Report Card: Grading the Pros on February

Remember when February was a dead month in tennis? Not this year. My grades for one of the busiest winter breaks in memory:

Head of the Class
Caroline Wozniacki returned to No. 1 and a funny thing happened?not many people complained about it. She hasn?t won a Grand Slam title yet. Well, so what? So far this year, she has proved that she?s a great competitor, that she wants to round out her game, and that being No. 1 won?t go to her head. And she gets extra credit for visiting Serena Williams after her medical scare. For more on Wozniacki, here?s my TENNIS magazine profile from the March issue (not usually available online, but we?re making an exception; and note: this was written before the Australian Open).

Novak Djokovic may still be third in the rankings, but he?s the No. 1 player so far this year. Djokovic followed up his stellar Australian Open with a straight-sets victory over Roger Federer in the Dubai final. And he made it look easy.

Stand in the Corner
Djokovic pulls a rare double, perhaps the first in the history of the grades column: First and worst in the same issue. Worst for what, you ask? Why his singing, of course.

Get Well Cards
Serena Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism? Then a hematoma? Williams, who hasn?t played since she won Wimbledon last year, gave the sport and its fans some perspective this month. May she recover fully and return to the court ASAP.

Another get-well to all the folks in Christchurch, New Zealand. Here?s the story of one tennis player who lived through the earthquake.

Back in School
Why do tennis fans miss Juan Martin Del Potro so much? Just goes to show you don?t have to be glitzy to win over fans. Del Potro?s victory over Roger Federer at the 2009 U.S. Open remains one of the most impressive upsets of the Federer Era?and people want to know if he can do it again. By the look of things, he?s well on his way back to the top. Pity the player who draws him at Roland Garros.

And let?s not forget Jelena Dokic. She won her first title in nine years over the weekend.

Most Dependable
Andy Roddick didn?t let a hacking cough or tennis? new wunderkind, Milos Raonic, stop him from winning in Memphis this month. And then he started March with two wins on clay in Chile to send the United States into the Davis Cup quarterfinals against Spain. In Davis Cup, he?s approaching John McEnroe status.

Most Unpredictable
Tomas Berdych is back?to losing. Especially when it matters. Like in Davis Cup. To Andrey Golubev. This is not good. Wimbledon seems so very long ago.

Most Likely to Succeed?at Wimbledon?
Petra Kvitova, take a bow. The powerful lefty defeated then No. 1 Kim Clijsters in Paris and showed that she?s a fearsome opponent on fast surfaces.

Suspended
Whoever hacked Andy Roddick?s Twitter feed and momentarily turned the American No. 1 into an annoying pitchman.

Ready for Honors Classes?
Congrats to Vera Zvonareva, who won a title in Doha. Maybe, just maybe this is her year to win a big one.

Department of Records
Ivo Karlovic broke the serve-speed record over the weekend, when he fired a 156 mph serve (it wasn?t an ace). We know what John Isner did the last time Karlovic set a serving record (for most aces at 78, which Isner later buried with 111). Isner, you have your orders. And you, too, Nicolas Mahut.

Department of Proud Nations
Nice win for Serbia, the defending Davis Cup champs, despite the absence of Djokovic and a sloppy performance from Janko Tipsarevic. If Djokovic plays the rest of their ties, the Serbs could defend their title.

Department of Community Service
Jennifer Capriati is on the go for tinnitus, a condition thoroughly (and superbly) explained in this New Yorker article.

Department of Dancing
Andrea Petkovic, meet Andy Roddick (with thanks to Chuck Norris and our intrepid Davis Cup correspondent, Doug Robson).

Department of Anagrams
Congrats to Jay Louie of the Philippines for being the first reader (of many) to email the correct answer to last month?s Tennisgram: If Andrea Petkovic wanted to play a joke on you, she wouldn?t call you on the phone. She?d send you a crank videotape.

Here?s a new one: Let?s assume Kei Nishikori likes to dress well. And climb mountains. And ski down them. If all that were true, his motto would be___________________.

Send your answers to me via email?and maybe I?ll send you something in return.

Tom Perrotta is an editor-at-large at TENNIS. Follow him on Twitter.

Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-features/~3/3CFpNOyxLd4/

trail tennis running shoes