McIntyre Tennis

Nalbandian Hangs up his Racquet

Former world number three, David Nalbandian, has announced his retirement from the game after enjoying a successful 13-year career.

The 31-year-old Argentinian won 11 titles and reached the 2002 Wimbledon final, when he was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt, as well as reaching four other Grand Slam semi-finals.

Nalbandian went through to the last four of the French Open in 2004 and 2006 as well as reaching the US Open semi-final in 2003 and the same stage of the Australian Open three years later.

A well-known player among tennis fans on betfair.com, he reached number three in the world in March 2006 and finished in the year-end top ten of the ATP rankings on five occasions.

However, he has been troubled by a shoulder injury recently and said, when confirming his decision to quit the game: "I can play matches, but my shoulder won't let me continue my career. I can't play like that at a professional level.”

"It's tough because I have to announce my retirement from the sport that gave me so much. I'm very grateful."

Nalbandian represented Argentina in three Davis Cup teams that reached the final - in 2004, 2008, 2011 - and he has fond memories of those achievements, adding: "It's the event that I felt was different from the others.

“The pressure and the support of the people, it's something unique. It's a shame Argentina couldn't win it, but that's the way it was."

Nalbandian reached his last final at the 2013 Brasil Open in Sao Paulo, when the perennial favourite on betfair, Rafael Nadal, beat him. However, after helping his country beat France in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup earlier this year, he was forced to undergo an operation on his right shoulder.

Nalbandian has announced that he will play a series of farewell exhibition matches against Nadal, which are scheduled to start on the 21^st of November.

Rogers Cup Day One Review

 By Mike McIntyre

Day one from the Rogers Cup offered up some quality first round matches in Montreal. Some were able to meet expectations while others did not.

Falling into the category of the latter would be David Nalbandian against 16th seeded Stanislas Wawrinka. While the world's second ranked Swiss player held a solid 5-3 record against Nalbandian heading into the match, the Argentine won their last encounter with ease a year ago by a score of 6-1, 6-3.

Nalbandian has had a tough year, one that once again has been negatively impacted by health issues. Requiring not one, but two separate surgeries to his left leg/groin areas, Nalbandian missed three months on the tour and returned just in time for the brief grass-court season. He lost in the third round of both Queen's (Verdasco) and Wimbledon (Federer) before falling to James Blake in the first round of Washington where he was the defending champion. His inability to defend those ranking points sent him plummeting 24 spots in the ranking to his current spot of 51st in the world.

Nalbandian looked ordinary on Center Court against Wawrinka today and could not make a dent in his game. He looked somewhat lethargic and allowed Wawrinka to win easily 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the second round where he will now face the winner of the Michael Russell vs. Albert Montanes match scheduled for tomorrow.

Wawrinka was moving well on the court today and never seemed bothered by Nalbandian's game. His assessment of his opponent was pretty much to the point as he said that, "With him, you never know.  Today he was not playing really good. I think he's not really ready." He pointed out that perhaps at Nalbandian's age he is not quite as fit as he needs to be. "But maybe with the year (age), he's 29 now, maybe it's not easy for him to play many matches at the top level."

Nalbandian was practicing on the weekend with big-serving Ivo Karlovic - perhaps not the best player to prepare for a groundstroke battle with an all-round player like Wawrinka.

In the second match of the day on the main stage, the ever-present Juan Carlos Ferrero took on enigmatic Ernests Gulbis. JCF held a 1-0 head-to-head advantage coming into the match and had looked strong lately on clay in winning his sixteenth career title in Stuttgart. Ferrero's season has been a trying one however as he did not play his first tournament until April due to wrist and knee injuries. He was then out between May and July when those same ailments began acting up once again. Today was his first hard-court action of the year and he got off to a good start by taking the opening set 6-3.

Gulbis has been playing some of the best tennis of his career as of late as the 22 year old won his first title of the year and second of his career in Los Angeles against Mardy Fish. Could it be that Gulbis is finally going to deliver on his enormous potential? He dug deep today against Ferrero to comeback and win 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. Next on the horizon will be a match against the winner of tomorrow's match between Mikhail Youzhny and Michael Llodra.

