Americans Serena Williams and John Isner shine ' The Friday Five

By Maud Watson

In the Zone

Serena Williams was firing on all cylinders last week in Charleston, which wasn't just bad news for the rest of the field ' it was devastating. Serena showed no mercy as she demolished her opponents en route to the title, dropping a grand total of just three games in the semis and final. Though it was an absolute clinic by the decorated Grand Slam champion, it's difficult to use as a barometer for how she'll perform in Paris. For starters, near the latter rounds, she played above her head (even by her lofty standards), and that level for her has increasingly become the exception rather than the norm. Additionally, while there are few players who at their best can potentially hang with Serena at her best, it's still worth noting that the currently hottest players on the WTA were absent. Finally, there's the fact that the win is unlikely to have a substantial carry-over effect on Serena herself. She's frequently shown she never lacks for confidence at any event, irrespective of how match fit she is, simply taking things as they come. So, congrats on a well-deserved 40th career singles title for the younger Williams, who reminded the world of what she's capable of when her heart and head are in it, but one fantastic title win does not just yet a heavy favorite for Roland Garros make.

Riding the Momentum

John Isner shines in Davis Cup action

Where Ryan Harrison failed to capitalize on his opportunity when named to the U.S. Davis Cup Team, John Isner continued to shine. Since upsetting Roger Federer in the team competition this past February, he's continued to improve and surprise everyone, including perhaps himself. He delivered a much-needed win against Simon to pull the Americans even with France on the opening day of last weekend's tie, and he clinched the victory with his triumph over Tsonga. He's also being smart with his scheduling, choosing to sit out the optional Masters 1000 event next week in Monte Carlo in order to rest and get fit for the remainder of the clay court and following grass court seasons. As he continues this good run of form, he's set to become the No. 1 American man sooner rather than later. Such an achievement would be a crowning moment for Isner as well as the USA, given that Isner has been one of the handful of Americans to consistently comport himself with class and dignity this season.

PR Nightmare

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario needs a crash course in public relations stat. We previously heard she was broke thanks to the mishandling of her finances by her parents, which has since been followed by rebuttal from her mother claiming otherwise. Now the 'Barcelona Bumblebee' is upsetting her nation's top female player by personally attacking Anabel Medina Garrigues during her announcement that Garrigues would not be part of her Fed Cup squad. As captain, it's her prerogative as to who she'd like to select for the team, but there was no need to launch an attack against the Spanish No. 1. Her actions and decisions in recent months might suggest it's time for the Spanish Tennis Federation to consider looking at a potential replacement. It's a shame given what all Sanchez-Vicario has done in the sport and for her county, but recent behavior dictates that a review of her ability to be a leader at this point in time is in serious doubt.

Good Cause

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will be facing off in an exhibition on July 14, when they hope to break the tennis attendance record by filling all of the 80,000 seats in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid where the match will take place. The proceeds from the match will go to both the Real Madrid Foundation and the Rafael Nadal Foundation, which provide funding for programs aimed at disadvantaged children. It's great to see two of the biggest names in the sport continue to give back (especially in the midst of a busy summer schedule), and while they're going for an ambitious record, as one of the most exciting rivalries in the sport right now, they might just do it.

Potentially Ugly

Mary Joe Fernandez is living in a dream world if she thinks Serena's 'heart is in Fed Cup, ' as Serena's sudden patriotism is undoubtedly spurred on by her desire to play in the Olympics. Despite committing to her second tie this season, Serena will still need to get special permission from the Olympic Committee to compete in London. Sister Venus is looking to try and raise her ranking high enough to gain automatic entry for the London Games, but if she doesn't, she'll also require special permission to compete in the British capital. Where this may get messy is if another player ' a player who has put in more time representing their country during the non-Olympic years ' gets burned. It's hard to vilify the Williams Sisters, who are just doing the same as other top pros this season and also have historically performed well in the Olympics. Still others will contend spots should go to those who have put in the time and who arguably could still medal for the USA (especially when factoring in Venus' health liabilities). Of course, the ITF could just spare the U.S. and other nations, like Russia, this potentially ugly situation by doing away with the whole problematic Fed/Davis Cup participation rule, but hard to see that happening any time soon.

The Rogers Cup Recognized for its Green Initiatives

The Rogers Cup is committed to being green

The Rogers Cup in Montreal was recognized for its green initiatives last week at the first edition of the 'Vivats' Awards which are meant to recognize the work of event organizers in the province of Quebec who have exemplary green initiatives in place.

The tournament won the Transportation and Energy Efficiency award which acknowledges an event's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its spectators and participants. The Rogers Cup was also one of three finalists nominated for the prestigious 'Grand Vivat' award, the highest honor given by the Quebec Council for eco-responsible events.

Since 2007, Tennis Canada has been committed to sustainable development based on the organization's own values including adopting a healthy lifestyle, responsible citizenship, ethics, and pride. Involved in the socioeconomic activities of its community, Tennis Canada has for a mission to promote sustainable development in sport.

Here are some of the initiatives put forth during the 2011 Rogers Cup:

•  Attain a recovery rate of 86 percent.
•  Free public transportation offered to all spectators and volunteers.
•  Compensation of  133,75 tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions related to tournament operations and player transportation, thus becoming a carbon neutral certified event by Planetair.
• The addition of stands giving free access to matches on Court 9 to 900 people as a well as a big screen showing tournament matches for free in Jarry Park.

Furthermore, Tennis Canada has given itself a carbon neutral objective for the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank and is getting closer every year. Here are the results for 2011:

•  50 percent of spectators used public transportation at least once to come to the tournament thanks to a partnership with the STM.
•   6,000 people used the shuttle service between downtown Montreal and Uniprix Stadium, reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 13 tons while communication and awareness activities reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions by nearly 8 tons.
• 133,75 tons were compensated with the purchase of Gold Standard carbon credits. Tennis Canada also made the decision to compensate for all of the players in the tournament in 2011.

Montreal will host the ladies of the WTA for the 2012 edition of the tournament which will be held from August 4-13 at Uniprix Stadium. Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli, Ana Ivanovic, Na Li, Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva have already confirmed their participation. This year, for the first time in tournament history, main draw play at the Rogers Cup will begin on Tuesday August 7 with the singles final scheduled for Monday August 13 at 7 p.m. in the evening.

ATP Around the Corner: Clay court tennis previews in Casablanca and Houston

The clay court season will have its work cut out for it in terms of matching the fast paced start to the 2012 season on the ATP World Tour.

We are just over three months into the grueling professional tennis schedule but have already witnessed some outstanding performances and intriguing story lines.

World number one Novak Djokovic has won the first Grand Slam of the year and seems prepared to continue the brilliance we saw from a year ago.

Roger Federer has improved upon his end to 2011 and compiled a 44-3 record since the U.S. Open in September. Suddenly being thirty doesn't seem so bad does it?

John Isner seems poised to carry the weight of American tennis hopes after nearly ten years of dominance from Andy Roddick.

Andy Murray is still a mystery containing all the talent one could hope for, yet waiting for his first Grand Slam triumph that many thought would have happened by now. Perhaps teaming with former eight time major champ Ivan Lendl will see him over that barrier.

Rafael Nadal's season is already surrounded by question marks as his knees are once again threatening to stall the great heights he is capable of attaining. Will we see the king of clay this spring?

The shift in surface will force everyone to adjust and soon we'll see if the players above can continue to dominate the headlines in the tennis world.

Gran Prix Hassan II: Casablanca, Morocco

This level 250 event has Pablo Andujar as its defending champion from a year ago. With plenty of clay court events coming up over the next two months, many players see no hurry to dive into the field, which explains why this one is certainly weaker than what we will witness in the weeks to come.

The number one seed here is an under-whelming one with Florian Mayer from Germany holding the pole position. Mayer was never able to reach the same heights as Nicolas Kiefer and Tommy Haas were able to attain and he clearly is not the second coming of Boris Becker.

Unseeded Albert Montanes and Guillermo Garcia Lopez represent the strongest clay court opponents in this half of the draw, and I'd bank on one of them making it to the finals rather than Mayer.

In the bottom half, second seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov might state that clay is his favorite surface, but over the previous year where he has risen into the top thirty in the world, I've seen little evidence that he should be feared on the red dirt with the exception of a small tournament victory in Umag. That being said, I suppose this is the perfect type of tournament for him to step-up at.

The previously mentioned Andujar is the third seed and will surely be confident he can win a few matches once more at this venue. Ranked 39th in the world, Andujar lost five of his first six matches of the year, but recently took a set off Novak Djokovic on hard courts in Indian Wells before falling 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2 in their fourth round encounter.

U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship: Houston, Texas

John Isner (VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

Why anyone would waste their time playing on the har-tru courts in Houston has always been beyond me, yet there is decent field vying for the $79,000 winner's check.

Seeded first is Mardy Fish who did not participate in this weekend's Davis Cup victory over France due to exhaustion. I wouldn't bet for Fish to go too far due to the surface here. He gets a first round bye which also likely won't do him much good when he potentially faces Daniel Gimeno-Traver, who is a decent clay court player.

Juan Monaco is seeded fourth and is my pick to navigate his way through to the finals. Monaco has had a good run lately on hard courts where he surprisingly made it to the semi-finals of Miami. Look for that confidence to translate into further success on clay as well.

The bottom half of the draw is fairly wide open. I'd expect for the confident John Isner to continue to build on his break-out season. Isner has made his first ATP Masters final in Indian Wells and has performed quite well on clay as well, with huge Davis Cup victories over Roger Federer and the Swiss as well as Jo Wilfried-Tsonga and the French.

Feliciano Lopez is seeded third but has been his usual inconsistent self of late, while big-serving Ivo Karlovic is always a threat even on a slower surface like this one.

Fans of American veteran James Blake might want to check him out in what I'm sure will be his last season on the pro tour. Blake is currently ranked 74th in the world but has been plagued by injuries for the past few seasons and I can't see him continuing to trudge along for much longer in this state. He opens against sixth seeded Carlos Berlocq.

After this week, things will heat up with the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 event that will surely draw all the big names back into the mix. Enjoy the transition and the build-up to next month's French Open!