Serena Redeems to Equal Navratilova and Evert

Coming into the US Open, Serena Williams was under immense pressure. The world No.1 has endured a bit of a Grand Slam misery this season, failing to reach the quarterfinals at all three majors (lost to Ivanovic in Australia, to Muguruza in Paris, and to Cornet in London). But as she proved time and time again, after every failure, she's come back stronger than ever.

After a successful summer in which she won titles in Stanford and Cincinnati, the American was determined to make amends on home soil, at the US Open. While the other favourite had exited earlier than expected, a focused Serena kept her eyes on the prize. She took it one match at a time,  played smart tennis when it mattered most, avoiding thus any unpleasant surprises to eventually claim her 18th Slam. Serena was dominant from the get-go. She cruised through the draw with relative ease, beating compatriots Taylor Townsend, Vania King, and Varvara Lepchenko, Estonian Kaia Kanepi, Italian Flavia Pennetta, respectively Russian Ekaterina Makarova to make the final without dropping a set. In the final, she handled perfectly what could have been a very tricky opponent—throughout the summer, former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki had pushed her good friend to the limit in both Montreal and Cincinnati, but this time the American was untouchable. She closed out a 6-3,6-3 victory to tie all-time legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert at 18 Slams. "I couldn't have finished things in a better way. It is a pleasure for me to win here, I am really emotional. I couldn't ask to do it at a better place."

"It was definitely on my shoulders. It was definitely like, 'Oh, get there. Get there. Get there.'''

The No. 1 seed also collected a record prize ($3 for winning the US Open this year, plus an additional $1 million bonus for winning the Emirates Airline US Open Series), making her $4 million check the largest winner's purse in tennis history. 

Just when people were quick to announce the end of the Serena era, the two-time defending champ put on a master performance to stress her authority at the top of the rankings. She has no plans of going away any time soon, so it looks like sky is the limit for this fierce competitor.

Serena Williams defeated good friend Caroline Wozniacki 6-3,6-3 to claim her 18th Grand Slam title, equalling Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

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Martina's Near Miss at the US Open

When she came out of retirement she probably did not choose her partner very wisely. Daniela Hantuchova is a talented player, but she lacks the consistency and the variety to really complement Martina's smart games. Consequently, after some poor results last season, Hingis reassessed the situation and ultimately opted for another combo. She looked to have found the golden recipe when she teamed up with her trainee Sabine Lisicki to win in Miami, but the end of the collaboration left her without a partner. 

After a failed attempt with Vera Zvonareva at Wimbledon, the Swiss Miss found a permanent partner in Italian Flavia Pennetta. The two first joined forces at Eastbourne where they reached the final, but the duo really caught fire at the US Open where they came very close to lifting the title.

The fan-favourite team cruised to the final without dropping a set, taking out three seeds, Pavlyuchenkova/Safarova, Peschke/Srebotnik, respectively C. Black/Mirza. In the final they came out firing, winning the first set 6-2 and going a break up in the second. At that moment, Pennetta's game deserted her, the Italian making a slew of silly unforced errors that allowed their opponents to get back into the match. Experienced Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina responded to the invitation, turning the battle around, and ultimately closing out a 2-6,6-3,6-2 victory to lift their second Grand Slam crown. 

"We teamed up in the middle of the season and two months later we're here in the finals of the US Open—I could have only dreamed of this when we started playing together," Hingis said. "It's been an incredible journey here. They were just too good today, so I'd like to congratulate them."

I was really disappointed for Hingis to have missed out on such a great chance to add a 10th doubles major trophy to her elustrious resume. It was a match she should have won, but I trust this is just the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with Flavia. Hingis is equally optimistic: "We'll go to Asia—definitely Wuhan and Beijing—and do our best there, and then next year there's again four Grand Slams," she said. Hope to see you around next year, Swiss Miss!

Martina Hingis came very close to winning her 10th Grand Slam doubles title at the US Open. The Swiss Miss and her partner, Italian Flavia Pennetta, lost 2-6,6-3,6-2 to Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

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The Last Frenchman Still Standing

Yet another time this season, Gael Monfils is the only Frenchman still standing when a Grand Slam reaches the quarterfinals stage. Monfils, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Tuesday, played superb tennis when it mattered most, overcoming young gun, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5,7-6,7-5.

With Tsonga and Simon—the other two Frenchmen who made the fourth round—failing to capitalize on their opportunities against Murray, respectively Cilic, Gael is once again the carrier of the French flag.

Despite the ups and downs, this has been a good season for the talented Frenchman. He won the title in Montpellier—ending a 5-final losing streak—and reached two major quarterfinals at Roland Garros and, now, the US Open.

