Welcome to Take Five, a new weekly series at USOpen.org recapping five of the biggest stories of the last week on the professional tennis circuit. Russia's Daria Kasatkina became the first two-time winner on the WTA this season, while her compatriot Aslan Karatsev's stunning start to the year continued in Dubai.
Twice as nice for Kasatkina in St. Petersburg
Former Top 10 player Daria Kasatkina's resurgence in 2021 continued last week on home soil in St. Petersburg.
The 23-year-old won her second title of the season with a 6-3, 2-1 (ret.) win over compatriot Margarita Gasparyan in the championship match of the WTA 500 tournament, making her the first Russian winner since the event's inception in 2016.
It was a strong week for home players overall, as seven of eight of the quarterfinalists were Russian, and Kasatkina and Gasparyan won all-Russian semifinals against veterans Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, respectively.
Surprise no more: Karatsev wins in Dubai
Aslan Karatsev's hot start to 2021 has shown no signs of slowing down. A week after winning his first ATP doubles title alongside compatriot Andrey Rublev in Doha, the Russian added a first-ever ATP singles title to his mantle in Dubai.
A wild card into the draw, Karatsev beat qualifier Lloyd Harris of South Africa, who had an incredible week himself thanks to victories over top seed Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov among others, 6-3, 6-2, to win his first ATP singles crown.
Along the way, Karatsev needed three sets to beat Dan Evans, Lorenzo Sonego, Jannik Sinner and Rublev, and came from a set down against each Italian in the third round and quarterfinals.
As of Monday's rankings update, the Australian Open semifinalist is now inside the Top 30.
First-time title feels for Leylah Annie Fernandez
Welcome to title town, Leylah Fernandez. The 18-year-old Canadian left-hander won her first WTA singles title over the weekend in Monterrey, Mexico without the loss of a set.
The former French Open junior champion ended the winning streak of Guadalajara champion Sara Sorribes Tormo in the semifinals, and eased to a 6-4, 6-1 win over Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic in the championship match.
It was nonetheless another strong week for the 28-year-old Swiss, who was runner-up to another teenager, Denmark's Clara Tauson, in Lyon two weeks ago.
For her efforts, Fernandez rises to a career-high ranking of world No. 72 this week. She'll have little time to rest, though—she's the top seed in qualifying for the Miami Open, and she'll play there on Monday.
Remember the name: Lorenzo Musetti
Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti had himself a week to remember in Acapulco, where he came through qualifying to reach his first ATP semifinal.
The 2019 Australian Open junior champion already made waves last year in Rome, where he stunned three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the first round, but picked up wins over Diego Schwartzman, Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov to reach the final four in Mexico before losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Italian was the third-youngest semifinalist in tournament history, dating back to 1993, and he broke into the Top 100 for the first time as a result.
Ultimately in Acapulco, No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev won the title, beating top seed Tsitsipas in the final, 6-4, 7-6(3).
The day the Earth shook
This one's self-explanatory.
It was later confirmed, according to the United States Geological Survey, that a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the state of Guerrero during Zverev's semifinal victory over compatriot Dominik Koepfer.
This week, the ATP and WTA head to Miami for the Miami Open, a 1000-level event on both tours. Ashleigh Barty and Daniil Medvedev are the top seeds.