Other matches of note on the outside courts included the talented Alexandr Dolgopolov, who survived a scare from Erik Chvojka of Canada who is ranked 290th in the world and was entered in the draw thanks to a wildcard from Tennis Canada. Dolgopolov had to battle to win 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Big serving Ivo Karlovic snapped out of a funk that has seen him lose seven of his last eight matches on the tour. He prevailed today against Juan Monaco 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(5) for only his second win since May. Speaking with him afterwards, Karlovic recalled that when he turned thirty it was, "the most depressing day of my life, so I know how Roger must feel now."

American Alex Bogomolov Jr. continued his surprising play of late by dispatching Adrian Mannarino in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6(4).

Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil knocked-off Andrey Golubev 7-5, 7-6(6). Golubev has now lost eighteen straight matches. He is quickly approaching the all-time losing record of Vince Spadea who at one point in his career lost twenty-one consecutive matches. Talk about having your resolve to keep playing thoroughly tested.

Marin Cilic, who it seems to me is due for some sort of breakthrough this year, was able to dispatch of Andreas Seppi 7-5, 6-4.

Nikolay Davydenko defeated Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 6-3 to advance to an interesting second round encounter. Davydenko will now face world number one Novak Djokovic in the second night match on Tuesday in Montreal. While a shell of his former self, Davydenko will be a tricky opening opponent for Djokovic. The Serb has not played yet due to a first round bye.

At night, Juan Martin Del Potro easily handled Jarkko Nieminen by a margin of 6-4, 6-0. I've personally stopped feeling any sympathy for Nieminen ever since he trounced Andre Agassi in the last two sets of the American's last appearance at the French Open. In that match in 2005, Agassi was up two sets to one until his back acted up and he was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-0.

The 19th ranked Del Potro is on a collision course to face Djokovic in the third round in what would be a marquee match-up that early in the event. The 2009 U.S. Open winner has been making some solid progress since missing most of the 2010 season due to injury and is certainly going to be back in the top ten, perhaps even top five if he continues at this rate.

Del Potro refused to speculate on facing Djokovic and gave the classic "one match at a time" answer when pressed.

"Yeah, I know that. But first I will have to play against Cilic. Will be very difficult match for both.  We know each other since juniors. We play many, many times. It's really difficult match for me because he knows everything about my game, and I know many things about his game, too. But first I have to beat him and then I will thinking if I have another match. Before (Djokovic), Cilic in the next round."

The final match of the night was between fan-favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fabio Fognini. The Frenchman advanced with some second set difficulty but was able to make Fognini the third in a trifecta of Italians to be bounced from the tournament. The final score was 6-4, 7-6(0). Tsonga was visited by the trainer in the second set when down a break and appeared to have - no joke - his head checked. Tsonga stuck around after the match to hit a few balls with a local wheelchair tennis player in a nice moment to end the evening.

One noticeable no-show today was birthday boy Roger Federer. With a bye in the first round he is not scheduled to play until Wedneday so we will have to wait until then to discuss how he feels about turning the big 3-0.

 

 

2011 Australian Open Men's Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Welcome back everyone to another season of tennis on the ATP World Tour. After an amazingly short break we are back to business and the first Grand Slam of 2011 is already upon us.

A year ago we watched Roger Federer surge out of the gates by defeating Andy Murray (the pre-tournament favorite) in Melbourne in straight sets. After that, Roger faltered while Rafael Nadal reclaimed the number one ranking and three Grand Slams in a row. The year ended with Federer finishing strong at the Tour championships in London and he seems poised to continue along that path in the new year.

An early season victory in Doha against Nikolay Davydenko signals Federer is ready to push Nadal for the number one ranking once more. But as he approaches the age of thirty, Federer is well aware that father time is going to be knocking on his door with increased frequency.

As for Nadal, a recent bout with the flu has put his preparation for a "Rafa-Slam" in jeopardy. How healthy will the Spaniard be as he tries to win his fourth consecutive slam?

From my perspective, we are ripe to have a new Grand Slam champion here this year. Despite Federer's apparent return to brilliance, he is much more prone to faltering now than ever before. He has been beaten in the past year by players that never would have previously given him the slightest challenge. Players like Berdych, Davydenko, Hewitt, Monfils and Soderling all earned big wins over the Swiss master in 2010. Once that aura of invincibility has disappeared, anything can happen.

With Nadal's health questionable, there is no guaranteeing he will be able to hack numerous best-of-five set matches in the tough Australian heat. He is susceptible to an early round upset depending on his fitness and if he endures those opening rounds will be forced to face some very difficult players in the quarter and semi-finals.

