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Off to Cincinnati! Previewing the Women's Tournament

The Western and Southern Open, commonly referred to as Cincinnati, has always been one of my favorite non-Major tournaments of the tennis year. For most of the top players, it is their last chance to make an impression to the rest of the world heading into the year's last Major, the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. Heading into the 2011 Western and Southern Open, there is no bigger story than the one and only Serena Williams, who is coming into Cincinnati having won two tournaments in a row, Stanford and Toronto. Before we simply chalk Serena in as the Champion of the 2011 Western and Southern Open, let's look at the draw quarter-by-quarter.

The Tennis World Heads Up North, Eh? Previewing the Men's and Women's Rogers Cup

With the start of the Rogers Cup, the tennis world begins the push towards to last major of the year, the US Open. All of the top men and women make the trek up north, the men to Montreal and the women to Toronto. For the men, it's all about the Big Three, Andy Murray, and their preparation for the last major of the year. For the women, it's a much more wide open affair, with many players looking to make a statement leading up to the US Open. Serena Williams is looking to show that she really is back, Kim Clijsters that she is fully healed after an injury, and Caroline Wozniacki looking to justify her number one ranking are all storylines on the women's side, but if there's one thing the WTA has shown, it's that anyone with the talent, desire, and the right breaks can make a breakthrough. After the jump we'll look at both events, half by half.

Ryan Harrison, Mardy Fish, and the Next Big Thing

The US Open Series is into the third week, and the two players that have had the best start have been two Americans, Mardy Fish, and Ryan Harrison. Fish, ranked number 9 in the world, won in Atlanta and lost Ernests Gulbis in the final in Los Angeles. Harrison, who was ranked outside the top 100 but is now 82 because of two consecutive semifinal finishes, losing to Mardy Fish both times. In Los Angeles, Fish defeated Harrison in a third set tiebreak, and the match provided an excellent snapshot of two careers, one maximized and one rising. After the jump we'll look at both men's careers up until this point, where they're heading, and the perils of looking for "The Next Big Thing"

Serena's Triumph at Stanford: What does it mean?

There are not many times when one minor tourmament seems to mean so much to a multiple-time Major Champion. One of these times was this past week when Serena Williams seemed to cement her comeback to tennis with a victory over Marion Bartoli to win the Bank of the West Classic in Palo Alto, California. Williams showed moments of brilliance in her return to Wimbledon in June, but the tournament as a whole was a major disappointment as she crashed out to Bartoli in straight sets in the fourth round. This past week at Stanford seemed to be a major test for Serena, as a potential quaterfinal match-up with Wimbledon runner-up Maria Sharapova loomed. At points in her fourth round match against Maria Kirilenko, it seemed as if Serena would not get the chance to play Sharapova. After narrowly beating Kirilenko, Williams seemingly put it into high gear. The blockbuster against Sharapova seemed to be anything but that, as Williams was brilliant in an easy straight-set win. This set up a semi-final match-up against very dangerous German Sabine Lisicki. Williams again played brilliantly, dispatching Lisicki while only losing 2 games. The final against Bartoli did not seem to present the challenge that most people were expecting. A straight-set win against Bartoli gave Serena Williams the title at Stanford, seemingly cementing her return to tennis.

For those who watched Serena's dominating performance at the Bank of the West, the next question is whether or not Williams can manintain this high level of play throughout the rest of the US Open Series and eventually the US Open. While the logical answer to this question seems to be that Serena can in fact maintain this level of play, there is definitely cause for concern. Williams will be playing almost every other week, which is the most she has played sincer her return to the game. Saying this, fitness could be an issue. Even with this main cause of concern, tennis fans can only hope that Serena Williams can continue to succeed the rest of the summer leading up to Flushing. How great of a story would it be if Serena Williams can make a deep run at the US Open, her home major?

As for what her impressive run at the Bank of the West means, there seems to be no other explanation except for that she is awfully close to returning to her top form, which is bad news for the rest of the WTA. Serena's next challenge is at the Rogers Cup next week. Because this tournament is sure to be more competitive than the Bank of the West, a deep run next week could definitely prove that Serena is all the way back. Until next week, all we can do is hope for the best from Serena Williams.

The Curious Case of the German Tennis Championships

It is May of 2008. The setting is Hamburg, Germany. The players are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They are locked in a tough three-setter, with Roland Garros looming just over a week away and the match having serious implications heading into the tournament. The next year, the final takes place in July and is between Paul-Henry Mathieu and Nikolay Davydenko. The number one seed: Gilles Simon. Fast-forward two years, and the champion, is in fact, Simon. He defeated Nicolas Almagro in the final. The number one seed: Gael Monfils. What happened to the tournament? The case of the German Tennis Championships is a very interesting one, and after the jump we'll take a look at what happened and what it says about the ATP.