With the first quarter of the year finished and the tours moving to Europe, it’s time to take stock of the last three months. On Wednesday, we examined five of the biggest surprises of the 2012 season. Today, we look at 10 memorable performances.

1. Azarenka opens 26-0: The rest of this list features performances in individual matches or tournaments. But an exception has been made at the top to acknowledge Victoria Azarenka’s overall play in compiling the fifth-longest season-opening winning streak in WTA history. For Azarenka to maintain her concentration and discipline over a three-month span that included her first Grand Slam title and three other tournament victories was no small feat. We’re talking about a player who has struggled to stay calm during matches and whose body has let her down time and time again (Azarenka retired from four or more tournaments in each of the last two years). Now we’re seeing what a healthy and focused Azarenka can do.

*****

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John Isner has wins over Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic this year. (Harry How/Getty Images)

With the first quarter of the year finished and the tours moving to Europe, it’s time to take stock of the last three months. Today we look at some of the biggest surprises of the 2012 season.

1. John Isner crashes the party: In a mere two months or so, the 6-foot-9 Isner has gone from being a freak of nature to a force to be reckoned with. Getting a big one-off win was never going to be a surprise for Isner, but look at his string of quality victories this year: a dramatic five-setter over David Nalbandian at the Australian Open; a four-setter over Roger Federer on clay in a Davis Cup match in Switzerland, sparking the Americans’ first-round sweep; a 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (5) win against Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells, one of only two losses for the world No. 1 this year; and last weekend’s impressive showing in Monte Carlo, where he dropped a combined one set in best-of-five victories against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon, leading the United States into the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time since 2008.

Isner (17-6 this season) has climbed from No. 18 at the start of the year to a career-high 10th, one spot behind top American Mardy Fish. The 26-year-old has notched his first career victories against Federer and Djokovic, reached his first Masters 1000 final (at Indian Wells) and shown an ability to win big matches in pressure-packed situations.

“If I can keep this level up, I am going to be very hard to beat,” Isner said after his two singles victories against France.

Whether that will be the case at the next two majors will be interesting to watch. Isner is 2-3 in three career appearances at both the French Open and Wimbledon.

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Venus Williams won nine straight games to close out her second-round win over Jelena Jankovic at the Family Circle Cup. (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Not many players could come off a half-year layoff due to illness and immediately beat two former No. 1s and a reigning Grand Slam champion. Then again, not many players can match the talent and mental fortitude of Venus Williams. Her results almost tempt you to forget the fact that she’s still not 100 percent. And the reality is, she may never be.

“I feel like a person that has an autoimmune disease,” Venus said last week in Miami. “I’m not going to probably feel like everybody else. But my personal best is to give 100 percent.”

Williams hit a physical wall against Agnieszka Radwanska in the Miami quarterfinals. After playing three straight three-set matches, she wasn’t able to summon the energy to play her best. It wasn’t a conditioning problem — she simply had to be more mindful of conserving energy between matches.

“Every day is a variable,” Williams said after defeating Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-0 here on Wednesday night at the Family Circle Cup. “I’m really learning, figuring it out as I go, and I think the one thing I do learn is I won’t probably figure it all out, but I can try my best.”

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Agnieszka Radwanska (left) is fresh off a title in Miami, but Caroline Wozniacki leads the head-to-head 5-2. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Last week on The Toss, Ben Rothenberg joined to debate whether Indian Wells or Miami, the only two mixed events with 96-player draws, had the better claim to tennis’ “Fifth Slam” status. Though the debate came during the heart of Miami, 58 percent of readers voted for Indian Wells as the more prestigious event.

Agnieszka Radwanska shocked Maria Sharapova to win the Sony Ericsson Open in what was arguably the biggest title of her career. This week, Lindsay Gibbs, tennis writer and author of the recently released book, Titanic: The Tennis Story, joins to compare Radwanska with another well-known counterpuncher.

Today’s Toss: Which counterpuncher will win a Slam first: Caroline Wozniacki or Agnieszka Radwanska?

Courtney Nguyen: Thanks for joining me, Lindsay, as we revisit a topic that is near and dear to your heart: the potential of Agnieszka Radwanska.

Radwanska and Wozniacki both had solid Miami campaigns, which was particularly important given their shellackings in Indian Wells at the hands of Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic, respectively. Aga’s made a good argument that she’s the No. 2 player of 2012 and the improvements in her game are remarkable. She seems to be handling pace better than ever and, perhaps most important, she’s learning how to protect her body. An injury-free Radwanska could be a major storyline in 2012, to the extent it’s not already.