Nadal opens the main draw against Marcos Daniel of Brazil who is ranked 93rd in the world and is not exactly known for his hard-court abilities. In fact, Daniel was unable to amass a single victory on cement in 2010. Even Nadal at 50% is going to steamroll this guy in the opening round without a doubt.

Nadal could get Feliciano Lopez in round three and Marin Cilic or John Isner in the fourth round. David Ferrer or David Nalbandian could await in the quarter-finals. Nalbandian has given Nadal problems in the past, and both he and Ferrer faced-off in the finals of Auckland yesterday where Ferrer emerged victorious. The bottom line is that both players are feeling pretty good early on this year and will make Rafa work hard to earn a win against them.

In the semi-finals Nadal has players like Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling among his potential opponents. All of those foes are in the second quarter of the draw which promises to be a brutal one to navigate through. A Soderling vs. Tsonga round of sixteen match is possible as well as a Del Potro vs. Murray. Wow!

In the bottom half of the draw, fans will likely be cheering for a Roddick vs. Djokovic quarter final, followed by that winner taking on Federer in the semi-finals.

Roddick made the finals in Brisbane a week ago where he fell to Soderling. Djokovic played in the Hopman Cup but against lower opponents, so it is tough to gauge where his game is at just yet. Three years removed from his only Slam win however and we're all still waiting for the Serb to get it together and prove himself to be more than Rafa and Roger's understudy.

Don't forget about other big names in the bottom half of the draw like Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils and Nikolay Davydenko. This is the year where one of these guys could finally make it happen for the first time at a Grand Slam.

While we can expect the possibility of a Rafa vs. Roger final, I suggest being open to something quite different in two week's time. The stage is set and starting tomorrow we will see the first matches of our favorite kind of tennis take place - Grand Slam tennis! Sit back and enjoy the show.

 

 

Around The Corner: ATP Tour Puts Down in Europe

By Mike McIntyre

Back over to Europe for three indoor hard court tournaments this week on the ATP World Tour. The big news on the circuit last week was that Roger Federer tied Pete Sampras' all-time tournament tally with his 64th career win in Stockholm. Only another 45 before he equals Jimmy Connors mark of 109!

This week we have stops in Austria, France and Russia as the season begins to draw to a close.

Bank Austria Tennis Trophy

It's gimmick time in Vienna as the event has chosen to dust off 43 year-old Thomas Muster with a wild-card into the main draw. The former world number one and French Open champion has been playing a few challenger and futures level events this fall and has a 1-6 record so far in his "comeback."

Muster opens against enigmatic Ernests Gulbis in the first round. I'm not really too sure what to make of this stunt. Muster is over ten years past being able to play at a high level - why make a return to the tour now?

Local Jurgen Melzer gets the number one seed and deservingly so. Not only is he the defending champion at this event, but he has had a terrific 2010 that has seen him reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final and also defeat Rafael Nadal for the first time. Melzer gets a first round bye and could face wild-card James Blake in the second round.

Melzer will likely have to face Philipp Kohlschreiber in his section of the draw, and could also see clay-court guru Nicolas Almagro or veteran Xavier Malisse as well.

In the bottom half, Marcos Baghdatis and second seeded Marin Cilic are lurking. Cilic could really use a strong result to close out his season as it has been one great disappointment for him since a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open back in January.

Open Sud de France

Doesn't it seem like there is an ATP event in France every couple of weeks? The French must really love their tennis and who can blame them? They have an abundance of players in the top one hundred in the world. Their players also have a variety in their game that makes them among the most enjoyable to watch in the sport.

Look over the qualifying draw and you might be surprised to see an A. Agazzi entered. That would be Andrea Agazzi from Italy...no joke.

The main draw boasts number one seed Nikolay Davydenko who appears to be on his last legs of competitiveness since returning from a wrist injury back in the spring. His long-term hold on a top-ten position has reached its end as he has been unable to put together any type of consistent tennis all season. Davydenko gets a first round bye, which will probably actually hurt his chances.

Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic is in the top-half of the draw along with Frenchman Richard Gasquet who is my pick to win the tournament.

In the bottom half we find many other talented locals such as number two seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils. Again, what a great time to be a tennis fan in France. David Nalbandian is also present with a wild-card.

St. Petersburg Open

Russia welcomes Mikhail Youzhny as the top seed and a slew of other lesser known players into the field. It is arguably the weakest draw of the three tournaments and does not offer any first round exemptions.

