John Isner has won only one match during the European clay season. (Andres Kudacki/AP)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week a flurry of Americans go for one final tune-up before the French Open, which begins Sunday.

French Open: In or out?

With the Roland Garros draw ceremony set for Friday, look for any news on withdrawals to come mid-week. Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro are the players to watch. Murray is expected to decide Wednesday whether he’ll play after re-aggravating a back injury at the Italian Open. Del Potro is questionable because of a respiratory illness. After losing in the third round in Rome, Del Potro flew home to Argentina to recover. On the women’s side, keep an eye on Venus Williams, who is struggling with a back injury. She could determine that it would be better to rest and get ready for grass, by far her best surface.

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With many of the top women out of the field, Maria Sharapova becomes the favorite at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.  (J Pay Carter/AP)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, Rafael Nadal goes for his eighth title in Barcelona, while Maria Sharapova returns to the red clay to begin her quest for a second French Open title.

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

[Complete Singles Draw]

Seven of the top 10 women are in Stuttgart for the first WTA Premier event of the season held on red clay. While Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Agnieszka Radwanska are not in the field, defending champion Maria Sharapova returns to the tournament that kicked off her triumphant clay season last year and culminated in her title at Roland Garros. She’ll receive a first-round bye, along with Li Na, Angelique Kerber, and Sara Errani, who round out the top-four seeds.

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Novak Djokovic leads Serbia against the United States in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. (Laurent Dubrule/Reuters)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, Novak Djokovic and Serbia face the United States in one of four Davis Cup quarterfinals, while Venus and Serena Williams headline the field at The Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C.

Davis Cup

The quarterfinals begin on Friday. Here’s a look at the matchups:

• Serbia vs. United States (Taco Bell Arena, Boise, Idaho): The best and easiest route to three points for the Americans is to effectively concede two points to Djokovic in singles, beat Viktor Troicki, twice and win the doubles behind Bob and Mike Bryan. (Serbia’s No. 2, Janko Tipsarevic, is not playing.) On paper, that’s perfectly doable. Troicki hasn’t played Sam Querrey or John Isner since 2011, the same year that he reached a career-high No. 12. Troicki was victorious in both those encounters, but he’s been on a steady decline ever since, falling to No. 44. He has yet to win back-to-back tour matches this year, and his only victory against a top-50 player came against then-No. 50 David Goffin of Belgium in Davis Cup.

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With longer breaks between tournament, Roger Federer’s court appearances now have added value. (AP)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are in Dubai, Rafael Nadal is back in action in Mexico and Venus Williams plays her first tournament since the Australian Open.

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

With Roger Federer’s commitment to a reduced playing schedule, every tournament he plays reaches a new level of significance. Federer will be taking a two-month break after Indian Wells, which means Dubai will be his second-to-last tournament until he returns to clay in Madrid in May. It’s a risky gambit for Federer, who says he still thinks he can overtake Novak Djokovic at No. 1 even with a limited schedule, one that sees him defending titles in Dubai, Indian Wells and Madrid. He hasn’t won a title since Cincinnati last year.

“Absolutely realistic if you play great,” Federer said in Dubai, where he’s the No. 2 seed behind Djokovic. “I know it’s possible. I know it’s possible to win tournaments. But right now, a big focus is on making sure every tournament I enter that I’m perfectly prepared like for here, for Australia, for Indian Wells.”

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Victoria Azarenka could reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Serena Williams in Dubai this week. (AP)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. With the top men taking a breather, the focus is on Dubai, where the WTA No. 1 ranking is on the line once again. 

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Eight of the top 10 women move on to Dubai in a packed draw that once again features the top two players, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka (Maria Sharapova and Li Na are the two top five players absent). Williams, 31, will take over the No. 1 ranking on Monday, becoming the oldest WTA No. 1 in history. Her tearful reaction to winning her quarterfinal match against Petra Kvitova in Doha clearly undermined her claims that she hadn’t been thinking about getting the top spot back. So the question now is how long she can hold on to it with Azarenka still right on her heels. Azarenka can reclaim the No. 1 ranking by making the final here, though if she meets Williams she’ll have to beat her — something she just accomplished in Qatar.

Williams has the tougher draw to the final, with her potential path including Marion Bartoli, Caroline Wozniacki and Kvitova, who pushed her to three sets last week. Azarenka could face a tricky second-round match against Dominika Cibulkova, who returns after withdrawing from Doha with a calf injury. Cibulkova played Azarenka tough last year, beating her at the French Open and almost knocking her out of Miami. Otherwise it’s a fairly straightforward half, with potential matches against Sara Errani, Sam Stosur or Angelique Kerber.

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Serena Williams can reclaim the No. 1 ranking by making the Doha semifinals. (Virginie Bouyer/Icon SMI)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, the WTA No. 1 ranking is up for grabs, Roger Federer returns and the Rafael Nadal comeback tour continues.  

Qatar Open

The WTA No. 1 ranking is on the line this week in Doha, where Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have a chance to unseat Victoria Azarenka again. Here are the most relevant scenarios:

• Azarenka must make the final to have a chance to remain at No. 1.

