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.

Men's U.S. Open Preview 2014

By Mike McIntyre

I've always enjoyed the ups and downs that a year on the ATP Tour can bring us. When you have a season that lasts from January (or even the end of December) until November you are bound to have ebbs and flows and an ever changing wave of momentum that sees players rise and fall at different times in the schedule. Seemingly impervious to these ups and downs in recent years have been Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal who currently sit at number one and two in the Emirates World Rankings. Yet as the final Grand Slam of 2014 is set to begin, both of these steady talents find themselves on the outside of the list of favorites in New York - and for very different reasons at that.

It has been almost a week now since Nadal has announced what everyone suspected earlier this summer when he revealed a right wrist injury he sustained after Wimbledon. While he initially pulled-out only from Toronto and Cincinnati leaving the door open to a return at the U.S. Open, many believed that the Spaniard would be unable to make it back to the form required to compete in gruelling best-of-five set matches. The tournament will be without it's defending champion and one of its biggest stars.

Djokovic on the other hand will be participating at Flushing Meadows and seeking his second title in New York however his play this summer has not indicated that he is the front-runner by any stretch. A 2-2 hardcourt record in August and straight set losses to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tommy Robredo do not bode well for his chances over the next two weeks. While the loss in Toronto could be attributed to some rust after not playing since Wimbledon and getting married as well, the Cincy defeat had no excuse for a world number one. Djokovic's attention and tennis game seem to be elsewhere. Djokovic's faltering game coupled with the previously mentioned loss of Nadal in the draw and suddently there are 127 other players who are just chomping at the bit to make their mark in New York this year. That being said, let's take a look at the draw and who we might be watching play for the title in two week's time.

First Quarter

While Djokovic is the top seed and may very well surprise us all by suddenly returning to form, I feel that players like John Isner, Julien Benneteau and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could prove otherwise.

Isner has always been a threat on the hardcourts of North America and typically has success at the smaller lead-up events such as Atlanta and Washington. He did win in Atlanta this year and then was bounced early in D.C. as well as Toronto and Cincinnati. Still, Isner has the serve and the home crowd that could propell him to a round of sixteen match against the struggling Djokovic. If Tsonga and Robredo can beat the Serb, why not Isner? While Djokovic has a 5-2 career head-to-head against Isner, the two have always had close matches. Isner made the quarter-finals of the Open in 2011 and I feel he is a strong candidate to repeat that again this year.

Tsonga put together a week that most players can only dream of when he knocked off four top-ten players in Toronto (Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov and Federer) en route to the second Masters 1000 title of his career. Then, just after he appeared invincible, he fell in his opening round match in Cincy to Mikhail Youzhny. In all fairness, Youzhny is a top-level opponent and Tsonga did not have much time to recharge in-between events. A third round match with compatriot Julien Benneteau would be a tough one and could leave either vunerable to a round of sixteen encounter with Andy Murray who has justifiably (given his play) been flying under the radar. Before we discuss Murray, let's look at Benneteau. At 32 years old this veteran has been playing some fantastic tennis this year and is currently ranked 27th in the world. He reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati recently and is a guy I feel could have an unexpectedly deep run in New York. The one knock against Benneteau is that he has only made it past the third round of a Slam three times over the course of his career. He trails Tsonga 4-5 in their career meetings but has won their only encounter this year on hard court in Indian Wells.

Now we come to Murray who by his own admission has not had a strong season. He can only use the "returning from back surgery" excuse for so long and fans are growing impatient to see some results from his partnership with coach Amelia Mauresmo. Murray has failed to reach the finals of any event on tour so far in 2014. The last year that Murray did not win a tournament was in 2005 and the last year he failed to make a final was 2004. With most of the season behind us, Murray is running out of time to keep his streak going. Could he reverse his fortunes with a deep run here at the Open? It is not out of the question, but my prediction here is on Isner to rise to the occasion and surprise a lot of people.

My Pick: Isner d Murray

Second Quarter

Could Canadian Milos Raonic make his third straight Grand Slam quarter-final at the Open? I'd put money on it if I were the betting type. Over the past four years this guy has done all the right things in terms of his learning curve as a professional tennis player. Deservingly ranked 6th in the world, this could be Raonic's best chance at his first major title. A third round match against either 10th seeded Kei Nishikori or a surging Jack Sock could test him but he has prevailed against both players in recent history. A quarter-final against Stan Wawrinka who is seeded 3rd would be fun to watch, but with Wawrinka's up and down play you just can't bank on him being there. I really think Raonic is the favorite in this part of the draw and perhaps even to make it to his first Slam final. Keep an eye out for fellow Canuck Vasek Pospisil who made the finals against Raonic in D.C. and pushed Roger Federer to three sets in Cincy recently. He could take out Wawrinka in the 3rd round.

My Pick: Raonic d. Wawrinka

Third Quarter

Things get really interesting in this section of the draw and again we could see an unpredicatble name make it into the semi-finals. David Ferrer is the 4th seed and recently made the finals in Cincinnati and made Federer work for the title by taking him to a third set. Ferrer could see Marin Cilic in the round of sixteen and Cilic is my man to advance to the semis here. Lookout for Jerzy Janowicz who performed admirably in Cincy in defeating Grigor Dimitrov and then fell in the finals of Winston-Salem this past week to Lukas Rosol. He's full of confidence and if Cilic doesn't make it through it very well could be because of JJ. I wouldn't waste much hope on 6th seeded Tomas Berdych who has been absolutely miserable since the French Open. Take a look at American Steven Johnson who is quietly becoming a force for the struggling legion of American tennis players. Johnson is a true sleeper in this draw in my opinion and a guy who has worked his ranking up from the high 100s to 51st in the world over the course of the season. 

My pick: Cilic d. Johnson

Fourth Quarter

Many are calling this quarter the home of the future 2014 U.S. Open champion - Roger Federer. It's true that this is a golden opportunity for Fed to capture his 18th Slam title, but don't think it is going to be a walk in the park. Roger's forehand is not nearly as flawless as it used to be and although he is riding a huge wave of success from this summer, things almost seem too good to be true. He's looking good until the quarter-finals but lookout for a meeting there with either Gael Monfils or Grigor Dimitrov. Either has the capability of beating Roger and while Monfils spends too much time showboating, he could focus long enough to cause an upset. Dimitrov meanwhile has made the semis at Wimbledon and the semis at the Masters 1000 in Rome andToronto in 2014 and he is itching to prove he belongs in the top-ten. He is also one of but two players (Djokovic being the other) to have won an event on clay, hard and grass this year. I'm gonna go with Dimitrov over Federer in the quarters making this U.S. Open one to truly remember. The big four are in for some challenges and we are about to find out if those obstacles are going to present themselves here at the U.S. Open.

My Pick: Dimitrov d. Federer

Semifinals:

Raonic d. Isner

Dimitrov d. Cilic

Finals:

Raonic d. Dimitrov

Western and Southern Open ATP Preview

By Mike McIntyre

A few days removed from a third round loss at the Rogers Cup should help world Number One Novak Djokovic work on a few things in practice and refocus on his U.S. Open preparations. Djokovic receives a first round  bye once again and then opens against the winner between Gilles Simon and Bernard Tomic. The month off after Wimbledon is tough on all players and those in Toronto witnessed that first hand with the high number of upsets that happened there. Expect the top guys to shake off the rust and have a deeper run here in Cincinnati as they get closer to the final Grand Slam of the year.

In the top quarter Djokovic has a possible third round meeting with solid veteran Tommy Robredo who knocked-off Jack Sock in the opening round 7-6(5), 6-3. A good win for Tommy considering that Sock was ripping his forehand pretty well last week in Canada and has been enjoying success in both singles and doubles this summer.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a likely quarter-final opponent for Djokovic and would give him a chance to redeem himself from the 6-2, 6-2 beating that the Frenchman put on him at the Rogers Cup. Tsonga must first overcome the crafty Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round who has won three of the last four matches between the two. Fatigue may be a factor for Tsonga, although if he plays like he did last week in Toronto and carries that momentum forward he should be just fine. Can he beat Djokovic in back-to-back tournaments, I don't think so. Should Djokovic win the title in Cincinnati he will become the only player in the history of the ATP World Tour to have won all nine Masters 1000 titles in his career.

In the second quarter of the draw, Stan Wawrinka is the 3rd seed and will face Benjamin Becker who beat Ivo Karlovic 7-6(5), 6-4 in his first match of the tourney. "Stan the Man" could face Marin Cilic in the third round before a likely encounter with recent Masters 1000 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov who had a successful week in Toronto. Dimitrov made the second Masters semi-final of this career this past week and is one of only two players on Tour this year who have won titles on all three surfaces (along with Djokovic).

In the third quarter, Milos Raonic is the 5th seed and despite his loss to Feliciano Lopez at his home tournament last week, the Canadian is looking more and more like a bonafide member of the top-ten. After his bye, Raonic will face the winner between Dominic Thiem who represents the future of the ATP World Tour and Robby Ginepri who I think we can all agree represents the past. The enigmatic Ernests Gulbis could face Milos in round three and a potential quarter-final battle with 4th seed Tomas Berdych also looms. Berdych was practicing hard last week in Toronto with Andy Murray. We'll see if any of that work pays off as he looks to take his hardcourt season up a notch. Berdych is in a slump that has seen him win no more than two matches in-a-row since the French Open in May.

In the final quarter of the draw, Roger Federer is the second seed and is coming off a strong result in Toronto where he lost the final to an in-form Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer will see either 35 year old Radek Stepanek or 24 year old Vasek Pospisil in the second round. He could get Gael Monfils in the third round which would be fun to watch - heck Monfils against just about anyone is a fun match to watch. Andy Murray could see Fed in the quarter-finals which would give fans and tournament organizers plenty to cheer about. I feel that Murray is due for a breakthrough performance and Cincinnati could be the place this finally happens. I know he had to overcome back surgery in the off-season but the fact that the Scot has not been in a final all year on the ATP Tour is quite shocking. Murray has won this event twice before, in 2008 and 2011. He's no doubt hoping that this three year in-between titles trend continues.

Ultimately I am going with Djokovic, Dimitrov, Raonic and Murray to make it through their respective quarters and I'll take Murray over Djokovic in the finals. This will be the last apperance of most of the top players on Tour before the U.S. Open begins later this month. One interesting stat to note is that in the 44 year history of the Western & Southern Open, the winner has gone on to win the final Grand Slam of the year in Flushing Meadows 9 times. Most recently Rafael Nadal proved that winning Cincinnati is excellent preparation for the Open, we'll see if someone else can do the same in 2014.

Sunday in Pictures from the Rogers Cup Final

By Mike McIntyre

Photographs by Bob and Mike McIntyre

The blockbuster final between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not disappoint today at the Rogers Cup. Despite the match not making it to a decisive third set, both players put on a show for the crowd with plenty of awe-inspiring shots and (if you're a Fed fan) lots of drama as well.

Here then is our last instalment of pictures from Toronto that capture the best moments from Sunday.

The doubles final was played first in Toronto and saw Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares defend their Rogers Cup title from a year ago.

Peya and Soares are currently ranked third in the world in the ATP doubles rankings. Won their second title of the year in Toronto.

Next up was the match everyone was waiting for - Federer vs Tsonga. The Frenchman walked in first.

Next came Federer to a giant roar from the crowd. Tsonga wasn't kidding when he said he expected to be up against 10,000 today.

For many, today's final was considered a real coin toss.

The players stayed on serve through the first eleven games of the opening set.

Federer's forehand would betray him on set point allowing Tsonga to take it 7-5.

No final tally was given to the press today but tournament director Karl Hale said, "We are very, very happy with the numbers achieved." Today's crowd sure seemed like a full house.

Federer's serve would bail him out of more than one break point in the second set, but you wondered how long could he fend Tsonga off? In total he saved 6 of 7 break points faced in the match.

A great reach for Tsonga whose forehand was killer again today.

Tsonga's serve was rock-solid when needed today and the Frenchman would not allow a single break point to his adversary, much to Federer's mounting frustration.

Tsonga had his moments of frustration as well but they were few and far between.

Coach Edberg could only look on and watch like the rest of us.

Federer seemed like he might be on the verge of forcing a third set as he staved off match point while serving at 4-5. 

But Tsonga's serve was too strong again in the tiebreak to ever allow Federer a chance at a comeback. Tsonga would win 7-5, 7-6(3) to capture his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

Tsonga lifts the trophy after the 1hr47min match

Federer didn't seem to distraught with the result. Some nice ranking points added to his pretty solid year.

Not a bad week at the office for Tsonga!

Celebrating with his team.

And of course it wouldn't be Canada without a couple of Mounties on hand to pose with Tsonga and the trophy.

A great week of tennis here in Toronto which hopefully is a sign of things to come on the ATP World Tour as we get closer to the final Grand Slam of the year in New York. We plan to have some coverage of the tourney in Cincinnati this week and of course previews and analysis coming up from the U.S. Open. Keep checking back at ProTennisFan.com and on Twitter as well.

Saturday at the Rogers Cup in Pictures

By Mike McIntyre

Photographs by Mike and Bob McIntyre

It was semi-final Saturday at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and while the matches may not have offered the same level of drama that fans have grown accustomed to throughout the week, the end results have set-up a dream final between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer will be seeking his 80th career ATP title on Sunday while Tsonga will try to add a 2nd Masters 1000 Championship to the one he achieved in Paris in 2011. Here are some of our best photos from the singles and one of the doubles matches that graced the Rexall Centre today. Enjoy!

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued perhaps the best week of his career as he dispatched his third top-ten opponent in-a-row in Grigor Dimitrov.

Despite the loss, Dimitrov is proving he belongs in the top ten. Made his second career Masters 1000 semi-final here in Toronto.

Beating Tsonga proved to be too much of a stretch for the young Bulgarian.

"Can I maybe replay that set?"

 

A strong contigent of Bulgarian fans did all they could to help their man Dimitrov.

The view from the top of the Rexall Centre.

Tsonga was able to do all kinds of crazy things with the ball as evidenced in this shot.

And this is why people make Muhammad Ali comparisons!

Brad Gilbert clowning around with Tsonga after the victory.

A very happy Tsonga acknowledging the crowd support.

Federer practicing under the guidance of coach Stefan Edberg about three hours prior to his match against Feliciano Lopez.

Federer's new practice shirt. Selling for $50 on the grounds of the Rogers Cup this week.

This guy smiles more than Vasek Pospisil - which is really saying alot.

At 41 years old, Daniel Nestor is still without a doubt Canada's premier doubles player. Made his 26th straight appearance at the Rogers Cup this year. Wow, just wow.

Dance competition or ATP Masters 1000 semi-final? You decide.

Even Lopez cringed at one of his many errors on this night.

Often called an artist, Federer looks like he himself is leaping out of a painting here.

Fireworks to celebrate Roger's win and the end of the final night session of the year at the Rogers Cup.

Even Roger was surprised by how easy he was able to advance to the finals!

Check back with us Sunday for the final between Federer and Tsonga which is supposed to start around 3pm ET. Be sure to follow us on Twitter as well for regular updates and photos from the last day of the Rogers Cup.

Thursday at the Rogers Cup in Pictures

By Mike McIntyre

Photographs by Bob McIntyre

Thursday was without a doubt one of the crazier days in the history of the Rogers Cup. Not only did world Number One Novak Djokovic make an early exit, but favourites such as Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych also crashed out in the third round. Canadian Milos Raonic found a way to perservere in three close sets as did Roger Federer who almost squandered six match points against Marin Cilic before finishing him off in the third. Here are some photos taken by our own Bob McIntyre. Enjoy and keep checking back for more as we head into the final three days of action in Toronto.

 

Stan saved a match point in his second round match against Benoit Paire on Wednesday, but could not muster the same type of luck against Kevin Anderson on this day.

Here is Anderson celebrating his victory and looking every bit the 6'8'' that he is.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

 

Djokovic looking for divine intervention perhaps during his 6-2, 6-2 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Coming up a bit short

Now that's frustration folks.

It should have been a sign to Djokovic when Tsonga already had a grin on his face as he walked in to Centre Court.

Check out the quad on this guy...yikes!

About as happy as you'd expect after defeating the number one player in the world

Total control of the ball today from Tsonga

Andy Murray got a break when opponent Richard Gasquet withdrew prior to their third round match. Looks like he made the most of the opportunity on the practice courts with coach Amelie Mauresmo.

Grigor Dimitrov continued to show why he is refered to as "Baby Fed" with a three set win over veteran Tommy Robredo.

Robredo was feeling the same way as many of Dimitrov's opponents have been feeling this year.

Dimitrov is happy like a room without a roof!

Don't try this at home kids. Actually, unless you are Ivan Dodig, don't try this anywhere!

 

David Ferrer...yours to discover. And as Dodig discovered, a tough obstacle in his path. Ferrer would win in three sets to advance against Roger Federer.

Hey look, it's former Pro Brad Gilbert who's in town working for ESPN.

Milos Raonic was looking pretty suave against Julien Benneteau in the first match of the evening session on Centre Court.

 

Raonic would advance in three sets which seemed to be the standard distance required of most winners on this epic day of action in Toronto.

Doesn't look a day over 32!

Despite squadering six match points in the second set, Roger Federer would recover to defeat Marin Cilic in three.

Less than half an hour after the match, Federer would turn 33. Not a bad way to celebrate your birthday.

Check back with us again all weekend at ProTennisFan as we will have extensive coverage of the semi-finals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday at the Rogers Cup. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter as well.

Monday at the Rogers Cup in Pictures

By Mike McIntyre

Canada's biggest tennis tournament got underway in Toronto on Monday as round one of the Rogers Cup began. Here are a few shots from around the grounds of the Rexall Centre as taken by yours truly.

Canadian doubles legend Daniel Nestor celebrating what he called, "championship point at Wimby" against partner Nenad Zimonjic.

Gael Monfils of France was all smiles as he practiced with American Jack Sock. The jury is still out on the goatee though.

Denis Istomin won for "coolest shades" of the day, but little else as he went down in three sets to Marin Cilic in the first match of the day on Centre Court.

Andy Murray practicing under the watchful eye of coach Amelie Mauresmo.

Milos Raonic receiving his "welcome to the big boys club" award, aka top ten award, from ATP World Tour President Chris Kermode.

You know you're pro when you have your name on your tennis bag as Tommy Robredo does here.

No that's not security standing behind world number 8 Grigor Dimitrov, but his coach Roger Rasheed.

Lleyton Hewitt's struggles at the Rogers Cup continued today as he was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by Julien Benneteau to drop his career record at the event to 9-10.

The biggest grin on the ATP World Tour goes to Vasek Pospisil without a doubt. As soon as the first smile broke, all the photographers in the room started snapping pictures in a collective frenzy.

It's not every day that you get to ask questions to your childhood idol. Here is Stefan Edberg, six time Grand Slam champion and current coach to Roger Federer. He is being inducted Tuesday night into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame.

 

Frenchman Julie Benneteau fields questions from but a single reporter following his victory over Lleyton Hewitt.

Only Roger Federer could get away with a behind the back volley!

Practice with coach Edberg nearby

I can't think of better suited partnership than Federer and Edberg. Both class acts through and through.

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga kicks-off the night session on Centre Court.

Ivan Dodig proved to be a handful for John Isner while the American's towel was clearly a mouthful. Dodig prevailed in three sets.

Grand Slam champions Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka head out at 10pm to start their doubles match together. A victory sends them up against Canadian Daniel Nestor and his partner Nenad Zimonjic next.

 

Photo cred on the above picture only: David Li

Celebrating his first Rogers Cup victory in four years, Canada's Peter Polansky autographs the camera.

Check back with us regularly at ProTennisFan.com as we catch the action each day this week at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Be sure to follow us on Twitter as well for regular updates.

Upsets Galore At Rogers Cup in Toronto

By Mike McIntyre

With thirty Olympians entered into the singles draw here at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, you just knew that the possibility for upsets would be plentiful due to the taxing playing and travel schedule these athletes have been faced with.

As the second round of play heated up on Wednesday at the Rexall Centre, several high profile players lost matches that they very likely would have won under normal circumstances. The Rogers Cup is quickly turning into a tournament where the underdog is ruling the day.

The surprises started early on Centre Court with 6th seeded Juan Martin Del Potro giving a solid effort but ultimately a losing one as he went down courtesy of veteran trickster Radek Stepanek 6-4, 7-6(5). Del Potro showed flashes of the ability that reveal his incredible potential, in particular a lethal forehand that leaves spectators and opponents speechless, but could not do it consistently enough to defeat a quality second round opponent like Stepanek. After the match Del Potro was brief in his comments but revealed he was on the brink of exhaustion.

"It's  not easy to play after a big effort in the Olympics, but I tried anyway," he said. "Now I need time to recover my body if I want to stay healthy, you know."

Stepanek will now face Tommy Haas in the third round, the German moving ahead thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 dismantling of Gilles Simon, the 9th seed. I don't think many people would qualify this result as an upset given that the 34 year old German is quickly resembling a much younger version of himself now that he is healthy again. Haas has reached finals on three different surfaces so far in 2012, most recently on hardcourts in Washington D.C. last week where he lost a close match to Alexandr Dolgopolov. Keep your eye on this guy as a darkhorse as the U.S. Open approaches.

The upsets continued in the second match on the stadium court with an all-French battle between 3rd seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy. While ranked 47th in the world, Chardy has performed well here in Toronto before by making the quarter-finals in 2010. His strong play on Canadian soil continued as he was able to defeat Tsonga for the first time in his career by a score of 6-4, 7-6(4).

Just as was the case with Del Potro, Tsonga was dealing with mental and physical fatigue, the result of his long stay at the Olympics which culminated with a silver medal in men's doubles. He said after the match here that the loss had nothing to do with his game but merely the tough circumstances that brought him here.

"I think it's not about my game. You know, my game is my game. But I was just, you know, not enough - how you say that? I didn't have enough energy to move well," he revealed. "I mean I just played 287 games last week and I took the plane. There is a jet lag, and that's it."

Tsonga was not thrilled to lose but also made it clear he was here because of his obligations as a professional tennis player.

"You know...I'm disappointed because I lost it. But, you know, this is the rule. I have to play every week. You know, for me it's a mandatory tournament; I have to be here."

Fortunately for tournament organizers and sponsors, Andy Murray was ready to reverse the trend of upsets. Despite only arriving in Toronto Tuesday evening and admitting to little more than four hours of sleep each night since his big win at the Olympics, Murray was able to dispatch his opponent, Flavio Cipolla by a routine score of 6-1, 6-3.

While the scoreline looked easy enough, Murray struggled physically at various times during the match and was favouring his left knee that he had a trainer examine in the late stages of the match.

Murray assessed his condition as follows, "I feel okay. I feel a little bit sore in the joints and stuff a little bit. I mean, I feel tired mentally...I haven't really slept much the last few days, so that's probably catching up with me a little bit."

He understandably looked like he was in the twilight zone during his post-match press conference and as he hobbled off after answering multiple questions I wondered if he would be fit enough to compete tomorrow against Canadian Milos Raonic in a match that will certainly test him more than he was today.

Already having won their only career meeting thus far, Raonic could be considered the favourite heading into this third round match due to Murray's evident lack of readiness at the moment. Not only is he dealing with physical and mental burdens, but he still has not had the chance to properly experience all the emotions that come with winning an Olympic gold medal. On top of that, today was his first match on hardcourts since Miami back in March.

Indeed the Rogers Cup this year represents an excellent opportunity for those outside of the "big four" to make their mark as we rapidly approach the final Grand Slam of the year. The chances of Djokovic and Murray meeting in the final as the number one and two seeds is probably pretty slim. Instead look at a veteran like Haas, a relative rookie like Raonic or a steady guy like Mardy Fish, Juan Monaco or Janko Tipsarevic to make the most of this rare opening.

In other results today, Marin Cilic defeated Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 6-3. He will now face Tipsarevic, a 7-6(2), 6-4 winner over Mikhail Youzhny.

Marcel Granollers beat 15th seed Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 to advance to play Chardy in the next round. 

Philipp Kohlschreiber took out qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2 and will face big-serving John Isner next.

In a match that last over three hours, 4th seeded Tomas Berdych survived a huge test from Julien Benneteau. Berdych would prevail eventually by a score of 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-4. He gets a tough match again tomorrow against the super-talented Richard Gasquet of France, who beat Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5, 6-3.

American Sam Querrey continued his hot summer streak that has put him atop the U.S. Open Series leaderboard with a win today over Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-3. Querrey has won an event in LA and made the semis in D.C. in recent weeks and is playing with some superb confidence at the moment.

Querrey will next face a gentleman by the name of Novak Djokovic who defeated 19 year-old Bernard Tomic, 6-2, 6-3 in the night match on Centre Court. Of all the top ranked Olympians to come to Toronto, he appears to be the freshest somehow. Maintaining his ranking points from last year's victory in Montreal will no doubt be on Djokovic's mind as he tries to minimize Federer's hold on the number one ranking in the world.

Keep checking back with us here at ProTennisFan for coverage all week long in Toronto. Follow us on Twitter as well for timely updates.

 

 

France Defeats Raonic-Less Canada in Davis Cup Action

By Mike McIntyre

It was not the end Canadian tennis fans had envisioned for their opening round Davis Cup tie against France. Instead of watching the highly anticipated singles match between world No. 6 Jo Wilfried Tsonga and big-serving Milos Raonic, there was an initial sigh of disbelief when it was announced Frank Dancevic would be playing for Canada in the crucial fourth match.

It turns out that Raonic had developed a pain in his knee that worsened during his doubles match with Daniel Nestor on Saturday. He made the decision only this morning to abdicate his position in favour of Dancevic, who at 178^th in the ATP World Tour rankings did not present nearly the same amount of firepower Canada required to level the Davis Cup tie at two apiece.

Raonic’s decision was nothing short of controversial and had the press buzzing at the Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver. The way the news leaked was through Raonic’s agent Graham Cross who gave a short prepared statement on behalf of his protégé to Tennis Canada less than an hour prior to the match itself. Even more distressing was the fact that Raonic would apparently not be made available at all today to answer any questions about the decision to withdraw.

Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and Raonic did face the media for a very brief Q&A following the conclusion of the match between Tsonga and Dancevic. Raonic was not spared from answering tough questions about the decision.

First he was asked whether his sponsorship by SAP played any part in the decision to pull-out, since they are also the title sponsors at the tournament in San Jose that starts tomorrow where Raonic is the defending champion. Could it be that his duties to appear there trumped his willingness to test the knee in action today?

Raonic certainly would not concede to that suggestion and instead levelled that it was merely a case of not wanting to cause further harm to his body at this stage of his young career. I chose to take his answer at face value given the amount of time he missed last year with a serious hip injury.

Raonic was further queried about the manner in which he revealed his withdrawal from game-play today without initially speaking to the press. Couldn’t he have found a more professional and transparent way to address the situation?

His response was that he decided to place the Canadian team first and be supportive of Dancevic as he prepared for his big match today. I suppose Raonic failed to foresee the distraction his silence would spark.

Chalk it up to a young player who at the age of twenty-one still has a lot to learn about the way that professional sports and its media coverage operates. One might however wonder if he is being properly advised by his agent, Cross, who also happens to represent American tennis player Andy Roddick – himself not exactly a known charmer with the media.

Either way, there was in fact a tennis match that was played outside of this small debacle. It even ended up being quite an entertaining match at that.

The twenty-seven year old Dancevic relied on his previous Davis Cup experience to at least make a game of it today against his much higher ranked and more talented opponent.

Despite falling behind quickly to 0-4 in the opening set, Dancevic got one break of serve back from the powerful Tsonga and narrowed the gap to 4-3 in favour of the Frenchman.

Though Dancevic would lose the set 6-4, he seemed to be gaining momentum from the ever-raucous crowd that began a steady “Frank the Tank” chant to support their man.

The second set saw some fantastic tennis and an elevated number of winners from both players. That being said, even though he maintained the score at 4-4 and kept it close, Dancevic rarely threatened to break Tsonga’s rock-solid serve. The Canadian would let the set slip by another score of 6-4.

By the third frame, Dancevic was clearly starting to loose his stamina while Tsonga continued his strong play. France would take the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 and with it the all-important third and deciding victory to clinch the tie against Canada.  

Dancevic should be proud of the way he battled, especially since he was thrust into the spotlight on short notice. He played hard and gave Tsonga a bit more of a challenge than the Frenchman likely expected when he realized it was not going to be the 6’5’’ Raonic across the net from him on this day.

For Milos, it was hopefully a learning experience on how to handle a tough situation like this one in the future. As the emerging face of tennis in Canada he will certainly have other opportunities on the world stage to prove his worth and ability.

For Canada, it was a three day celebration of the wonderful sport of tennis and how it can galvanize a nation. The crowds in Vancouver were top-notch and cheered for their players with the type of fervour normally reserved for a Stanley Cup hockey game. They remained respectful of the French team while simultaneously pumping-up their players in the search for a victory that was unfortunately just not meant to be.

Davis Cup Begins in Vancouver

 

Asking Pospisil to defeat Tsonga was a bit of a stretch

By Mike McIntyre

It's time to bring an ATP World Tour main event to Vancouver! 

Canada's Davis Cup tie against France got underway on Friday in a city that is known for feverishly supporting its hockey team. Apparently none of the 4,000 in attendance got the memo that the Canucks (Vancouver's NHL team) are out of town, as the Thunderbird Sports Centre certainly had the atmosphere of a hockey game.

Things got underway with Vasek Pospisil, ranked 115th in the world, against France's most formidable foe in Jo Wilfried Tsonga. This was clearly going to be the match of the series (or "tie" as they call it in tennis) that would be the most difficult for the Canadian team to be competitive in. Tsonga is 6th in the ATP rankings and was a finalist at the 2008 Australian Open, so to say that he's in a different class of tennis player than Pospisil is an understatement.

Sure Pospisil was Canada's hero stepping-up in September against Israel, but Dudi Sela and company are not in the same realm of player like Tsonga is. Few are for that matter.

Serving at 1-2 in the opening set, Pospisil would face his first break point at 30-40 and show his early game jitters. After Tsonga returned a second serve, Pospisil's backhand slice had too much spin to get itself over the net and the French contingent of about 100 fans suddenly became much more involved as their nation went up 3-1.

After the match, Pospisil would admit that he was a little tense at the start with Vancouver being his home-town. It showed as the twenty-one year old seemed anxious and was hitting many of his balls outside of the lines.

A net cord favourable to Tsonga during Pospisil's next service game put the more experienced Frenchman up 5-1. Tsonga would then hold at love to take the opening set 6-1. Good thing these matches are best of five, right?

The second set started with a hold for the young Canuck, but then there was a tense service game at 1-1 in which Pospisil had to save several break points to avoid going down another early deficit. He came through with some strong serving and really got the home crowd going to go up 2-1.

The atmosphere at a Davis Cup match is truly electric compared with your typical tennis match. Having that many partisan fans certainly helps but even at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and Montreal I've never witnessed something nearly as circus-like as the few thousand fans at the arena on this day. Having the Sardis Secondary school band playing in the stands along with a throng of rowdy Canadian fans really amped the atmosphere up a notch.

The momentum from the previous hold served to get Pospisil going and briefly it appeared as though the Canadian might be able to swing the set in his favour. He had his first break point on Tsonga's serve at 30-40. A thrilling rally ensued at 30-40 with both players ending up near the net, but Tsonga had the answer on a stretch forehand cross court. Tsonga's was eventually able to maintain the hold for a 2-2  score.

Then as quickly as it seemed he might at one point get the upper hand, a double fault at 3-3 would hand Tsonga a crucial second set break.

Throughout the match Tsonga was never bothered by Pospisil's several approaches to the net and usually seemed to come up with a shot that revealed his experience to gain the point.

A Pospisil forehand into the net would give Tsonga the second set 6-3 and a seemingly insurmountable lead. While Tsonga had blown a two-set-to-love lead against Stan Wawrinka at least year's French Open, such a feat would not be accomplished on this day by Pospisil.

The third set would start out close, but Tsonga took a break to go up 4-2 and by then Pospisil's fate was all but decided. It was probably for the best in order for Canada to rest him-up for his doubles match with Daniel Nestor against the French duo of Llodra and Benneteau on Saturday.

Tsonga sealed the match with an ace for France to take the 1-0 lead in the best of five match tie a short while later to win by a score of 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour 52 minutes. His experience and skill-level proved too much for his younger opponent in the end.

In the second match of the day the result was quite different. Canada's number one singles player and future Grand Slam threat, Milos Raonic took to the court to thunderous applause to face Julien Benneteau.

Despite being ranked quite close to one-another, with Raonic at 29th in the world and Benneteau at 35th, I had a pretty good feeling that Raonic was primed to take this one. Even though the thirty year old Benneteau defeated him back in November in the Paris Masters, Raonic had the home crowd behind him here in Vancouver and has looked solid this year with a win in Chennai and a third round showing at the Aussie Open. 

Raonic did not disappoint and was in control of the match right from the beginning. The match went as smoothly as could be expected with Raonic winning 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 to even-up the tie at one apiece.

With one of the greatest doubles players to ever play the game in Daniel Nestor taking to the court Saturday, Canada has a solid shot at gaining the edge on France prior to Sunday's two singles matches.