Youzhny won the event way back in 2004 which speaks to his longevity on the tour. In 2009, Sergiy Stakhovsky emerged as the champion and he is back as the second seed this time around.

Viktor Troicki who just won his first ever tour event in Moscow is in the top-half of the draw, while Jeremy Chardy, Janko Tipsarevic and P.H. Mathieu are in the bottom section.

Enjoy the tennis this week everyone.

 

 

 

 

Third Round Men's Preview at U.S. Open

By Mike McIntyre

The third round will finish off play today at the U.S. Open leaving us with 16 competitors in the draw. So far all of the favorites still exist on the men's side with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray all looking strong. Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling are also still in the mix.

Here is a quick peak at some of the matches coming up today:

Nadal will take on Frenchman Gilles Simon. Gotta give props to France for having so many talented players in the top 50 on the ATP Tour at the moment. Simon is trying to rediscover his hardcourt form that led him to wins over both Nadal and Federer back in 2008. It's a different story in 2010 and I don't expect him to challenge Nadal. We're going with the Spaniard in three sets.

Feliciano Lopez the 23rd seed is up against Sergiy Stakhovsky with the winner to likely face Nadal. Stakhovsky just won the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven a week ago and comes in with great momentum. Lopez is inconsistent and his backhand is notoriously weak. Stakhovsky in four sets.

In an all-Spanish battle, the feisty David Ferrer will face countryman Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Ferrer made the semi's in New York in 2007 and his experience and determination will carry him through to the next round in four sets.

In what Brad Gilbert labeled a "popcorn" match on his Twitter account, David Nalbandian will face Fernando Verdasco. While Nalbandian has had a great summer he has struggled a bit lately and spent more time on court than Verdasco this summer. I wonder if he has enough gas left in the tank for this match. Verdasco only dropped five games in his last match and I expect him to come through against Nalbandian today in four sets. 

Fourth seeded Andy Murray is my pick to make it to the finals and will advance easily today against Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland. Three sets and expect a much tougher match against the next Swiss opponent I predict he will face.

American Sam Querrey will have the crowd behind him as he faces Nicolas Almagro today. Almagro is more known for his clay-court prowess but he hits a hard ball. Querrey should win this match but I've yet to see him have his Grand Slam breakthrough. If he does not win today his toughness in big matches will continue to be questioned. I'm gonna go with Almagro in five.

Another American, John Isner will take his big serve against Mikhail Youzhny the 12th seed from Russia. Youzhny can play top-ten tennis if he puts his mind to it and with Isner just returning from an ankle injury I see the Russian advancing in four sets. 

The last match on the men's side today has veteran Tommy Robredo against serve and volley whiz Michael Llodraw. This is a great opportunity for either of these players to make the fourth round of a major. Robredo is the more consistent of the two although the chips could fall either way. I'll take Tommy in five sets.

U.S. Open Day 2 Recap

By Mike McIntyre

The heat stole the spotlight for a second consecutive day in New York as the schedule at the U.S. Open went late into the night thanks to several long matches.

Acting as an equalizer between players, the humidity in particular narrowed the gap between the lesser known talents and their normally more dangerous counter parts. 

Here are some of the more interesting men's matches from day two at the Open.

Novak Djokovic came ever so close to being a first round casualty against fellow Serb Victor Troicki. Down two sets to one and a break in the fourth set it appeared as though Djokovic's fragile physique and mental fortitude would once again do him in. Brad Gilbert speculated that a potential Djokovic retirement would give him a career Slam in that department, as he has previously been forced to retire from play at the other three majors.

Instead Djokovic showed some heart as he broke back and then took the fourth and fifth sets as Troicki ran out of gas and allowed nerves to take over. Djokovic prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

A strange statistic is that Djokovic improved to 6-0 in Grand Slams when trailing two sets to one, and to 12-5 in matches that went to a fifth set. Those numbers go against the prevailing opinion of the world number three player when it comes to long matches. Maybe we should give him a bit more credit?

One seeded player who went five sets but could not prevent the upset was Marcos Baghdatis. The 2006 Aussie Open finalist has been on a good role this summer, making the finals in Washington D.C. and the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.

Not known for his physical fitness, Baghdatis perhaps became a victim of playing too much tennis over the last month. He even played the New Haven event the week before the U.S. Open which I never really saw the need for.

It was 32 year old veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement. himself an Aussie Open finalist from 2001, who defeated Baghdatis by a score of 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.

