managed one game against Donald Young after qualifying for the main draw in Houston. He drops another two spots in the rankings to 117 in the world, and he’s now 4-8 for 2014.
Hero: Caroline Garcia
It wasn’t too long ago that 20-year-old Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was in the throes of an eight-match, five-and-a-half-month losing streak, but now she’s got a top 20 win, a semifinal, a top 10 win and her first career singles title to her name since late February.
And a certain well-known fan of Garcia, couldn't help but take notice:
One could make the claim that Garcia did what she was supposed to do in Bogota last week in reaching the final against four consecutive lower-ranked opponents, but anybody who has been around young players in the WTA (see Sloane Stephens?) knows that consistency, more than anything else, is the hardest nut to crack.
Garcia cracked that nut and went on to a bigger, walnut-sized one in Jelena Jankovic in yesterday’s final, and she proceeded to take down the defending champ—a world-class clay-courter—with relative ease, 6-3, 6-4.
The victory is the Lyon, France, resident’s first top 10 win in seven tries, and the title pushes her past her previous career-high ranking of 69 all the way to No. 51 in the world.
Garcia also took the doubles title alongside Lara Arruabarrena of Spain to become the first player to sweep singles and doubles at the same WTA event since Serena Williams did so in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Zero: Sloane Stephens
The second-seeded American dropped her first-round tilt to Mariana Duque-Marino in Bogota. She’s now suffered four first-round losses to lower-ranked players in her last six events.
Hero: Alize Cornet
Cornet battled tooth and nail in Katowice, taking down top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis after suffering what could have been a devastating first-set bagel (Cornet also trailed 3-0 in the decider). But that wasn’t all the devilishly dramatic vamos and allez-spouting Frenchwoman did. Cornet saved a match point in Sunday’s final against Camila Giorgi, to cap off her fourth carer title with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-5 victory.
Needless to say, it was a happy time for Alize...
Cornet has racked up three top 10 scalps in 2014, including her shocking upset of world No. 1 Serena Williams in Dubai, and she sits on the cusp of the top 20 at No. 21 in the world today as a result.
Zero: David Goffin
We think Goffin is on his way back from a wrist injury, as he's done well to qualify for many events this season, but he's 2-7 on the season after his first-round loss in Casablanca to Roberto Carballes Baena, with five first-round losses in six events.
Hero: Robert Carballes Baena
Playing in his first career main draw, RCB reached the semifinals in Casablanca before falling in a tight battle with eventual champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The 21-year-old notched a top 40 scalp against Joao Sousa, and climbs 87 spots in the rankings, from 273 to 186. If you've never seen the Spaniard play, here's a little YouTube for you:
Hero: Dustin Brown
Brown fell in the Houston quarterfinals to Sam Querrey, but not before he snatched his first career top 10 win (over Isner) while unleashing a torrent of stylish shotmaking and jaw-dropping winners. Can we please have more of this guy, like every week?
Brown climbs to a new career-high ranking of 87 in the world for his efforts, and he'll keep his head in the clouds while celebrating a week off...
>>>Video: Dustin Brown's Incredible Tweener against John Isner in Houston<<<
Hero: Spanish Men, French Woman:
We've spoken of many of them individually, but collectively it was a great show from the Spanish Armada, who proved that not only are they strong at the top, they also have depth, with tried-and-true veterans like Granollers and Garcia-Lopez, as well as up-and-comers like Carballes Baena. As for the French, the simultaneous triumphs in Katowice and Bogota could be a sign that the French have a rejuvenation (Cornet) and a budding star (Garcia) on their hands. With Marion Bartoli retired, it's exactly what they need.
Hero: The Bryan Brothers
Mike and Bob (we say Mike first because he owns more career titles) clinched title number 97 in Houston on Saturday, taking down Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero in a match tiebreak. They have now won four consecutive titles and 17 consecutive matches, and people aren't even batting an eye, because that is—in a nutshell—what the Bryan brothers do. We've actually come to expect it from the greatest doubles team in the game, but it is not nearly as easy as the twins from California make it look.
Hero: Camila Giorgi
Despite failing to convert a match point for the Katowice title, the Italian still had a banner week, reaching her first career final (she notched two top 20 wins along the way) and climbing to a career-high ranking of 54 in the world.