• Williams can become No. 1 for the first time since 2010 by advancing to the semifinals.

• Sharapova can secure No. 1 if she wins the title and Williams does not reach the semifinals.

• Williams can still clinch the No. 1 ranking if Azarenka doesn’t make the final or Sharapova doesn’t win the title.

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Rafael Nadal hasn’t played since bowing out of Wimbledon in the second round. (AFP/Getty Images)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. Rafael Nadal highlights this week’s lineup. 

VTR Open

Clear your calendars for Wednesday: Nadal takes the court at the VTR Open in Vina Del Mar, Chile, for his first singles match since losing to Lukas Rosol in the second round of Wimbledon. That’s a seven-month layoff for the 11-time major champion, who was seen practicing hard in Chile this weekend with strapping around his left knee. Nadal said he still feels pain, but he’s opted to come back two weeks earlier than anticipated to test the knee and his confidence.

He’s been downplaying his chances in his return, but the ATP 250 field should offer little resistance early. He has a bye in the first round and will open against either a qualifier or No. 92 Guido Pella. If the seeds hold, he’ll face Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Jeremy Chardy and defending champion Juan Monaco for the title. Chardy is the hot hand after beating Juan Martin del Potro at the Australian Open and making the quarterfinals, while Monaco just won two matches on clay over the weekend in Davis Cup. Nadal has also paired with Monaco for doubles. Their first match will be Tuesday.

[Singles Draw]

I'll save the suspense as far as nadals return this week. If he plays the tournament on clay this week, he rolls to the title ….—
  (@andyroddick) February 03, 2013

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Novak Djokovic won’t have long to enjoy his Australian Open title as Davis Cup play begins Friday. (Dita Alangkara/AP)

Davis Cup

The first round of Davis Cup kicks off this weekend and, yes, the No. 1 player in the world and recently crowned Australian Open champion is in action. The draws take place Thursday and play begins Friday through the weekend. Here are the ties to watch:

• Spain vs. Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia): A depleted Spanish squad goes to Vancouver without five of its top six players, making this a winnable matchup for Milos Raonic and Co. Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez are skipping the tie, which means Spain will be led by No. 32 Marcel Granollers and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in singles and Granollers and Marc Lopez in doubles. Those are two favorable singles matches for the 15th-ranked Raonic, especially on the quick indoor court in the Thunderbird Sports Arena, which means this could come down to the doubles. Expect the home crowd to get loud and rowdy. Tickets sold out in just 80 minutes.

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Caroline Wozniacki hopes she can round into form for the Australian Open, where she was a quarterfinalist in 2012. (Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. With only a week to go until the first Slam of the year, here’s how the players will be spending their time. 

Apia International Sydney — Sydney, Australia:

Sydney sees a strong field of 32 that includes seven of the top 10 women, sans the WTA Big Three of Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Auckland champion Agnieszka Radwanksa and Shenzhen champion Li Na will look to keep their winning streaks alive. They are in the same half of the draw. Caroline Wozniacki and Sam Stosur look for her first wins of the season, as both lost in the first round of Brisbane. Other players looking for a boost: Petra Kvitova, who has a tough first-round match against Dominika Cibulkova. If these three can’t string together a few wins in Sydney, they’ll be looked at potential early-round crash outs at the Australian Open.

Potential women’s matches to watch: Jelena Jankovic vs. Tamira Paszek (first round), Li Na vs. Christina McHale (first round), Sam Stosur vs. Zheng Jie (first round), Petra Kvitova vs. Dominika Cibulkova (first round), Angelique Kerber vs. Caroline Wozniacki (third round), Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Nadia Petrova (third round).

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Andy Murray is one of the top men who will be playing in Brisbane leading up to the start of the Australian Open. (Kamran Jebreili/AP)

The Watch List spotlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, the primary focus is on Australia, where both No. 1s are in action as the 2013 season begins.

Brisbane International — Brisbane, Australia

Top seeds: Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka. While the top men are spread out around the globe, the top women — Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, and Serena Williams — will all begin their season in Brisbane. The WTA field is packed with eight of the top 10 women — only Agnieszka Radwanksa (Auckland) and Li Na (Shenzhen) are missing — which means this will probably be the most complete look at the contenders and pretenders before the Australian Open, which is a mere 12 days away.

Here’s what to look for in Brisbane, which begins on Dec. 30.

The Big Three battle it out: The best case scenario in Brisbane is if the seeds hold, we’ll see Azarenka, Sharapova, and Serena in the semifinals. That’s no sure thing, as both Sharapova and Serena have had some minor health issues during the off-season, though both say they’ll be ready for Brisbane. How those matches play out, particularly if Serena gets drawn in to Vika’s half, will set the tone for the early hard court swing. Has Vika come closer to solving Serena? Has Sharapova figured out how to beat Azarenka on outdoor hard courts? Will Serena start 2013 as dominant as she ended 2012? Brisbane should give us some answers.

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