Simona Halep won 6 titles last year, but hadn't done much at the majors or even in the biggest tour events. But now this year she has made the quarters of the Aussie Open, and now has won the first Tier I title of the year, defeating Kerber in the final Doha. She also beat Radwanska and Errani as my picks for the final were awful. The second tier of the WTA now has a member, and we'll see where Halep can go the rest of the season. She doesn't really start defending points until Rome.
On the ATP, it was all about title droughts being broken. David Ferrer won 7 titles in 2012 but won just 2 last year. His most recent title was in Buenos Aires last year, but he reached 7 finals after that in 2013 without winning any, but his losing streak is snapped with a win over the red hot Fognini in Buenos Aires. Tomas Berdych has been one of the most consistent players on tour, but despite playing several 250s, hadn't won a title since the fall of '12. He ended that drought by beating a resurgent Cilic (snapping his 9-match winning streak) in the final Rotterdam. And Kei Nishikori was successful in defending his title in Memphis, though in the first year of it's lowered status to a 250, with a win over Karlovic in the final.
WTA Premier 5: Doha, Qatar
7) Simona Halep (ROU) def. 6) Angelique Kerber (GER) 6-2 6-3
-Halep wins 8th career title, last '13 Sofia
-None of the matches from the quarterfinals on went 3 sets. A total of 10 games were won by the quarterfinal losers (Cetkovska 1 vs. Kerber, Kvitova 4 vs. Jankovic, Errani 2 vs. Halep, Wickmayer 3 vs. Radwanska).
-Kleybanova won 2 matches as a wildcard, her best result in her return from cancer.
-For other stuff on this tournament, see previous post.
ATP 500: Rotterdam, Netherlands
3) Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-4 6-2
-Berdych wins 9th career title, last '12 Stockholm (1.5-yr drought)
-It is his 2nd win in Montpellier ('10)
-Americans: none
-20-yr-old Austrian qualifier Thiem (#113) picked up a main draw over Nieminen
-Local favorite Sijsling made the semis with wins over Youzhny and Kohlschreiber
-Del Potro and Murray were the top 2 seeds and made the quarters but they lost there to Gulbis and Cilic.
-Del Potro was the defending champion.
ATP 250: Memphis, TN, United States
1) Kei Nishikori (JPN) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 7-6(0)
-Nishikori wins 4th career title, last '13 Memphis
-Americans: 10-9, and excellent tournament for them with 3 quarterfinalists plus veteran Russell reached the semis. Sock and q-Kuznetsov made the quarters, each winning a 3rd set tiebreak along the way. For the latter it is his first ATP quarterfinal at 27 (he is ranked no. 141). Harrison, Smyczek, and q-Kudla were the others who won. Young, 6-Querrey, and q-Ram were the first round losers. Former American Bogomolov reached the quarters by beating current Americans Querrey (9-7 3rd set tiebreak) and Harrison. Also of note, Young l. to Kudla and Smyczek l. to Russell.
-20-yr-old Czech Vesely won his 2nd ATP match and then lost to Sock.
-Lu, at the age of 30, is having a resurgence. He reached his 2nd semi of the young season.
-Nishikori successfully defended his title
ATP 250: Buenos Aires, Argentina
1) David Ferrer (ESP) def. 2) Fabio Fognini (ITA) 6-4 6-3
-Ferrer wins 21st career title, last '13 Buenos Aires (1-yr drought)
-He wins his 3rd straight title in Buenos Aires
-Americans: none
-Five Spaniards (Ferrer, Almagro, Andujar, Ramos, and Robredo) reached the quarters. This makes a world leading 19 ATP/WTA quarterfinals for Spain by 13 different players.
-Six of the seeds made the quarters, the top 4 reached the quarters, the top 2 played out the final, and the top seed won.
-Ferrer was the two-time defending champion, and he won again.
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