Ivo Karlovic was hoping to fete his 31st birthday this afternoon with a victory in the finals of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.  Lamentably, 21 year old Ernests Gulbis showed him no respect.  Gulbis crushed Karlovic 6-2,6-3 for his inaugural ATP title.

Karlovic opened the match in his usual fashion, smoking serves by his opponent.  Then up 2-1, Karlovic connected on a forehand winner to get his first break point.  However, by coercing errors from the big guy, Gulbis salvaged the game. From the outset, Gulbis got some good stabs at Karlovic’s serves relaying the message that he would not be intimidated.  After a good return set up a backhand crosscourt pass for deuce, Gulbis got a forehand error from Karlovic for his initial break point.   By prevailing in a long rally, Karlovic sponged the deficit.  However, with a return winner, Gulbis obtained a second break point and converted by clipping the line with a forehand.  After readily consolidating for 4-2, with Karlovic slicing a backhand long, Gulbis had two more chances to break.  By pulverizing another return, Gulbis stretched his lead to 5-2.  The next game, with an ace, Gulbis put himself one set closer to his first ATP title.

Prior to this match, Karlovic had surrendered his serve only once all week.  But, by using the first serve as target practice and annihilating the second, Gulbis was giving Karlovic all sorts of headache.  After pressuring Karlovic in the opening game of the second set and himself holding at love, Gulbis earned double break point off a sensational return.  When Karlovic failed to convert on a volley, Gulbis secured the break for 2-1.  After having no trouble consolidating, Gulbis pressured his opponent into a double fault for break point.  Karlovic bailed himself out with an ace.  Karlovic then looked to the heavens and with the sign of the cross thanked the powers above for getting him out of trouble.  A few points later, Karlovic secured the game to keep the deficit to one break.  Still, the problem for Karlovic was the inability to dent his opponent’s serve.  Serving at 3-5, with a backhand down the line pass and errors from Karlovic, Gulbis arrived at double match point.  With two aces, Karlovic put Gulbis on ice.  Once more, with a fiery forehand crosscourt return winner, Gulbis had break point.  Yet again, Karlovic denied him with an ace.  However, feeling the squeeze from Gulbis, Karlovic threw in two straight double faults to hand Gulbis the trophy.

Gulbis reflected that this triumph was particularly sweet in light of his horrendous record in 2009 where he “struggled a lot …with injury”.  The next few days, Gulbis plans to practice and “hopes to get a wildcard [at the Sony Ericsson Open] in Miami”.  From a ranking of 72, Gulbis will return to the top 50; his career high is 38 in April 2008.

From Rafael Nadal winning his first hardcourt major in Australia, to Roger Federer completing the career grand slam, to the emergence of a new major star Juan Martin Del Potro at the U.S. Open, 2009 was a year replete with ups and downs on the men’s tour.  Here’s a flashback.

At the Australian Open final, despite a marathon semifinal match, Nadal had adequate reserves to stare down Federer in another five setter.  With that victory, Nadal seemed well positioned to achieve the calendar grand slam.  After sweeping every clay court tournament, Nadal was halted at the Madrid Masters by Federer days prior to the French Open. For many analysts, fatigue may have been deserving of an assist as Federer defeated Nadal in straight sets to capture his initial title of 2009. As such, Nadal was still considered the outright favorite for a fifth consecutive French trophy.

While everyone may have discounted Robin Soderling in the fourth round at the French Open, the Swede who played a contentious match with Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007 had visions of victory dancing in his head.  Soderling upstaged the best clay player in circulation, handing Nadal his first defeat at Roland Garros.  Soderling rode this euphoric wave all the way to his first majors final where he was ultimately stopped by Federer. In addition, Soderling was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open.  At his initial ATP World Tour Finals, Soderling was a semifinalist and with that result jumped to a career best ranking of 8th after commencing 2008 at 17.

Melbourne was the site where Fernando Verdasco at last  lived up to his talent.  After surprising Andy Murray the hottest player on tour in the fourth round, Verdasco was involved in a dogfight in the semifinals with countryman Nadal.  Hands down, the best match of the tournament and one of the most scintillating of the year, the two Spaniards went toe to toe for over five hours.  Although Nadal was triumphant, Verdasco’s run in Australia galvanized him the rest of the year.  Fernando reached the quarters at the U.S. Open and was instrumental in Davis Cup play. Verdasco participated in his first ATP World Tour Finals and ended 2009 at number 9.