The most impressive aspect of his performance against Dimitrov was the manner in which he controlled the delicate situations. All three sets went the distance and the Frenchman showed great composure and mental toughnes to seize his chances. He even saved two sets points in the second set's tiebreak. After his win, Monfils, thanked the crowd, saying: “I love to play here. Such a good energy. I just feel good. I’m happy.”

Next up for Monfils is a clash with all-time great Roger Federer.

Gael Monfils celebrates his amazing straight sets victory over rising star Grigor Dimitrov. The Frenchman won the match 7-5,7-6,7-5 to reach his second quarterfinal at the US Open.

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Teen Phenomenon Turns Back the Years

In the late '90s Mirjana Lucic announced herself as a bright prospect of the game. In 1997, at the tender age of 15, the Croatian phenomenon won the very first tournament she played, in Bol. One year later she claimed the title in the very first doubles tournament she played, conquering the Australian Open doubles crown with fellow teen sensation, Martina Hingis. But it wasn't until 1999 that she recorded the best performance of her career, stunning all-time great Monica Seles to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon. While the impressive achievement should have been the beginning of an amazing journey, sadly, it marked the sudden end.

A few dark years have passed and Mirjana, now Lucic-Baroni, gave tennis another shot—she made a full-time return to the tour in 2010. Things didn't kick in immediately, but when all hope was gone, the Croatian reminded the world of the young, pony-tailed, blond girl with huge groundstrokes. In one of the biggest upsets of this year's US Open, she stunned world No.2, Simona Halep, 7-6, 6-2 to make the fourth round.

The result comes as a major surprise. Not only was in-form Halep one of the main contestants for the title, but Lucic-Baroni had failed to win back-to-back matches in a main draw since Doha.

The encounter started with Halep in command, the Romanian building what seemed like a decisive 5-2 lead. But after saving two set points, Lucic caught fire. She pushed the opener into a tiebreak—which she won 8-6—then served out the biggest victory of her career. "It's incredible. It's just amazing," Lucic-Baroni said while fighting back tears. "I can't believe this is happening to me again."

The former teen prodigy couldn't repeat the feat against feisty Sara Errani. The Italian recovered from a second set blackout to end Mirjana's dream run 6-3,2-6,6-0.

Although she did not make the quarterfinals, the Croatian has plenty to cheer for. The points she gained in New York are enough to guarantee a return to the top 100, a position that should help her get her career back on track. Let's see what future has in store for this former teen prodigy!

After shocking world No.2 Simona Halep, Mirjana Lucic's dream run at the US Open was ended by feisty Italian, Sara Errani in the fourth round. The Croatian succumbed 6-3,2-6,6-0, but reminded the world what an exceptional player she can be.

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The Little Swiss Miss

She's a wonder kid with Czechoslovakian origins who represents Switzerland. Plus, she happens to be trained by none other than mother-genius herself, Melanie Molitor. Did you figure out who I'm talking about? No, it's not Martina Hingis although you are very close. It's the little Swiss Miss: Hingis' protegee, the uber-talented Belinda Bencic who made headlines at this year's US Open by reaching her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Bencic has long been a huge promise and, after winning last year's Roland Garros-Wimbledon juniors singles double, the Swiss already proved she was ready to make the transition to the big stages. At just 17-year-old, Belinda made the semifinals of the Premier-event in Charleston and the third round at Wimbledon. However, it was her stunning Flushing Meadows campaign that got everyone talking.

Showing a mixture of court smartness and fierce groundstrokes, the little Swiss Miss caused a slew of upsets taking out 31st-seeded Kurumi Nara, 7th-seeded Angelique Kerber, and 9th-seeded Jelena Jankovic en route to the last eight.

The resemblence to Hingis is striking not just in her game, but also in her personality, both possessing tremendous star quality. And with Hingis cheering from the crowd, Bencic put on a fierce display to stun former world No.1 in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium. “It was always a dream to play on this court,’’ she confessed. “I was overwhelmed. Everything was so huge.”

By beating Jankovic, the Swiss became the youngest quarterfinalist at a major since Nicole Vaidisova at the 2006 French Open and the youngest at the US Open since Hingis in 1997. And with the bottom half losing its favourites—Halep lost to Lucic-Baroni, Radwanska to Peng, Venus Williams to Errani, and Sharapova to Wozniacki—Bencic's draw is quite open. Next up for teen sensation is a clash with Chinese Shuai Peng, with the winner going on to face Wozniacki or Errani. If she can keep up a stunning form, the Swiss has a good chance of making the final. It would actually be extremely interesting to see a Bouchard-Bencic showdown in Saturday's finale. She and Eugenie Bouchard are such amazing prospects for the women's game. They're both extremely young, hungry, utterly competitive, plus they have huge fanbases. But let's hold our horses. Bencic needs to take it match by match and to celebrate this achievement. Vive la petite Swiss Miss!

