McIntyre Tennis

ATP Miami Open Draw Analysis

By Mike McIntyre

Inspired by watching a fantastic week and a half of tennis in Indian Wells, I return to write my first tennis article since the U.S. Open in August. While my passion for tennis is as strong as ever, finding time to properly devote to the sport has been a challenge since becoming a Dad a year and a half ago. It is a challenge that I happily relinquish my writing skills to with every opportunity I have to spend with my wonderful son Emmett. That being said I think I am finally ready (and able) to spend the occasional late night returning to focus on the developments on the ATP World Tour that I have so enjoyed covering for the past eight years.

Here then is my take on the upcoming Miami Open, the final hard court tournament until after Wimbledon in roughly four months.

First Quarter

Well if anyone can complete the Indian Wells/Miami double then who better than world number on Novak Djokovic. Not only did he accomplish that feat last year, but he is also fresh off his 50th career ATP title (one more than his coach Boris Becker) and his 21st Masters 1000 event. Djokovic is certainly the man to beat so far in 2015. He has two tournament victories in the four events he has appeared in and those just happen to be the two biggest draws we have had so far this year (Aussie Open and BNP Paribas Open). Novak will open against either Paolo Lorenzi or Martin Klizan after receiving an opening round bye. Smooth sailing appears to be in his forecast until the quarter-finals where he could meet 7th seeded David Ferrer or perhaps the big serving Ivo Karlovic, seeded 22nd, who beat him earlier this year in Qatar.

Other interesting names in the top quarter include Lleyton Hewitt who appears ready to call it a career after this season, the enigmatic and controversial Alexandr Dolgopolov (who claimed last week that female players have a harder time dealing with injuries than the men) and Gilles Simon who at times looks like he is indeed a top-20 player. Ferrer and Karlovic however seem to be the two most likely to advance to a quarter-final match against the Djoker.

Second Quarter

This section of the draw has "fireworks" written all over it with the likes of Milos Raonic, John Isner, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov and the returning Juan Martin Del Potro appearing. Nishikori should be able to navigate his way to the quater-finals here, though lookout for veteran Mikhail Youzhny who he could face in the second round. Youzhny has been a shell of his former self over the past year but I would never count him out. Anyone who hits himself in the head with a racquet is a foe I'd hate to face!

In the bottom section of this quarter is where the real fun is set to unfold. Dimitrov draws the worst of the lot by having to potentially face Del Potro in the second round, Isner in the third and then Raonic in the fourth. Ouch! Del Potro is a face that tennis fans worldwide will be happy to welcome back to the sport after only playing a single tournament (Sydney in January 2015) since February 2014 due to ongoing issues with his left wrist. Del Po will have a strong test from Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the opening round. The 24 year old Canuck is on a role lately after playing hero for Canada in closing out their Davis Cup tie against Japan in the 5th and deciding rubber and then winning the Indian Wells doubles title along with Jack Sock. Pospisil is currently ranked 60th in the world but one that many would consider a top 30 talent.

Based on his play of late, another Canadian - Milos Raonic - will have to be considered the favourite to advance in this section of the draw. Raonic has been so consistent over the past year, making 8 of his last 10 Masters 1000 quarter-finals or better. A hard serving battle against Isner in the third round would be fun to watch (if you like that kind of stuff) and a re-match from Davis Cup against Nishikori in the fourth round would also capture our attention.

Third Quarter

A showdown between 3rd seeded Andy Murray and 6th seeded Stan Wawrinka is what fans will be looking for in the third quarter-final. Murray seems in-form after a semi-final showing in Indian Wells, while Wawrinka has been underachieving lately. A second round defeat last week at the hands of Robin Haase highlights the up and down nature of the Swiss No. two's game lately. He has cooled since he opened the year with two tournament victories and a 5 set semi-final loss to Djokovic at the Aussie Open. Which Wawrinka will we see in Miami this week? Anyway you look at it the stats will tell you that he has never before advanced beyond the 4th round at this event, but who do you see in his draw (Lopez, Sock) that could realistically take him down?