After an horrendous start to the season, Federer’s year turned around after beating Nadal in Madrid in May. After avoiding a sleuth of pitfalls to get to the French Open final, Federer grabbed the elusive brass ring and tied Pete Sampras’ record of 14 majors.  With a knee injury placing Wimbledon defending champ Nadal out of action, the impossibility of a Federer-Nadal duel could have been deflating for the championships.  To the contrary, Andy Roddick stepped up to the plate and in facing Federer, the two had a final to rival last year’s epic.  Federer had to out ace Roddick, required 95 minutes and 30 games in the fifth set before coming away with the victory and a record setting 15 majors.  In July, Federer supplanted Nadal at the top of the ATP’s ranking list.  Brimming with confidence, Federer appeared unstoppable and was a shoe-in for a sixth consecutive  title in New York.

At the U.S. Open, Federer battled Del Potro in the finals.  With this being the latter’s maiden major final, jitters were more likely than not to play a pivotal role.  In spite of his youth, Del Potro demonstrated that he is a quick study.  After a devastating lost to Federer in the French semifinal, down two sets to one, Del Potro carried a tiebreaker and showed up Federer in the fifth set to capture his initial major. Del Potro closed 2009 as the world’s fifth best player and is a definite threat to take over the top spot in 2010.

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It’s that time of year when we look back at what transpired on the women’s tour over the past season and view ahead at the upcoming year.  Here’s a recap of the great, the good and the down right ugly moments from 2009.

Last year, in many respects, can be characterized as bizarre. The majors commenced with a meltdown by Dinara Safina as Serena Williams thrashed her in the Australian Open final.  Months later after sensational results at lead up tournaments, Safina, newly crowned world number one, had another breakdown in the French Open final vis-à-vis Svetlana Kuznetsova.  As such, Kuznetsova grabbed the second major of her career.

At the All England Club, after Serena survived a riveting semifinal match against Elena Dementieva, she faced Venus in the finals for the second consecutive year.  However, this go around, Serena bested big sister to capture 2009’s third major.  Also a favorite to step to the finals at the U.S. Open, Serena encountered two stumbling blocks, her emotions and  Kim Clijsters.

After fulfilling her desire to procreate, Clijsters discovered that her retreat from tennis had left a void.  Thus, following a two year absence, Clijsters once again embraced the game. Subsequent to some impressive triumphs, Clijsters took on Serena in the semifinals. The weather may have been in part culpable, more likely though, it was Clijsters’ superb touch that got under Serena’s skin as a foot fault by a line judge roused Serena’s anger.  Unsavory words by Serena caused a point penalty with Clijsters having match point.  A day later, Clijsters went on to rope the U.S. Open trophy, the second major of her career.

Leading the pack of names that captivated the tour in 2009 is Dane Caroline Wozniacki.  The teenager became her country’s first competitor to reach a major final. Although downed by Clijsters, after starting the year in the top 20, Wozniacki closed 2009 at number 4.  Belarusian Victoria Azarenka continued her march in the right direction.  Azarenka demolished Serena at the Sony Ericsson Open to catch the biggest title of her career.

On the other hand, for the Serbs, it was  a year of sliding backward. Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion and former world number one, had trouble directing her forehand and serve. With neither stroke on the money, Ivanovic did not get pass the fourth round at any of the majors. Ivanovic reached one final, Indian Wells, but failed to hoist the trophy. Fed up, Ivanovic put a punctuation to her season in October and her ranking tumbled to 21st.  Number one at the start of the year, Jelena Jankovic, fared a little better than Ivanovic by collecting two titles.  However, Jankovic was equally a disappointment at the majors with only a round of 16 appearance in Paris and Melbourne.

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Britain’s Andy Murray, world number four, got one step closer to substituting Serbian Novak Djokovic at number three. Murray demolished Djokovic in the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open 6-2, 7-5 for his third title this season.

It was all Andy the first set. The Brit took advantage of a myriad of backhand and forehand errors by Djokovic to go up a double break at 4-0. With Djokovic serving at 1-5, a missed forehand volley gave Murray his first set point. But, the Serbian forced a return error for deuce; eventually with a dropshot, Djokovic held serve. However, the next game, with an overhead winner, Murray rested the set.