Bencic kept the upsets going taking out former world No.1, Jelena Jankovic, 7-6,6-3 to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.

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Federer Masters 80th Career Title

After a series of near misses, Roger Federer has finally added a 22nd Masters 1000 crown to his illustrious career. The Swiss all-time great fought off the challenge of the younger generation to clinch his 80th trophy and 6th in Cincinnati. He became just the third player in the Open Era to achieve that tally after Jimmy Connors (109) and Ivan Lendl (94).

Although very familiar with the Cincinnati setting, the week wasn't quite a walk in the park for Federer. He had to withstood the fierce opposition of young gun Vasek Pospisil, ultra-talented showman Gael Monfils, always dangerous Andy Murray, respectively warrior David Ferrer en route to the title.

"I'm very happy about the week," said Federer. "Just overall it went from good to great. Just really pleased that I was able to back up a tough week last week already."

The success marks a good change in fortunes for Federer who lost already four important finals this season, in Indian Wells (to Djokovic), Monte Carlo (to Wawrinka), Wimbledon (to Djokovic), and last week in Toronto (to Tsonga).

Next up for Roger is the US Open where he'll try to end a two-year draught in Grand Slams. "Especially now I come in with great confidence," he said. "I can really rest now, rather than having to work on stuff, so it's just about maintaining. That's also really good for the mind ... I know my game is where I want it to be. It's about just keeping that level up right now." You go, Federer! #letswinthis

After a series of near misses, Roger Federer finally added a 22nd Masters crown to his resume, beating the Spanish warrior David Ferrer 6-3,1-6,6-2 to clinch his 6th title in Cincinnati and 80th overall.

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Jubilant Tsonga's Big Week in Toronto

The last 12 months have been pretty dark for the exhuberrant Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Since his heart-breaking defeat to David Ferrer in the semifinals of the French Open last season, the Frenchman battled injuries, poor form, and lack of motivation to eventually drop out of the top 10. But as it often happens in tennis, a victory is all it takes to turn things around.

The Canadian Open—held this year in Toronto—was always one of Jo's favourite ATP stops, so it almost felt like the perfect place to reignite his burning fire and desire. It all started with a 6-2,6-2 win over world No.1, Novak Djokovic, in the fourth round. Tsonga had lost his last 11 straight encounters with the Serb, so the quick dismissal must have tasted sweeeeet. To add to the celebration, Jo stunned Andy Murray in the quarterfinals to record just the second win over the Brit in eleven meetings.

If in other instances he would stumble at the last hurdle, this time Tsonga went all the way defeating rising star Grigor Dimitrov and all-time great, Roger Federer, to lift his second Masters 1000 title (after Paris in 2008).

"I feel good," said a jubilant Tsonga. "I think for the moment I don't realize really what I achieved this week, but it's a big achievement for me.

"It's completely different than before when I won in Paris. In Paris it was the first one, behind my family, all my friends, everybody. Here I just did it with my level, with my game. I played well all week. I beat many good guys. It's a big achievement because I worked really hard to come back from my knee injury last year."

For the first time in his career the Frenchman beat four top 10 players back-to-back to announce his return to the top of his game. Courtesy of the win, he also re-entered the top 10. The summer is heating up and so is Tsonga who could very well be the man to watch at the upcoming US Open. Glad to have you back, Jo!

Tsonga turned tables on his arch-rival, stunning world No.1, Novak Djokovic, 6-2,6-2 in the fourth round.

To add to the celebration, the Frenchman recorded just his second victory over Andy Murray, defeating the Brit 7-6,4-6,6-4 in the quarterfinals.

After withstanding young gun Grigor Dimitrov in the semis, Jo denied Roger Federer another Masters 1000 trophy, topping the all-time great 7-5,7-6 to claim the title in Toronto.

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Halep Crowns Home Champion. Wins Too Many Friends

Ever since it was announced that Bucharest will be hosting a WTA event, the Romanian crowd had just one thing of its mind: have Simona Halep bring home the title. This felt like a certainty, Simona being featured in all TV commercial promoting the championships as the winner—even before the start of the competition. Moved from Budapest, Halep was the defending champion and the No.1 seed was a huge favourite to retain her crowd.

Cheered by an army of supporters, Simona had little trouble getting the job done. Although she beat lower-ranked players, playing at home can sometime be nerve-wrecking. Halep handled the pressure tremendously, trashing second seeded Italian, Roberta Vinci, 6-1, 6-3 in the final to give the Romanian people their champion. To add to the celebration, Alexandra Cadantu and Elena Bogdan teamed up to win the doubles title, making it a home sweep at the first edition of the BRD Bucharest Open.