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After being dubbed 'Miracle Melanie' for her run to the 2009 U.S. Open quarters, Melanie Oudin's results spiraled downward. (Reuters)

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Perspective is an important things for both athletes and fans, and in the fast-paced world of tennis, it’s easily lost. There are few who are more acutely aware of this than Melanie Oudin. Her career has played out as a cautionary tale about the treacherous downsides of early success. A success that she now says she was never prepared for.

“It’s definitely something I won’t ever forget,” Oudin said. “It didn’t happen how I thought it was going to happen. I never expected that to happen when I was 17.”

Her memorable run at the 2009 U.S. Open — beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Nadia Petrova, Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova to make the quarterfinals — was a star-making turn, not only because of the quality of her wins but also because she was a bubbly teenager from Georgia making good on American soil under the New York lights. She was the first (and last) 17-year-old to make it that deep at a Grand Slam tournament since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007. But the feel-good story obscured one salient fact: At 17, Oudin, who hadn’t even won a tour-level event, wasn’t as good as that run made her appear to be.

If that sparkling September in 2009 was the highest of highs for Oudin, the last two years have been the lowest of lows. She won only one match for the remainder of 2009, and after seeing her ranking plummet from a career-high No. 31 in 2010, she’s been stuck playing lower-level ITF tournaments and trying (and failing) to qualify for WTA Tour events. They say that expectations can be crippling, but in Oudin’s case they really were. She said she would get so nervous during matches that she couldn’t even swing her racket. Journalists acted as inquisitors and fans took to coaching, yelling advice and critique from the stands.

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Andy Roddick scored a career win over Roger Federer in Miami, but then tumbled out to Juan Monaco. (Getty Images)

Quite a bit of ink has been devoted to Sony Ericsson Open champions Novak Djokovic and Agnieszka Radwanska (here are my thoughts from the weekend), both of whom clearly deserve top marks. But what about the rest of the field? Here’s a look at some of the players who made some waves, for better or for worse.

Rafael Nadal: B-minus. There’s a reason why Rafa’s knees have their own Twitter account. Tendinitis forced him to withdraw before his semifinal match against Andy Murray, and Nadal will have to scramble to get ready for his massive clay season, which starts in Monte Carlo in two weeks. He insisted that he didn’t withdraw in order to protect his body for clay, where he’s defending 4,700 points. ”Yes, I want to arrive to the clay court with the right conditions,” Nadal said after he withdrew, “but I want to arrive here with the right conditions. So I am not thinking, ‘I am not going on court today not because I have the clay-court season.’  I am not going on court today because I cannot go on court today.”

Andy Roddick: A-minus. You can’t blame Roddick for being unable to back up his emotional win over Roger Federer in the third round. After losing to Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-0, Roddick admitted that he was out of shape. Now it’s back to getting his body into match form. He moved as well as we’ve seen him move against Federer, which means his confidence in his snake-bitten body must be on the rise.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: B-minus. Between accusing umpires of favoritism and playing an almost-unwatchable set and a half against Nadal in the quarterfinals, Tsonga had a rough week. Nadal was his for the taking and Tsonga just couldn’t get out of his own way. Will he ever become stable enough to do more than just pull off the occasional upset at the Slams? Wait, don’t answer that.

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Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray at the Sony Ericsson Open for his second title of 2012. (Getty Images)

Four thoughts after a weekend that saw Novak Djokovic defend his Sony Ericsson Open title by beating Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6 (4), and Agnieszka Radwanska upset Maria Sharapova, 7-5, 6-4, for the biggest title of her career.

1. Djokovic rebounds: Coming into Miami, the world No. 1 was coming off two unsuccessful campaigns, falling in the semifinals of Dubai to Murray and Indian Wells to John Isner. Neither of those matches were necessarily bad losses — Murray served out of his mind in Dubai and the Isner match really could have gone either way — but the fact was Djokovic hadn’t even made a final since he won the Australian Open.

It definitely wasn’t cause for panic in the Djokovic camp, but to the extent that he had an aura of invincibility in 2011, it certainly hasn’t felt the same way in 2012. So credit Djokovic for rebounding from the disappointing loss to Isner and successfully defending his title in Miami.

It wasn’t the dominant showing that we’ve become used to from Djokovic. All tournament he had a tendency to race through the first set before struggling to close out the second (check out the scorelines from his last three matches: def. David Ferrer 6-2, 7-6 (1), def. Juan Monaco 6-0, 7-6 (5), d. Murray 6-1, 7-6 (4)). But despite his second-set struggles, which saw him get broken serving for the match against both Ferrer and Monaco, the Serb never seemed to doubt his ability to come out on top.