Fourth Quarter

Rafael Nadal takes Roger Federer's place as the 2nd seed in this event as the Swiss superstar is sitting this one out for some family time. Nadal is admittedly not yet back to his usual self and with the clay court season about to begin I can't imagine he is overly concerned with how he performs in his final hard court event for the next few months. Tomas Berdych is in this section and would be his likely quarter-final opponent. A fantastic third round match could transpire between Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga is making his first appearance in 2015 after being sidelined with an arm injury sustained in Davis Cup late last year. Too soon to get our hopes up with him, so I'd stick with a Berdych/Nadal quater-final in this section of the draw.

Enjoy this final hardcourt tourney before we switch to two months of red clay followed by a brief transition to grass court tennis. Djokovic appears the man to beat here as he is the defending champion and showed no signs of weakness in last week's tournament victory (minus three untimely double faults to Federer in the 2nd set breaker). I have to give Murray a shot here as well since he has won the event twice before and has a favorable draw to the semis. He might be better rested than Djokovic for this one in fact. Only time will tell.

Tuesday at the Rogers Cup in Pictures

By Mike McIntyre

There was more rain on day two of the Rogers Cup in Toronto but things eventually cleared up and by the afternoon everything was back on schedule. Roger Federer made his hardcourt summer debut and three Canadians all made an exit from the tournament leaving Milos Raonic as the only Canuck remaining in the draw. Here are some of my favourite shots from around the grounds today. Enjoy!

Frank Dancevic practices in the morning despite the rain shower.

Philipp Kohlschreiber's shirt might have jinxed the German as he was defeated 6-3, 7-6(3) by Tommy Robredo.

The drying machines proved their worth today and made several appearances throughout the morning as the rain continued to fall.

There's a first for everything. Dancevic looks incredulous as he is asked to sign a fans purse.

An auction item of the last Toronto Maple Leafs team to win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully we don't have to wait that long for a Canadian to win the Rogers Cup!

Despite the wet courts, "La Monf" flashes a grin during morning practice.

 

World Number One Novak Djokovic grins as he prepares to return a shot to coach Marian Vajda. Djokovic makes his singles debut Wednesday in Toronto.

Warning: being the world number one comes with high pressure. At least Novak has an emergency exit!

 

Here we can see reality sinking in for 612th ranked Brayden Schnur of Canada who fell 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round to Andreas Seppi who is ranked 561 spots higher than him on the ATP World Tour.

 Someone finally got a smile out of the normally very professional Milos Raonic. Had to be the Djoker!

Wildcard Jack Sock celebrates his 6-1, 6-3 win over Jurgen Melzer.

Dancevic faltered today in a match he should have found a way to win. He goes down 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 to Donald Young.

To say Young was happy with the result was an understatement.

Likely the scariest serve on the tour. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic

Monfils battled back from a 1-5 deficit in the second set to beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-5.

Tough day for Vasek Pospisil who admitted he has simply, "been on the road a lot of weeks." He loses the rematch with Richard Gasquet 7-5, 7-5.

 

And then there was Federer. Playing in his first match since an epic final at Wimbledon he looked ready to rock. Broken in his first service game of the night, Federer would not have any more hiccups in a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Peter Polansky.

The view from the very top of the Rexall Centre tonight for the Federer/Polansky match.

Former world Number One and six time Grand Slam champion Stefan Edberg was inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame this evening.

Federer doing some post-match press to end his night.

 

Stan Wawrinka saved a match point against close friend Benoit Paire and prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) to end another fantastic day of tennis in Toronto.

Check back with us often here at ProTennisFan as we continue to provide a glimpse at all the action at the Rogers Cup. Follow us on Twitter as well for regular updates and commentary. 

Rogers Cup ATP Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Once an optional blip on the screen for pro tennis players, the Rogers Cup has become perhaps the most important event outside of the four Grand Slams on the ATP World Tour. While the Emirates U.S. Open Series has already seen events in Atlanta and Washington, it is the start of the Rogers Cup that really signifies the start of the summer hardcourt swing. This is where the favourites for the upcoming U.S. Open begin to show their stuff and help build momentum towards the crowning of what is arguably the hardest Slam to win.