In addition to all her on-court achievements, Simona has accomplished something far more significant: she forced the Romanian people to discover tennis. Some fell genuinely in love with the sport, others found inspiration for their social media statuses, but everyone is now talking about tennis—which became the hottest topic for discussion in the Romanian elitist groups. It's funny how people start to love you forever and ever just after you reach the heights. The same people that didn't give a f**k about you and what you do, now take pride in your achievement. They act like they were there to support you every step of your journey to success. It's OK celebrate her success, but don't feel entitled to it. They don't belong to her mother, father, lover, or the Romanian people. Simona's achievements are her own. I am still amazed by her tremendous transformation. She has made such progress already, but she needs to win a Grand Slam if she wants to book her place in the history book.

Simona Halep crowned herself the first champion at her home event in Bucharest, trashing second seeded Italian, Roberta Vinci, 6-1,6-3 in the final.

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Young Guns Pospisil & Sock Rise to Fame

Playing in just their first outing together, young guns Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock pulled off the biggest shock of the doubles tournament, going all the way to lifting the biggest title of their young career.

It was a dream fortnight for this exciting duo who stunned eighth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, second seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, and fifth seeds Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek en route to the final. In the championships match, Pospisil and Sock took out the all-time greats, Mike and Bob Bryan, after a hard-fought 7-6,6-7,6-4,3-6,7-5 victory. While Sock has won the 2011 US Open mixed doubles trophy with Melanie Oudin, this was Pospisil first title of any kind.

"I think this is the highlight of my career, for sure," said Pospisil. "These last two weeks have been amazing, to be honest, because the whole year was a struggle. Just not feeling good on the court. Then last week was my first pain-free week of the year. That was really nice. Then now to cap it off with a title at Wimbledon is not bad."

"We had a lot of fun," added Sock. "People could see that. I think that's part of why we did well. We really enjoyed being out there, enjoyed the moment. It was both of our first times on Centre Court there. As kids we grew up watching this tournament. This is what we kind of dreamed of doing. To be able to go out there and play the best doubles team of all time and to get a win was pretty incredible."
The pair will continue to play together, so I expect some more great tennis from these jubilant young guns. Best of luck, guys!

In just their first outing together, Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock stunned world No.1, the Bryan brothers, 7-6,6-7,6-4,3-6,7-5 to win the Wimbledon doubles crown.

It was a dream fortnight for the Canadian-American duo who caused a slew of upsets en route to the title.

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Nick Kyrgios, The New Teen Superstar

Belief is crucial in beating Rafa Nadal, but there's a long way from believing it to being able to execute it. Nick Kyrgios found a shortcut when he stunned the world No.1 to advance to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal on his Wimbledon main draw debut.

The Aussie young gun has had a stellar juniors career—in 2013 he won the Australian Open singles title and the Wimbledon doubles crown with compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis—and at 19 years old, he showed he is ready to take on the biggest aces of the game. Although a two-time champion, Rafa has found it difficult to transition from clay to grass-courts lately. You'd think that last year's stunning first-round defeat to Oliver Rochus would require revenge, but the Spaniard failed to impress en route to the fourth round. Kyrgios, who famously saved nine match points against Frenchman Richard Gasquet, took full advantage of his opponent's poor form. He delivered a killer performance and won the match 7-6,5-7,7-6,6-3.

"I think I was in a bit of a zone out there," Kyrgios told BBC television. "It hasn't sunk in what just played out out there. I played extraordinary tennis. I was struggling a bit on return, but I worked my way into it. I served at a really good level and I'm really happy.

"You've got to believe you can win the match from the start and I did. I'm playing unbelievable tennis on the grass. He hit extraordinary shots, but he's always going to bring that."

While the recently crowned French Open champion is left to heal his wounds, the Aussie teenager is enjoying his overnight stardom. He goes on to battle another rising star, Canadian Milos Raonic.

Kyrgios has the game to go very far. Plus, he proved he has the mental strength to battle in the grown-ups league. It remains to be seen how well he will cope with his new-found status as the Aussie golden kid. While Lleyton Hewitt did a brilliant job, winning two Grand Slams and reaching world No.1, bad boy Bernand Tomic has yet to fulfill the promise. Hopefully Nick will fare better! He has great pedigree and huge potential.

Young sensation Nick Kyrgios proved you need strong belief to take down the big guns. The Aussie teenager produced the performance of his career, stunning world No.1 and recently crown French Open champ, Rafael Nadal, 7-6,5-7,7-6,6-3 to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.

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