Murray's coaching future
Nic Atkin, ESPN UK: It has been a busy week for Andy Murray, what with getting married to longtime girlfriend Kim Sears on Saturday in his hometown of Dunblane, Scotland. However, with a conventional honeymoon forgone, the British No. 1's focus looks set to move on quickly as he heads for Barcelona for a crucial training block.
The trip to Spain is to assess his prospective new assistant coach Jonas Bjorkman, and they will quickly need to establish a working chemistry after the announcement that Murray's coach, Amelie Mauresmo, is pregnant. It is thought Mauresmo will be around eight months' pregnant when Wimbledon is in full swing this summer, and she is likely to miss the US Open in August when she is due to give birth. So Murray's prospects could depend upon a new relationship with former world No. 4 Bjorkman, whose role could take on added significance as Murray looks to regain his Wimbledon crown.
Sock's sudden ascent
Carl Bialik, FiveThirtyEight.com: Until last August, Jack Sock's biggest accomplishment as a pro was his ability to draw lots of wild cards. He has received 22 in his career, 20 of them at U.S. tournaments. After going 80-0 at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas, and winning the 2010 US Open juniors, Sock looked as if he could be the next Andy Roddick -- big serve, big forehand, proven winner. So U.S. tournaments helped him out.
But he struggled, going just 14-22 when he got a wild card. Since last September, though, Sock has gone 16-6, without a single first-round loss -- and not a single wild card, his longest stretch without one since making his main-draw, tour-level debut in at the 2010 US Open. He'd also become one of the world's best doubles players, winning three of the eight events he'd entered with Vasek Pospisil, starting with their unlikely Wimbledon title last summer, and reaching two other finals.
Until this past weekend, though, Sock was the second-highest-ranked ATP player who had never reached a final. He rectified that, and did one better, by beating Sam Querrey to take the Houston title. Sock won't need another wild card for a while, now that he has reached a career-high ranking of No. 36.
Klizan in winning form
Peter Bodo, ESPN.com: While it's great to see Jack Sock doing so well -- undoubtedly, some of my colleagues will pay tribute to him in this space -- it's also good news to see Martin Klizan playing so well. He won the third title of his somewhat troubled career this weekend at the ATP 250 in Casablanca, Morocco.
The 6-foot-2 native of Bratislava, Slovakia, is a player whose game is magnetic to the eye. A lefty, he's smooth in a way that's reminiscent of his fellow countryman, former pro Miloslav Mecir. Klizan represents a welcome change of pace in a game now dominated by guys who generate a fearsome degree of power, take huge cuts and play a conspicuously effortful game.
There's a majesty about the sheer physicality of the game today, but Klizan, like Roger Federer, reminds us how satisfying it is to watch a player who's light on his feet and deft with his hands. Klizan has been ranked as high as No. 26, but he's suffered from inconsistency as well as a bad left wrist. Healthy now and ranked No. 41 before he won Sunday, he could be a force in the upcoming clay-court season.
Monaco leads Latinos in Monte Carlo
Diego Zorrilla, ESPN Deportes: The Masters 1000 European chapter begins in Monte Carlo, a place with pleasant memories for Latin American tennis. In the history of the event, six players from the region have grabbed nine titles. Guillermo Vilas (Argentina) won it in 1976, 1981 and 1982; Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil) in 1999 and 2001; Raul Ramirez (Mexico) in 1978; Alberto Mancini (Argentina) in 1989; Marcelo Rios (Chile) in 1997 and Guillermo Coria (Argentina) in 2004.
The last celebration dates from a long time ago, right before Rafael Nadal started his amazing streak of eight consecutive titles. In fact, the last time a Latin American made it into the quarterfinal was in 2010, thanks to another Argentine, David Nalbandian. Since this is not a compulsory event, several of the best players from the region will be absent, including Juan Martin del Potro and Leonardo Mayer (Argentina), Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) and Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay).
The main draw had only two direct entries: Juan Monaco (Argentina), who has participated six times and never made it into the last eight, and Victor Estrella (Dominican Republic), who at 34 made his debut Sunday and grabbed his first Masters 1000 win. There will be a third ambassador, Diego Schwartzman (Argentina), who proved why he was the top seed in the qualifying event and battled through it to gain a place.
Mirza's long road to No. 1
Matt Wilansky, ESPN.com: Angelique Kerber played brilliantly in Charleston, South Carolina, winning her first title since 2013. But the German, who came into the Family Circle Cup having lost six of eight matches, was hardly the WTA star of the weekend. Those honors belong to Sania Mirza, a Charleston champion herself. Teaming with Hall of Famer Martina Hingis, Mirza won the doubles title, becoming the first Indian woman to reach the world No. 1.
Mirza's backstory is a fascinating one, and as reported in this story on the WTA website, she did it in less-than-acceptable conditions, playing on courts made of, as Mirza said, cow s---. Mirza's accomplishment cannot be overstated, but she has a long way to go to match the achievements of fellow Indian Leander Paes, one of the all-time greats. To date, Paes has eight doubles and seven mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He also spent 39 weeks atop the doubles ranking in 1999-2000.