"What can I say? I was really heavy on court," Baghdatis said after the match. "I wasn't feeling very fit. It's not a matter of fit but very heavy. Couldn't play aggressive. I was really defensive today, and Arnaud played a very good first set. I mean, the second set he was giving a lot of points away and I took them, but I was really heavy on court. I was really defensive. I think I didn't play very good tennis, and he won the match."

A nice result today was the routine win for struggling American veteran James Blake who got by Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Blake has had a terrible time trying to get his game back on track this summer with a 3-8 record coming into the match since returning to the tour in June. Now ranked 108th in the world it will be tough for Blake to rediscover his previous form at the age of 30, but maybe he can conjure up a good run on home soil.

After the match Blake spoke of enjoying these types of victories at this stage of his career:

"Yeah, it's a great feeling. Any time you win a match, harken back to the days when my biggest goal and biggest dream was to win a round at the US Open. Somewhere along the way to some people it started to get taken for granted. It's still exciting for me to win a match here, to have fans that are excited to see me play and get to play again in front of some great fans. I'm happy to get through."

In the last men's match of the day, Nadal overcame a very tough Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-3. Nadal was pushed by the Russian in the first two sets but showed some great tennis in the third set to avoid prolonging the match any further. 

Other results worth noting include Mardy Fish taking down Jan Hajek in five sets. Fish has been on fire all summer long but required the distance to dispatch of Hajek. He won by an interesting score line of 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1. 

David Nalbandian also needed five sets to beat Rik De Voest and I wonder if he, like Baghdatis, has stretched himself too thin with so much match play this summer.

Tenth seeded David Ferrer, a semi-finalist in New York in 2007, beat up-and-coming Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

I also must give a shout-out to fellow Canadian Peter Polansky who won his first ever Grand Slam match by disposing of clay-court guru Juan Monaco, 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-3. Polansky has had some tough five-set losses in Grand Slam play so it's nice to see him finally pull one out.

U.S. Open Men's Preview

By Mike McIntyre

The U.S. Open main draw was revealed today and here at ProTennisFan we are very much excited for the commencement of the final Grand Slam of 2010. There are so many different possibilities to imagine this year in New York.

Will Rafa win his first U.S. Open? Can Andy Murray finally deliver in a Slam final? Could Roger Federer capture his second hard-court Slam of the year?

With defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro unable to compete due to his continued recovery from wrist surgery, we are guaranteed of seeing a different man hoisting the trophy this year on the final Sunday.

After watching back-to-back Masters 1000 events in August in Toronto and Cincinnati we can look at who the contenders and pretenders are for this year's edition. That being said, two tournaments does not give us a tremendous amount of depth to judge the field, so take these recommendations with a grain of salt.

Seeded number one, though certainly not playing like the favorite, is Rafael Nadal. His return to form in 2010 has been a welcome sight on the ATP Tour and he has just won successive Slams at the French Open and Wimbledon. Nadal has made no secret of the fact he wants to win the U.S. Open to complete his career Slam, but the Spaniard seems to have trouble sustaining his dominance in the latter stages of the season.

In Toronto he admitted that if he is not  playing at his best on hard-courts then he is vulnerable. At the Rogers Cup he navigated his way to the semi-finals before being soundly defeated by Andy Murray 7-5, 7-5 in straight sets. While a Nadal vs. Murray match on hard-courts is a coin flip most days, his loss to Marcos Baghdatis in Cincinnati shows that he is still struggling to find his rhythm on the surface.

Still, Nadal in a best of five set match is hard to bet against. At Wimbledon he twice came back from a two sets to one deficit to pull out the victory. Nadal grows stronger the longer a match lasts and I think we can all agree there is no way Baghdatis wins that match in Cincy if it went the distance.

In New York Nadal opens against Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia. He could face Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round against whom he has never lost, but was tested by in Toronto recently. An encounter with David Nalbandian in the quarter-finals would be interesting. The pair have a 2-2 career record against one another and with Nalbandian suddenly showing flashes of his old self we could be treated to a great match.

Other names to watch in the top quarter of the draw include the talented but unreliable Ernests Gulbis, lefty Fernando Verdasco and the up and coming Alexandr Dolgopolov who must first face 10th seeded David Ferrer in the first round. If this isn't the Slam where Dolgopolov announces his presence at, then I guarantee a strong showing in 2011.