Djokovic’s disastrous run persisted into the second set. With a double fault and two backhand errors, the Serb went down double break point. After Murray bailed him out with a failed dropshot for deuce, Djokovic’s ineffective approach shots allowed Murray several more chances to break. Andy did so with a backhand pass for 1-0. A dazed Djokovic called for the trainer. Seemingly, the hot weather and Murray’s play were taking their toll on him. After the temporary respite gave the Serb an opportunity to catch his bearings, Djokovic obtained his first break point with a crosscourt forehand winner. Novak converted with Andy’s forehand volley error. After holding serve for 2-1, the Serb pressured the Brit’s forehand side for double break point and capitalized for a 3-1 lead. The next game, with a forehand crosscourt pass, Murray arrived at break point. Yet, with a couple of backhand errors by Murray and a backhand volley winner, Djokovic stretched his mark to 4-1. After fighting off two break points in a five-deuce game, Murray held for 4-2. Serving at 5-3, with an ace down the T, Djokovic had set point.  However, with a strong return, Murray caused a backhand error for deuce. Novak secured another set point, when Andy’s lob sailed long. But again, Djokovic squandered that with a double fault. Subsequently, with consecutive forehand and backhand up the line errors by Djokovic, the players were back on serve. At 5 all, Murray connected on a backhand crosscourt pass. Then, Djokovic donated two points with volley errors giving Murray triple break point. The Brit cashed in when the Serb’s forehand volley missed its destination. A duplicate result by Djokovic on match point handed the Brit his first Sony championship.

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This year, when Serena Williams, then world number two, encountered Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, the 13^th seed, in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Williams dodged a bullet.  After winning the first set, a tearful Victoria, down a break in the second set, had to retire due to illness. At their rematch in the finals of the Sony Ericsson Open, the 19 year-old Belarussian, now ranked 10^th , was all smiles as she captured the grandest title of her nascent career with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Williams, the current world number one.

Despite a strapped left thigh, the code for a probable injury, Williams was a warrior. Serena held serve to open the match with a forehand up the line winner. Subsequently, after leading 40-15, Azarenka had a forehand go out of bounce giving Williams a break point. However, the teenager did not panic. With a forehand up the line winner and a couple of unforced errors from Serena, Victoria secured the game for 1 all. Then, with a double fault and a litany of errors by Williams, Azarenka arrived at double break point which she converted for a 2-1. But, Azarenka was unable to maintain the lead with unforced errors of her own. In the pivotal seventh game, with the players on serve, Azarenka opened up with a backhand winner and forced several errors from Williams to get another break. After Victoria consolidated, with a third double fault and her backhand stroke finding the bottom of the net, Serena faced double break point. Although Serena managed to prolong the game with a few aces, as another of Williams’ backhands failed to traverse the net, Victoria obtained the first set.

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April 2009

This month’s video, filmed at the 2009 Sony Ericsson, features the racquet smash heard around the world. During the semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer nets a forehand and in a rare moment for Federer, he proceeds to take out his frustrations on his racquet.

The Sony Ericsson Open, Florida’s most prestigious tennis tournament and the world’s “fifth major”, turns 25 this year. From March 25th thru April 5th , an A-list of competitors will descend upon the Tennis Center at Crandon Park to mark this milestone birthday.

From the ATP, Rafael Nadal, the reigning Australian Open champion, world number one and 2008 Sony Ericsson finalist, will honor South Florida with his presence. The supporting cast will include Roger Federer, world number two and dual Sony titleholder, and Serb Novak Djokovic, the 2007 Sony champion. Brit Andy Murray and American Andy Roddick who have had spectacular seasons to date will be counted on for the festivities. Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the defending champion, has been out of commission for weeks due to injury. Hopefully, Davydenko will recover in time to take a stab at a second consecutive title.

One of the hottest players on the WTA tour is the current Australian Open and 2008 Sony titlist, Serena Williams. Serena, the female number one, will attempt to win for the third time in a row and is also going for a record setting sixth Sony trophy. Serena will face fierce competition from Russian Dinara Safina, the world number two and this year’s Australian Open finalist, Jelena Jankovic, the Sony 2008 finalist and world number three, not to mention her own sister Venus Williams, who has three Sony Ericsson Open trophies to her credit. Maria Sharapova, whose shoulder has been on the mend, may also make an appearance, giving the field a run of its money.

On the doubles side, Mike and Bob Bryan have regained the top doubles ranking since winning the Australian Open and will be ready to defend their Sony title. The Bryan Brothers will be a prime target for teams such as Mark Knowles and Mahesh Bhupathi, who took second place last year, Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram as well as Brazilians Andre Sa and Marcelo Melo.

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