In Toronto this year the favourite will no-doubt be world number one Novak Djokovic. Fresh off his second career Wimbledon title, Djokovic has worked hard to re-establish himself as the premiere player on the Tour. His victory at the All-England Club sent him past Rafael Nadal in the rankings and has likely given him the confidence to continue that impressive level of play throughout the summer. The Serb has already won the event in Canada three times which is the most of any players participating in this year's draw.  (2007, 2011, 2012). For Nadal, a right wrist injury has unfortunately sidelined him for the Rogers Cup where he was to be the defending champion. Hopefully the next three weeks of rest will allow his body time to recover in time for Flushing Meadows in New York.

Here is our look at the draw for this years Rogers Cup:

Djokovic has already been on-site for several days in Toronto and participated in the draw ceremony on Friday at the Ontario Legislature. On Saturday the world number one captured the attention of teenage music fans when he hit a few balls with Niall Horan of One Direction fame.

Djokovic gets a first round bye along with the other top seven seeds at the Rogers Cup. His first match will be against the winner between Gael Monfils and Radek Stepanek. That match between "le Monf" and "the worm" will undoubtedly be one of the more entertaining pairings on deck in the opening round.The Djoker could also see Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round which would make for yet another challenging match.

One unexpected curve-ball in Djokovic's quarter of the draw is the presence of Andy Murray who has won the Rogers Cup twice himself. Murray has yet to reach the finals of any ATP event so far in 2014 and has seen his ranking slip to 10th in the world. He finds himself seeded 8th here in Toronto but could face Djokovic in a blockbuster quarter-final match-up. While I do see Djokovic moving through his quarter, there will be a stern test in every match for him to overcome.

In the second quarter of the draw we find Stan Wawrinka as the 3rd seed. Wawrinka now shares the spotlight among Swiss tennis players and is no longer viewed as Roger Federer's understudy. In a move that will surely generate some buzz in the doubles draw in Toronto, Wawrinka will be partnering Djokovic to help the two get a little extra hardcourt practice. Wawrinka will face either Alejandro Falla or a qualifier in the second round when he begins play. Beyond that, Stan's first real test could be in the quarter-finals against the up and coming Grigor Dmitrov who is seeded 7th.

In the third quarter, Tomas Berdych will try to improve upon his recent result at the Citi Open in Washington where as the number one seed he fell in his third round match to resurgent young Canadian Vasek Pospisil. Berdych is the 4th seed in Toronto and will open against either Yen-Hsun Lu or Marcel Granollers. He should be able to sail into the quarter-finals where he could very likely face another Canadian - Milos Raonic.

The "Maple Leaf Missile" has stepped up his game to another level this year and has proven that he belongs in the top ten. A quarter-final result at the French Open was an unexpected surprise for the hard-serving Canuck whose game is more suited to faster surfaces. He then followed that up by reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon where he was eventually defeated by Federer. Raonic won the Citi Open in Washington on Sunday against his compatriot Pospisil in what was the first all-Canadian final of the Open Era of tennis on the ATP World Tour. In short, Canadian tennis fans have plenty to be excited about this week as the world of tennis turns its focus to their major tournament.

In the last quarter of the Rogers Cup draw, Federer is in the number two position and will face either Jerzy Janowicz or Canadian wildcard Peter Polansky in his opening match. Federer has a very agreable section of the draw to work his way into and his subsequent opponents could be Marin Cilic in round three, David Ferrer or John Isner in the quarters and then either Berdych or Raonic in the semis. Federer has to be happy with this draw and should likely find himself playing deep into the tournament.

Other players of note in the draw are the 6'11'' Ivo Karlovic who is something to behold if you are attending the event live. He opens against Bernard Tomic in the top-half of the draw and fans will have the opportunity to get up close on the Granstand Monday afternoon to see his incredible serve in action.

Australian teenage sensation Nick Kyrgios received a wildcard from Tennis Canada and faces Santiago Giraldo of Columbia in the opening round. This kid you'll remember from defeating Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon a few weeks ago before falling to Raonic in the quarters. This will be a good chance to see what all the hype is about and he should face Andy Murray in the second round.

Veteran Lleyton Hewitt is making his tenth appearance at the Canadian Masters 1000 event, but his first in Toronto since 2006. At 33 years old, this could very well be Hewitt's last appearance here in Toronto and a great chance for fans to see this former Grand Slam champion in action for a final time.

In terms of Canadian content, there is Milos of course who the fans will be counting on to contend for the title. He is defending finalist points this year and hopefully is not too tired from his run in Washington.

Posipisil also had enormous success last year in Montreal where he lost fo Raonic in the semi-finals. He's played a lot of tennis over the last few days with his quarter-final match in Washington being finished the same day as his three set semi-final victory against Richard Gasquet. Pospisil will be quite familiar with Gasquet by the end of the Rogers Cup as the two are slated to face one another in the opening round of both singles and doubles play. Vasek is slated to re-join doubles partner Jack Sock and see if they can continue their impressive partnership that has yielded a 10-0 record and two titles this summer including at Wimbledon.

Veteran Frank Dancevic recently cracked the top hundred in the ATP rankings for the first time in years and opens against American Donald Young. Dancevic has fallen back to 123rd in the world over the last couple of weeks however and we will see if he is fit enough to show glimpses of his 2007 form that saw him reach that quarter-finals in Montreal.

Finally there is the previously mentioned Polansky who plays Janowicz in an opening round match that is a big-ask for the 129th ranked Canadian. He has proven resilient playing in front of a home crowd however and has twice advanced past the first round at the Rogers Cup.

Keep checking back with us regularly as we will be attending the event live all week long and providing match updates and plenty of photos as well. You can check us out on Twitter as well for timely updates.

Ivo Karlovic Stands Tall, Speaks Softly

By Mike McIntyre

Croatian Ivo Karlovic is known for two things. The first, something that one notices immediately upon seeing the 125th ranked tennis player in the world - that he stands a remarkable 6'10''. The second can only be seen on a tennis court and even then is sometimes hard to see if you blink too quickly - his sizzling first serve. Yup, Dr. Ivo, as he is often referred to, can crank the tennis ball upwards of 150 miles per hour on his serve.

Karlovic has been on the ATP World Tour since 2000 and has amassed a pretty amazing career based mostly on his ability to send opponents cowering in fear as his service motion sends the ball flying by them.

On Thursday in Montreal, Karlovic was beaten by 7th seed Thomas Berdych 6-3, 7-6(2) in the third round of the Rogers Cup. For a player who had lost seven of eight matches coming into the event, his moderate success here this week is a step in the right direction.

I found some time to speak with Ivo one-on-on earlier in the week and was impressed with how softly a man of his size can speak but also by his sense of humor that comes across quite easily despite not speaking English as a first language.

I had to ask Karlovic what the pros and cons of living life from such a high vantage point. Not surprisingly the pros category included having a unique view of the world.

"Well it is good because I can overlook everything. When I walk down the street I can see a mile away even though my eyes are not as good as when I was young but I can still see a lot more than everybody else."

I was surprised, however, with the restrictions that the Croat mentioned on the flip side of things.

"The only thing which I don’t like is I cannot buy a car which I like. I like sports cars but I cannot drive them. I tried once to fit in a Lamborghini and it didn’t go that well!"

I guess an austin-mini is out of the question then. Too bad, could you imagine "Dr. Ivo" driving around in an Austin Powers-inspired mini with personalized plates?

Karlovic was happy to oblige all the questions I threw at him and seemed eager to address the issue of his supposed one-dimensional game. Sure the guy can serve better than pretty much any of his peers, but he must also have some functional tools to help him break his opponents when they are delivering their own rockets?

"I think in today’s game there is not a lot of volleyers," Karlovic noted, "so I think I am doing a pretty good job. Also everybody thinks that I don’t move as well but for my height and my weight I think I am pretty good at it."

Ivo is also one of the most active Twitter users amongst professional tennis players. A recent tweet from his account included, "Some guy on the street just asked me where he can buy weed!! Maybe I should shave..."

That sense of humor also came up when asked if he feels like one of the elder-statesmen on the tour at the age of 32. "Yeah, I mean of course. I remember when I turned thirty years old it was the most depressing day of my life, so I know how Roger (Federer) must feel now. But you know, on the other hand I’m also grateful that I played this long because a lot people don’t."

Karlovic revealed that baring injuries, he foresees his career lasting a few more years. With his serve unlikely to taper-off anytime soon and with continued progress on the volleys and foot-speed that he touched upon, there is no reason to believe that opponents won't be dodging those bullets for several more seasons.