In the second quarter, Andy Murray seems like a good bet to advance. He won the event in Toronto defeating Nadal and Federer in back-to-back matches and then fell in Cincinnati to Mardy Fish. Fish has Murray's number this year, beating him three times, but fortunately for Andy he does not have the veteran American anywhere near him in the draw.

Sam Querrey has had a great year with multiple titles, but still has not come up big in any definitive events on the tour schedule. He looked ordinary in a loss to Kevin Anderson in Toronto and I just don't feel the confidence from the 6'5'' American. A fourth round match against Murray looms which would be a re-match from their LA final in July where Querrey prevailed in a tight one. I don't see a repeat of that on the horizon for him this time around.

Tomas Berdych should find his way towards the quarterfinals as well in this section. With John Isner still hobbled by an ankle injury, I really do not see any true opposition for the emerging Czech super-star. He will battle Murray for a semi-final spot against Nadal.

The third quarter looks pretty good for Andy Roddick. If he has truly recovered from his mild case of mono then he should make a good dent in the draw. Roddick could face the acrobatic Gael Monfils in the third round and either Mardy Fish or Novak Djokovic in the quarters. Despite having a tough summer, Roddick showed us he is capable of defeating almost anyone after his performance in Cincinnati where he took care of Soderling and Djokovic back-to-back.

Djokovic meanwhile, seems lost lately and I'm not just saying that because he couldn't find his way to the draw ceremony in New York on time today. While he made the semis in Toronto, he was highly erratic in that match against Federer and then in Cincy he was beaten by Roddick in the quarters. His battles with the heat have continued and if he gets a day time match against a guy like Mardy Fish in the fourth round, I really don't feel confident picking him to advance.

Marcos Baghdatis should be mentioned as a potential sleeper in this section of the draw, but a second round match against Robby Ginepri could give him trouble as would a third round tilt with Fish. Baghdatis would have the crowd against him in either of those matches just as he did in 2006 against Andre Agassi.

Mardy Fish has had the summer of his career in 2010 and has recently risen to the number 21 ranking in the world. With two titles under his belt and a strong showing against Federer last week, he is a guy that nobody wants to face.

That being said, I don't like his chances in a five set match and he does seem to have a particularly tough section of the draw to work with.

Roger Federer lurks in the fourth quarter of the draw and comes into the Open as the favorite again this year. After winning five consecutive titles here, he mismanaged a two sets to one lead against Del Potro last year in the final. Federer has a great draw with Lleyton Hewitt and Jurgen Melzer as the only two names of note in the first four rounds. Neither will give him much of a struggle but Rodin Soderling could challenge in the quarter-finals.

With Nadal, Murray and Berdych all in the other half of the draw, it seems as though Federer has as good a chance as ever to get to his seventh straight U.S. Open final where he would feel right at home.

Even though Federer came ever so close to bowing out in Toronto to both Berdych and Djokovic he still managed to persevere for the gritty victories. In Cincinnati he certainly benefited from a first round bye, an abbreviated second round 5-2 win and then a third round walkover - but then he turned it up against Nikolay Davydenko and Baghdatis before waiting for the right moment to finally break Fish's serve for the title.

The possibility for a 17th Grand Slam title is very realistic and Federer seems eager to once again prove any doubters wrong. In 2008 he came into the Open without a Slam title to his name and waltzed through the draw with relative ease. He seems to have the same type of defiant attitude this time around which I think will work to his favor.

Semi-Finals:

Nadal vs. Murray and Roddick vs. Federer

Finals:

Federer over Murray in four sets

Be sure to follow us on Twitter throughout the tournament.  

Murray Brings Nalbandian Back to Earth

By Mike McIntyre

Reality set in today at the Rogers Cup in Toronto as David Nalbandian's win streak was halted at eleven. Beaten with ease by fourth seeded Andy Murray 6-2, 6-2, it appeared as though the Argentine simply ran out of gas.

A day after taking care of fifth seed Robin Soderling, Nalbandian's ground strokes missed the mark with regularity against Murray and his foot work seemed stagnant as well. A case of too much tennis in a short period of time perhaps.

Murray played his best match so far in the tournament and broke early in both the first and second set to take control of each frame.

Going into the match I'd have given Nalbandian a 50/50 chance to pull off the upset, given his 2-0 career head-to-head record against the Scot along with his stellar play of late. He has been playing top-15 tennis since coming back to the tour in July which is where his ranking should be when healthy.

