By Chris Oddo

Photo Credit: Ted LePak

(April 16, 2012)—Heroes and Zeros is Tennis Now's weekly look at the brightest stars of the game -- and the biggest flops. This week we take a look back at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships as well as tournaments in Copenhagen, Casablanca and Barcelona.  
 

Hero: Michael Russell

The American version of David Ferrer, albeit without the world-class ranking, is affectionately known as "muscles" to some, "wheels" to others. This week, during a run to his first career semifinal in Houston, Brad Gilbert dubbed the 5'8" 155-pounder as "Jack Russell."
 

Whatever the nickname, it's clear -- the guy can play. Russell is still a stones throw from the top 100, even after moving up 24 spots this week, but the former world No. 60 definitely has the heart of a top ten player. At 33 years of age, the remarkably fit, remarkably feisty Russell had all of his ferocity on display this week at his hometown event. When opportunity presented itself, Russell was quick to answer the bell, knocking off Mardy Fish for his first career top ten win in thirteen tries in the second round, then outlasting 19-year-old Ryan Harrison in the quarters before finally bowing out to eventual champion Juan Monaco in the semis.
 

As much as young American players would like to emulate the serve of Roddick, the forehand of Isner or the two-fisted backhand of Fish, their developing games would also be served well if they took a look at the dogged persistence of Russell.

Zero: Ryan Harrison
 

I'm not sure how many of you caught the fact that Ryan Harrison had a gripe with tournament supervisors in Houston because they ignored his request to be scheduled for a night match in the first round. If you didn't, check this presser. I can't argue with Harrison's logic, as he did have to fly in from Monte Carlo where he represented his country against the French in Davis Cup the previous weekend. But I can argue with the sense of entitlement that the 19-year-old showed. "I'm not sure why," said Harrison. "I asked the supervisor to let me play at night and he didn't help me out at all."
 

"I was pretty disappointed with the lack of cooperation," Harrison later said.
 

While I can sympathize with Harrison's predicament and the fact that Houston is pretty much his back yard, I think the young man needs to realize that he's ranked No. 65 in the world with zero top ten wins in his career. Getting those types of requests tended to, even at smaller events like Houston, will be something that Harrison has to earn with his achievements on the court. Hopefully, he'll use it as motivation to get his ranking higher...

Hero: John Isner

I've written a bunch about the new top-ranked American in the last few weeks -- as have many like-minded tennis scribes -- but, since his run of fine play merits it, I figured I'd write some more. Isner became the 12th player to hold the distinction of top-ranked American with his most recent eye-opening clay-court performance in Houston. As he heads home to gear up for the grind that is known as the European clay court swing, his name is being mentioned in a way that no American's name has been mentioned since Andre Agassi: as a potential threat on the red dirt. Isner's transformation has been amazing to watch. He always had the big serve, the big forehand and the poise, but now he's moving better, lasting longer, and expecting to win. And that big forehand seems to become more lethal each day. He hit some ridiculous, almost unfathomable winners against Juan Monaco from that side yesterday.
 

Zero: Malou Ejdesgaard
 

The Danish wildcard achieved the ultimate zero at the e-Boks open in Denmark last week. Not only did she suffer the ignominy of becoming the 5th double-bagel victim of the young WTA season, she did it in front of her home fans, at the hands of Alize Cornet.  
 

Hero: Sara Errani
 

If you are sensing a recurring theme here, you are correct. This just in: Sara Errani is a bad-ass. Errani pulled her second singles-doubles sweep at Barcelona, where she blasted Dominika Cibulkova in the final and paired with Roberta Vinci to take the doubles too. Errani lost only 35 games in both draws, and she becomes the first player since Serena Williams (2009) to pull two singles-doubles sweeps in a single season.  
 

The feisty Italian now owns a 10-match clay winning streak as well as a new career-high ranking of 28.
 

For good measure, Errani dedicated her performance in Barcelona to recently deceased Italian footballer Piermario Morosini, who died of cardiac arrest, saying "It makes you realize many of the things we complain about in life are pure nonsense."
 

Zero: Mardy Fish
 

Fish's malaise continued in Houston, where he was blown off the court by Michael Russell. He's a paltry 7-6 on the season. He's tired, he's cranky, and he's uninspired. Maybe losing the title of top-ranked American will serve to take the pressure off him. The silver lining? In spite of it all, he's still in the top ten.
 

Hero: Kimiko Date-Krumm
 

She is the gift that keeps on giving. 41 years young, and still tirelessly questing for tennis glory. Kimiko Date-Krumm has captivated us ever since she returned from her 11-year hiatus, and soon became the oldest player in WTA history to ever defeat a top ten opponent and the second-oldest player to win a singles title. At her age, every time she takes the court to compete she could be considered a hero, but yesterday that was especially true when she clinched the doubles title (third of her career) in Copenhagen alongside Rika Fujiwara.
 

Hero: Juan Monaco
 

After seven consecutive losses in finals, Juan Monaco has now won two straight. He's also back at his career-high ranking of 14, and heading into the section of the season that he loves the most -- the clay. 

Hero: Angelique Kerber
 

Kerber moved to 11-0 on indoor courts this season, got her second career title, and became the first player to beat Caroline Wozniacki at her home tournament. Kerber rose to a career-high 14 in the rankings today.
 

Hero: Ivan Ljubicic
 

One of the kindest, most down-to-earth men to play the game in recent decades, the former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic played his last match at Monte Carlo yesterday. In a career that spanned 15 years, Ljubicic won 429 matches, the Davis Cup for Croatia, and an Olympic Medal at the 2004 games in Athens.
 

“I have to say that I felt like it could end up emotional,” said Ljubicic yesterday, “But I didn’t expect it to be this emotional.”