Juan Monaco: back in business?

I remember waaay back in the day (2007-08) when it appeared Juan Monaco was going to be the latest in a long line of Argentines to crack the top 10. In 2007, he won three titles on clay and a few months later had hit his career-high ranking of 14.

Things were looking pretty good, but for whatever reason, they stalled: seven straight finals lost over the past few years and time spent outside of the top 60. It seemed he was getting lapped by players without his pedigree for a good chunk of time.

However, the past few months have been quite a different story: Monaco made the round of 16 at the U.S. Open and had a solid fall indoor season. He lost a tough five-setter at the Australian Open to kick off his '12 campaign, but this past week wasn't so bad as he won the tournament in Chile for his first title since '07.

Now that he's back in the winner's circle, his confidence should be at an even-higher level than what he's exhibited the past few months. Of course, there's a ton of tennis to be played going forward, but his solid all-court game could take him further than he's gone before.

(Photo: Getty Images)

There goes Michael Russell, the last of the Americans

As I've been lying around with this injured calf muscle of mine (dang serving and volleying!), I've been wondering about something, which, to tell the truth, has been a niggling thought in the back of my head for years now:

Why don't American men on the ATP play more?

The only player in a main draw out of three events was Michael Russell, who lost in the second round in Montpellier, France, to Gael Monfils. So just like that, Bobby Reynolds remains the only male player from the U.S. to make a quarterfinal this year.

Wow.

But if no one's playing, what are the chances of that improving?

I know next week is the first round of the Davis Cup, but not every American is on the team. Why wasn't Donald Young in France? Or Ryan Sweeting in Zagreb? But back to Davis Cup for a second: Why couldn't Ryan Harrison or John Isner dipped down to Chile and try to get in some clay-court practice before next weekend's tie against Switzerland?

I don't know what really goes into shaping a player's schedule, but playing only one warmup, if that, in Australia (which it seems many of the American players did) obviously didn't pay off. Skipping the options out there this week probably won't have much of a positive impact either. Odds are most of the Americans will reconvene in San Jose, but from the end of the first week of the Australian Open until then, you're almost looking at a month off.

It could be too late by then to start making up for lost time and lost opportunities.

Novak Djokovic: a different type of number 1

In epic fashion, Novak Djokovic won his third Australian Open, this time over Rafael Nadal, in a five-setter for the ages.

It wasn't easy as the two played the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era.

But then again, when is it ever easy for Djoko?

He's not the big server that Pete Sampras was, nor does he yank guys around the court like Andre Agassi or Nadal. Obviously, he can do those things or else he wouldn't be where he is now; I just don't think they're the defining qualities of his run at the top.

Rather, what seems to really set him apart is his ability to generate big shots at the most crucial times: How many times in the past year has he escaped from the brink of defeat? And more often than not, it's because he's blasting winners from match or break point down.

To me, during his run, he epitomizes that old phrase, "heart of a champion." He fights and fights, and that has paid off for him tremendously. I really thought the end of last year was just going to be the start of a slide back to normalcy for Djokovic, but this Aussie run erased the rough post-U.S. Open stretch he had--and sets the tone for 2012.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Azarenka vs. Sharapova: a matchup for the ages (I hope)

Yeah, I think this women's final is going to be a good one.

Could be a great one, as a matter of fact--at least that's what I'm hoping for!

You see, I love Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka: Not in the literal sense, but as far as watching those two play, it doesn't get much better in the women's game. There really isn't much grace to their games: It's all about hit hard, then hit harder, for the most part.

It's just that they radiate competitiveness, mixed in with some feistiness--a lot of that, in fact! I always feel that there's no place or no situation they'd rather be in than what they face on the tennis court. Endorsements, outside commitments, blah, blah, blah: They'll put some time in there, but not if it interferes with hurting their chances in a tennis match.

Funny thing, too: I'm not going to be pulling for one or the other. Whoever does capture the crown, I'm good. Just give me an 8-6 or 10-8 third set.

Is that too much to ask for?

(Photo: Getty Images)

Now it's Andy Murray's turn

First of all, congratulations to Rafael Nadal for making it to the men's final with his four-set win over Roger Federer. It was a good match that--not to be too cliche--really could've gone either way.

Now we're hours away from the second men's semifinal featuring defending champ Novak Djokovic and last year's finalist Andy Murray. As you may or may not recall, Murray was my pick to win the title this year over Rafa. Djokovic has been playing quite well, but then again, so has Murray. I'm sticking with the Andy call.

Why, you might ask? (Which is something I might even be asking myself!)Well, this might kind of simple, but he knows what he has to do and that's be more aggressive. He can't engage Djokovic in too many long baseline rallies or else he'll get eaten alive. Look for him to attack more instead of playing cutesy angles.

I don't think you can underestimate the Lendl factor. He has someone in his camp who "the best player to never win a Major" tag was practically invented for. Once Lendl finally did win, the rest was a wrap.

And if anything, there's no time like the present to make a breakthrough!

(Photo: Getty Images)

If Roger Federer wins, consider me a believer

Here we go again: On the cusp of another Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal battle, this time in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

They've both been very impressive this tournament with only one set dropped between them up to this point. Federer has been particularly devastating, blowing out Juan Martin del Potro and Bernard Tomic (future Aussie champs?) like candles on a birthday cake.

That only seems to be par for the course with the way he's been playing the past few months: his only loss in tournament play for ages, it seems, coming when he had to withdraw from the tournament in Doha.

Still, I hadn't been convinced of his form, mainly because he hasn't caught the other members of the "Big 4" at their best. Federer blasted Rafael Nadal off the court at the World Tour Finals, but was that a matter of being in the zone or Nadal being off. Beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga however many times in a row that he has now hadn't convinced me of Federer's form.

All that being said, tonight's the night where all that can change. Of course, I'm always going to look at Federer as a Slam contender and I'll think he'll win at least two or three more before he's done. But as far as showing me that the recent run isn't a bit of an aberration and that he can tag his younger opponents at the biggest stages, this is the perfect opportunity.

And I don't want it to sound like I'm rooting against Rafa: I'm actually quite impartial on this one. I just think this could be the best opportunity for fans and Federer himself to assess where he really is and how far he can go.

(Photo: AP)

Still on track? Well, kinda...

And just when I thought my picks for the tournament were looking so good!

Tough result for Serena Williams, the TTA? 2012 Australian Open champion. I don't know what to make of it; she didn't play her best, but supposedly Serena at 75 percent should win that match. Actually, let me clarify that statement: Serena "of old" at 75 percent...

The game's just not that easy for her anymore, and I don't know if that's a testament to the women's game right now or how she goes about her preparation. More match play is needed at this point in her career. And I think it's hard to say how much her ankle injury, too, impacted the result. On paper, Ekaterina Makarova isn't much tougher than the three opponents Williams walloped earlier. I guess she just can't get away with bad days.

But to avoid those bad days, you just have to get out more: I don't think she'll necessarily do that, though. Aside from Fed Cup, I would be highly, highly surprised if we saw her in a tournament before Miami.

Anyway, a lot of my other calls are still looking good! On the men's side, I picked six of eight quarterfinalists, including Kei Nishikori and my men's champ, Andy Murray. Things went great for me for the top half of the women's draw. The bottom half? That's another story, with Serena leading the way on that one.

(Photo: Getty Images)