On the positive side for the veteran ball-striker, he will now very likely be able to squeeze out a seeding at the U.S. Open in two week's time which should help him at his first Grand Slam appearance since the 2009 Aussie Open.

Murray now advances to the semi-finals where he will meet the winner of the Rafael Nadal/Philipp Kohlschreiber match in his attempt to defend his Rogers Cup title. 

Keep checking back for more updates from a fantastic day of tennis here in Toronto. The evening matches of Roger Federer vs. Tomas Berdych should answer a lot of questions we all have about the status of the Swiss star's game. Later, Novak Djokovic will try to take advantage of the cool night time conditions to play against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

You can also follow us on Twitter for timely updates throughout the day.

Berdych, Nalbandian and Federer Prevail At Rogers Cup

By Mike McIntyre

The day session has wrapped-up here at the Rogers Cup on Thursday and the tournament has been fortunate thus far to avoid any major upsets. While there have been some tense moments and momentum swings that could have progressed to that level, things are still on course for the anticipated Nadal/Murray and Djokovic/Federer semi-finals this weekend. In the meantime here are a few quick hits from the action today.

Comebacks:

David Nalbandian is certainly making some waves since returning from yet another injury layoff. Today he beat Robin Soderling  4-6, 6-4, 6-1 for his 11th consecutive win. A brief lapse in concentration where he double-faulted twice in a row while trying to serve for the first set at 4-5 would ultimately cause Nalbandian to lose the opening frame. After that he seemed to regain control of the match and breezed in the third set past the 5th ranked player in the world.

It would be hard to categorize the result as an upset, despite the fact that Soderling has been quite consistent over the past year. Nalbandian lead their head-to-head 5-1 coming into the match today and has the game that can hang with the Swede shot for shot.

Future-Stars:

Lookout for Alex Dolgopolov folks, this kid has got some serious game. Appearing small in stature today against the 6'5'' Tomas Berdych, Dolgopolov nearly toppled the giant by using a wide variety of shot selection and never appearing to be in awe of the 2010 Wimbledon finalist.

The youngest member of the top one hundred players in the world at age 21, Dolgopolov is a player on the rise. You wouldn't have guessed that he was playing in his first hard court tournament since early February and I'm somewhat confused as to why he has seemingly avoided playing on the surface for so long. 

This week in Toronto he managed to lose the first set in all three of his matches. Against both Philipp Petzschner and Mikhail Youzhny he failed to show up in the opening frame and fell 1-6 each time. In the second set he suddenly sprung to life against all of his opponents and especially today against Berdych where his first serve appeared to be unable to miss.

Dolgopolov's serve is one of his real strengths as it is almost impossible to read. His toss is non-existent and he makes contact with the ball while it is still on the rise.

Also on the rise is the young Ukrainian's ranking which since January 2009 has lept from 309th in the world to its current position at No. 49. 

The variety in Dolgopolov's game is what has impressed me the most this week. This is not your typical baseline basher and I would imagine all of his time playing on clay courts has helped develop this aspect of his play. Well timed drop-shots and lobs are a regular part of his repertoire, and his backhand slice is also quite lethal.

Against Berdych it appeared as though a final set tie-break would be required to settle the score, but Dolgopolov made a couple of tactical errors when serving at 4-5. He chose a poor time to approach the net and watched a Berdych shot whiz by him for 0-30. Berdych then charged the net during the following point which appeared to throw Dolgopolov off and force an error for 0-40. Then, in the ultimate disappointment, Dolgopolov had two first-serve lets, before double faulting to hand the match to Berdych, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4.

Still, winning two rounds at a Masters level tournament will give Dolgopolov a few ranking points that should help him progress towards the top-thirty. While I doubt a seeding at the U.S. Open is in the works, Dolgopolov will likely be on the list of players most would rather avoid at Flushing Meadows.

I'll be keeping an eye on his progression the rest of the year and would encourage anyone attending any ATP tournaments to make the effort to check this guy out. Watching an up and coming player like Dolgopolov on the outside courts is a treat you can talk about one day if he makes it big. 

Having Some Fun:

Finally, for fans looking for some good ol' fashioned serve and volleying with a side of the absurd, look no further than the Centre Court match that took place between Roger Federer and Michael Llodra.

These two apparently have quite a friendly history from their junior days when they were both very familiar with each others games. Since that time they have only played one professional match prior to today, and that came back in 1999 at a Challenger tournament in France where Federer prevailed in straight sets. The result was the same today with Roger winning 7-6, 6-3. 