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Marion Bartoli (left) ended No. 1 Victoria Azarenka's unbeaten streak in 2012 with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the Sony Ericsson Open. (Getty Images)

Marion Bartoli has always loved the big occasion. The opportunity to play the role of the spoiler. The underdog. The party crasher. She’s played the role well over the years, beating No. 1-ranked Justine Henin in the 2007 Wimbledon semifinals, No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic at the 2009 Australian Open and a resurgent Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2011. Give the engaging and quirky Frenchwoman a challenge and she’ll bring the drama, which is exactly what she did Wednesday night in Miami. With a combination of relentless pressure, consistent hitting, and pure fight, Bartoli put an end to Victoria Azarenka’s 26-match win streak with a decisive 6-3, 6-3 win in the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals.

Azarenka was able to narrowly escape her fourth-round match against Dominika Cibulkova on Monday, coming back from 1-6, 1-5, down to win in a third set tiebreak. As much as some might want to tag that match as a “She’s forgotten how to lose” special, it wasn’t. Azarenka caught a break when Cibulkova got tight trying to serve out the match in the second set, and was able to raise her level enough to let the aggressive Slovak punch herself out. It was a narrow escape and Vika knew it. There was no finger pointing or tongue wagging celebration on match point. There was a blank stare at her box as if to say, “How’d I get out of that one?”

Cibulkova may have lost in heartbreaking fashion — she indeed choked away the second set but fought valiantly in the third when it looked like she would fold — but she set forth the blueprint on how to beat The Unbeaten One: hit it big, hit it hard, and don’t let up. Easier said than done, obviously.

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Caroline Wozniacki showed newfound aggression in her win over Serena Williams. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

In a tournament that has seen Andy Roddick upset Roger Federer and Venus Williams take out No. 3 Petra Kvitova in her first tournament since last August, how exactly can the No. 6 player beating the No. 11 player in straight sets qualify as the upset of the tournament?

Well, when that No. 6 player is Caroline Wozniacki and the No. 11 is Serena Williams, it matters greatly. Wozniacki scored, arguably, the biggest win of her career Tuesday when she out-steadied a very shaky Serena 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

The tennis gods can be so cruel. How different would the book on Wozniacki be if this result had occurred six months ago? During her 67-week reign atop the WTA rankings, one of the biggest knocks against her — aside from her failure to win a Grand Slam title — was that she couldn’t beat the players most people believed to be the best in the game: Serena and Kim Clijsters. If she could just knock off either while she was No. 1, the criticisms and doubt surrounding the effectiveness of her relatively weaponless game would dissipate.

As luck would have it, Wozniacki got only two bites at the apple, playing Serena at the U.S. Open in 2011 and Clijsters at the Australian Open earlier this year. In both matches she was summarily dismissed, and the weaknesses in her game — namely her attackable serve, technically flawed forehand and tendency to play a defensive pushing style — were exposed. Those losses meant one thing: Regardless of the number next to her name, there’s no way Wozniacki was the best tennis player in the game.

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Venus Williams has won three straight three-set matches at the Sony Ericsson Open. (Andrew Gombert/EPA)

It’s a funny thing about Champions. I don’t mean “champions” with a lowercase “c.” The capitalization is intentional and just as important as the titles themselves. True Champions are a different breed. You can take away their forehands, serves, bodies and youth, but their will and desire remain. Their self-belief can border on narcissism or pure delusion, but they cling to it as tightly as they held on to their first trophies. They distinguish themselves by consistently confounding with their feats of mental strength.

Venus Williams is part of that exclusive group. Often overshadowed by the rambunctious Serena, the quiet big sister has rarely demanded the spotlight. Her triumphs are public and her tragedies relatively private, and her dignity and class in handling both have been well-documented. But when Venus announced that she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Sjogren’s Syndrome last August, things felt different. At 31, Venus was already on the tail end of her career, suffering from injuries and fighting to get back to the top — not that rankings and titles were ever the end-all for her. The question was: Would she even get another day in the sun?

Boy, do I feel stupid ever doubting her.

It’s hard to pick which of Venus’ four matches at the Sony Ericsson Open, her first tournament in nearly seven months, has been her signature one. Was it her 6-0, 6-3 destruction of Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round, a player who took her to 8-6 in the third set at Wimbledon less than a year ago? Or was it her 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 upset of reigning Wimbledon champion and No. 3 Petra Kvitova in the second round? Or perhaps it was her gritty effort in the third round when, clearly not at her best, she saved a match point and edged Aleksandra Wozniak 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)? Or maybe it was her 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2 win over an in-form Ana Ivanovic in a terrific display of high-quality tennis?

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