This week, Mr Ed contemplates present events that hold portents for the future. The first, somewhat dark and cloudy, involves the financial traumas that are increasing concerns to the men's game. We then return to the court to applaud breakthroughs by up-and-comers Max Mirnyi and Marie-Gaïané Mikaelian.

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Economic woes (continued?)

In previous columns, we have been periodically looking at the continuing economic problems faced by professional tennis, particularly the men's game.

The first casualty of the financial crunch appeared this week, as it became known via the Stuttgart newspapers that the Tennis Masters Series - Stuttgart would likely be moved to Madrid next year. Of course, the Tennis Masters Series (TMS) events have been most affected by the collapse of ISL, the sports marketing firm that promised to pour over $1 billion into ATP coffers but which is on the brink of collapse.

The Stuttgart tourney, facing dwindling attendance and difficulties in rounding up financing, looks to be doomed. Madrid should be a good bet to succeed, given that Spain is a hotbed of tennis which is currently without a top level men's or women's event. Coincidentally, as a report in the German news agency DPA pointed out, both Stuttgart and Madrid are hoping to host the 2012 Olympic Games. One wouldn't think that losing a major sporting event like a TMS, especially to its Spanish rival, will help Stu ttgart's bid very much.

Stuttgart is not likely to be the last TMS event to be scrambling for funds in the next few months. Watch for Hamburg, Monte Carlo, Rome and Canada as other trouble spots on the TMS calendar.

Of course, the problems run deeper than just Stuttgart and the TMS. A column last week penned by the esteemed Daily Telegraph tennis writer John Parsons drew attention to worries about the future of middle-tier events, such as the Vienna indoor tournament played earlier this month.

Gone are the glory days when Thomas Muster's name alone would send Austrian fans rushing to the ticket windows. Attendance got a boost this year when local player Stefan Koubek unexpectedly reached the semifinals, but in general, the crowds were disappointing. The lesser tournaments are certainly not helped by the fact that the few big names who attend them often turn in lackluster performances. That was the case at Vienna this year, as top draws Kafelnikov, Ivanisevic, Corretja, Henman, Rusedski and M oya all slumped to early-round defeats.

John Parsons made the interesting point that the great emphasis placed by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) on the TMS events may be part of the problem, as it necessarily devalues the lower-tier tourneys in relative terms. Parsons called for nothing less than a "complete overhaul" of the tennis calendar, "with priority going first to the Slams - including an extra week between the French Open and Wimbledon - and then the four Davis Cup weeks, which at the moment seem to be regarded more by s ome as a calendar irritant than one of the game's greatest attractions."

An interesting idea, but given the political landscape of the game, it's unlikely to be realized. The Slams and Davis Cup are both governed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), not the ATP. The ATP has an uneasy relationship with the ITF events, seeing them as, in a sense, competition for the ATP tour. For the ATP to streamline its calendar so that it revolves around the ITF events would be seen as a kind of admission of defeat.

All this jogged our feeble memory this week, and we were reminded of a surprising statement by Stefan Edberg six years ago. The Swedish great, who of course made a fortune playing the game, opined near the end of his career that tennis prize money was too high, and, in the long term, this state of affairs was unsustainable. Perhaps the always-thoughtful Edberg was ahead of his time in making this pronouncement.

Mirnyi and Mikaelian stump the stars

Happily, Stuttgart was also the scene of some tremendous tennis this week, as Belarussian qualifier Max Mirnyi astonished the gallery by storming to the final. Not to be outdone, the WTA's Tier I event in Zürich saw some surprises, most notably the quarterfinal run of Swiss wild card Marie-Gaïané Mikaelian.

Mirnyi, the hulking 24-year-old serve-volleyer known affectionately as "The Beast", has long been regarded as a player with enormous potential. He has come close to high-profile achievements in the past. Who can forget his heart-breaking five-set defeats in the last two U.S. Opens, against Magnus Norman and Gustavo Kuerten?

The Beast finally put it all together in Stuttgart. After nearly being eliminated by Jan Vacek in qualifying ? Mirnyi saved two match points ? he went on an astonishing and devastating tear that saw him sweep past reigning major champions Kuerten (again saving two match points!) and Ivanisevic, as well as former Grand Slam title-holders Sampras and Kafelnikov.

Max Mirnyi has come a long way from the youngster who was best known for his mixed doubles successes alongside Serena Williams. Already a feared opponent, he has now graduated to the scary level.

Unlike Max Mirnyi, the 17-year-old Marie-Gaïané Mikaelian is just starting out in the pros. A Swiss of Armenian extraction, Mikaelian had already shown her potential this year by reaching the semis in Tashkent in June ? in only her second tour event ? and the Basel final in July. But the youngster picked up her biggest win this week. Playing in her first Tier 1 event in Zurich, Mikaelian beat seventh-seeded Elena Dementieva, making it look easy in straight sets, before conceding just four games to Russi an veteran Tatania Panova in a 6-1, 6-3 trouncing that lasted just 62 minutes. Mikaelian's run ended against new women's #1 Jennifer Capriati, a 6-4, 6-2 defeat. But the kid had impressive moments despite the loss, as she flashed her trademark power game and lethal two-handed backhand.

Mikaelian appears to be carrying a few extra kilos ? the official Zurich website politely described her as "robust" -- but the teenager strikes the ball potently and shows no fear. In junior events Mikaelian played for Armenia because of some disagreements with the Swiss federation, but she now represents Switzerland as a professional. Indeed, she is Swiss-born, and makes her home in Yens-sur-Morges, near Lausanne. The Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger provided some further data for those curious abou t this rising star.

• Admires Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Gustavo Kuerten
• Describes herself as "quiet, polite and a bit shy"
• Her father Georges is a dentist
• Likes Oriental and Armenian food
• Listens to American music as well as the Armenian-French singer Charles Aznavour

Marie-Gaïané Mikaelian showed she can play with the world's best this week, and she believes she is ready to compete at the tour's highest level. "It's never easy against the number one," observed the young Swiss after her match with Capriati, "but I don't have the feeling there was a big difference between us." Definitely, this is a girl to watch in the coming years.