Llodra didn't manage to take a set from the world No. 3 player, but he did walk off with his shirt. The Frenchman asked Federer for it at the end of the match and revealed that he did it because, "You know, for me, you know, Rogers is (a) legend, so it's a good present for my kids."

After fighting back in the first set and recovering from being down a break, Federer cruised in the tie-break while Llodra seemed to implode with a variety of double-faults, poorly executed drop shots and volleys that missed the mark as well.

In the second set when it appeared inevitable that Federer would take the match, Llodra even tried to surprise him with a rarely seen underhanded serve.

Asked if he had ever done that before, Llodra replied, "Yeah. But not in the match!"

Federer was all smiles in the post-match press conference where he revealed that, "It's the first time I got an underarm serve; third time somebody asked me for the shirt."

The light-hearted questions continued for Federer as he was later asked about the pink shirt he's sporting this week here in competition.

"I don't know where my head was when I chose pink, but I like it, you know. Honestly I've gotten a lot of praise for it. People apparently like it...so that's a good thing. It's only for, unfortunately or luckily, only for two tournaments because I'm going to be changing again for the Open, and I thought it was going to be something fun for the summer. That's kind of how it goes."

Roger will be hoping that his fun summer includes another U.S. Open title in September. His first true test since returning from a six week layoff will be tomorrow night at 7pm ET as he faces Berdych in a re-match of their Wimbledon quarter-final tilt that was won by the Czech.

Stay tuned to ProTennisFan for full coverage of that match and the other quarter-finals as well.

Nalbandian Showing Top-Ten Form Again

By Mike McIntyre

Anyone else ready to jump on the Nalbandwagon?

While I can't claim that nifty term as my own, I have no doubt that many tennis fans and members of the media will be starting to mention Nalbandian's name as a real threat as the U.S. Open approaches. The Argentine is sure to be on many people's list of darkhorse candidates. Giving Nalbandian the underdog tag however, is not doing him any justice. The reasons for his fall in the rankings has nothing to do with a lack of talent or work ethic.

Few players have had to endure the injury troubles that Nalbandian has faced in the past couple of seasons. I'd put him up there with Tommy Haas in terms of veteran players with tons of skill and little luck. Having reached the finals of Wimbledon in 2002, Nalbandian is one of only a few players who have made the semis of every other Grand Slam as well. (U.S. Open in '03, Australian Open in '06 and the French Open in '04 and '06.)

Nalbandian's injury troubles began in May of 2009 when he was sidelined for the rest of the ATP season after undergoing hip surgery. When he came back for the start of the 2010 season, an abdominal injury sustained during practice delayed his return until February. He managed to squeeze in two months of play before a right leg injury derailed his progress shortly before Wimbledon. Nalbandian was seemingly unable to remain healthy.

A month ago he made his return to the tour and since that time has been absolutely on fire, winning 11 matches in a row including his victory this morning in Toronto over 5th seed Robin Soderling, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. No wonder he seems so uncharacteristically cheerful in his press conferences this week. I feel like Nalbandian's biggest surprise in his comeback so far has been his noticeable attitude adjustment rather than the crisp ball-striking that I figured would surely return to him.

"I've been a long time out of the circuit, and I'm really enjoying this time now," Nalbandian revealed after the match. Talk about an understatement!

He went on to say that the injuries, "...made me think about that and get more motivation to come, to play, to enjoy it, and work on my last few years on the tour."

Nalbandian's impressive winning streak began with a 3-2 Davis Cup quarter-final victory by Argentina versus Russia in July. He was instrumental in that win by knocking off both Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets.

He followed up that impressive display by marching right through the draw at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C. His path of destruction left top-thirty level guys like Wawrinka, Cilic, Simon and finally Baghdatis in its wake.

Toronto has provided players like Nalbandian with an excellent platform towards recovery in the past. Two years ago it was Nicolas Kiefer of Germany who reclaimed his game by marching all the way to the finals where he lost to Rafa Nadal. While Nalbandian came into the tournament with a good number of wins under his belt, this is a Masters 1000 tourney with a much tougher crowd to face.

The journey for Nalbandian will only get more difficult each day he stays alive in Toronto. Next up is world number four, Andy Murray. Once again Nalbandian will be labeled the underdog, but other players should beware if they treat him that way or they might be joining Robin Soderling with an early visit to Cincinnati. 

Here are a few more pictures from today taken by photographer Bob McIntyre: