McIntyre Tennis

Who Will Capture the 2018 US Open?

Article and Photographs by Mike McIntyre

With the final Grand Slam of 2018 fast approaching, it remains to be seen if someone unexpected can challenge for the US Open. The first three majors of the year have gone to the usual suspects - Roger Federer at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal (comme d'habitude) at the French Open and a resurgent Novak Djokovic recently at Wimbledon. What are the chances that those all-time greats can be bested in New York?

If you're looking to play the odds, sportsbettingdime.com has a list of trustworthy betting sites you can utilize.

Let's take a look at some of the next-tier of contenders.

Alexander Zverev

The leader of the so-called "Next Gen" on the ATP World Tour, the German has yet to translate the success that has propelled him to No. 4 in the world to the Grand Slam level. A disappointing showing at the Masters 1000s in Toronto and Cincinnati don't lend to much optimism however the young talent has recently brought Ivan Le

ndl into his team. Having an eight-time major champion in one's corner can't hurt. The fact that Lendl didn't win his first Slam until the age of 24 will probably also help this partnership thrive.

Kevin Anderson

The 6'8'' South African proved at Wimbledon that his finalist showing last year at Flushing Meadows was no fluke. He has found a consistent top-ten level in his game and is a class act both in victory and defeat. His confidence is now as powerful as his booming serve and he truly believes he belongs at the top of the men's game. Anderson is an opponent that nobody relishes playing at the moment.

Marin Cilic

Let's not forget that Cilic is one of the few players outside of the "Big Four" who has one a Grand Slam in the past 15 years. The 2014 US Open champion has had decent results lately making the quarterfinals in Toronto and the semifinals in Cincinnati and clearly enjoys playing in New York. He made the finals of the Australian Open at the start of the season and should not be overlooked on the other hard court Slam of 2018.

Stan Wawrinka

It has taken the three-time Slam champion a little longer than expected to start posting favorable results since coming back from a knee injury to start the year. He missed the US Open last year but has won there in 2016 and also has semifinal showings from 2013 and 2015. He fell to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati recently but put-up a brave challenge before going down 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.

Juan Martin Del Potro

There are few players who are more likeable on the ATP World Tour than the affable Del Potro. Nine years since his lone Grand Slam title here in New York, the Argentinian has rebuilt his game after multiple wrist surgeries and is back to displaying the ferocious game that we hoped he was still capable of showing us. A solid 2018 including the semifinals at Roland Garros and quarterfinals of Wimbledon are proof that he can handle the best-of-five set grind. His maiden Masters 1000 title back in March in Indian Wells was also a huge moment that reveals his prowess on the hard courts as well.

Check back with us often over the next two weeks as well for regular updates and analysis from the US Open. Whether is it Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or one of the above mentioned players, we will have you covered throughout the final Grand Slam for 2018.

Five Men’s Players to follow Down Under

By: Ben Lewis
Sportscaster, Sportsnet 590 the Fan, Co-host of the Southpaw Slice tennis podcast

Photo with permission: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

As the first tennis Grand Slam season has dawned upon us, there are a handful of compelling story-lines to peak our interest.

At age 31, Rafael Nadal arrives in Melbourne as the oldest world number 1 in the history of the tour. 36 year-old Roger Federer enters as the Australian Open defending champion, and perennial early tournament favourite, and Novak Djokovic is back following a six month layoff to his most prestigious event (6 time Aussie Open champ).

Despite an absence of Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori, the men's field is bustling with many contenders and dangerous players capable of deep runs in the tournament.

Here are five players to follow closely:

Nick Kyrgios
Ranking: 17
Country: Australia
Career titles: 4
Best Grand Slam Result: 2015 Australian Open QF, 2014 Wimbledon QF

Kyrgios is a 22 year-old, mercurial, volatile personality who can be an absolute superstar when tennis is peaking his interest. While the Australian has had lukewarm receptions from home crowds in the past, he entered the 2018 season looking exceptionally motivated, winning a hard-court title in Brisbane.

He’s in the top half of the draw, and could face a potential rematch with Grigor Dimitrov, a player he knocked-off in 3 sets just over a week ago.

Kyrgios has all the physical tools on a tennis court to become a Grand Slam champion, the bigger question is if he has the mental resilience to sustain high-level play for two weeks.

Juan Martin del Potro
Ranking: 10
Country: Argentina
Career titles: 20
Best Grand Slam Result: 2009 US Open Champion

The gentle giant from Argentina coped with a string of injury plagued years, with a pair of wrist surgeries, but after completing a mostly healthy 2017, DelPo looks poised to take things one step further.

DelPo was the only player last season to win a match over Roger Federer at a Grand Slam event, beating him in a U.S. Open quarterfinal. Once again, he’s lurking in Federer’s quarter, along with other dangerous players like David Goffin, Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych.

Possessing one of the world’s most powerful forehands, if del Potro is striking early, he could quickly bust open a draw, and make a deep run.

Kevin Anderson
Ranking: 11
Country: South Africa
Career titles: 3
Best GS result: 2017 US Open Finalist

The South African may not get bonus points for style and flair on the court, but K-Ando is simply all business when it comes to winning tennis matches. His penchant for work ethic paid off handsomely in 2017, where he reached his first ever Grand Slam final at Flushing Meadows.

Anderson opened 2018 equally strong, winning an exhibition in Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala Classic, and reaching the finals of the Tate Open in India.

With his experience and confidence continuing to build, and his booming serve, expect Anderson to be one of the toughest outs, and a potential quarterfinalist.

Alexander Zverev
Ranking: 4
Country: Germany
Career titles: 6
Best GS result: 4th Round Wimbledon, 2017

Forget calling him one of the best young players on tour, Sascha Zverev is simply one of the world’s best, hands down. The tall, wiry German earn 5 ATP titles in 2017 including two Masters 1000s in Rome and Montreal, and he enters Australia as the fourth-ranked player.

The only thing missing from Zverev’s gaudy resume is a run at a Grand Slam, and some of that last season was bad fortune. He went toe-to-toe with Rafael Nadal in a third round, five-set loss at the Aussie last year, and he also fell to Milos Raonic in a fourth round tilt that went the distance at Wimbledon.

If the stars align (which I think they will), Novak Djokovic and Sascha Zverev could meet in the round of 16. It will be a matchup of perhaps the best two-handed backhands in tennis today, with the youngster having an opportunity to dethrone a legend at his best event.

David Goffin
Ranking: 7
Country: Belgium
Career titles: 4
Best GS result: 2017 Australian Open QF, 2016 French Open QF

David Goffin has been one of the tour’s most under the radar talents for the past couple of seasons. At 5'11, 150 pounds, his slight frame may not look intimidating on the court, but the Belgian possesses plenty of weapons to beat any of the world's best. His quick strike groundstrokes can plant opponents on their back foot easily, while his lateral movement is off the charts.

Goffin scored the best win of his career at the London ATP Finals in November, a three-set upset victory over Federer, before falling to Grigor Dimitrov for the title.

After a solid break, he should be fit, confident and poised to carry that memory to Australia. A potential rematch with Federer could be looming in the quarterfinals.


FIRST ROUND MATCHES TO WATCH

Alex de Minaur vs. Tomas Berdych

A native of Australia, 18 year-old Alex de Minaur is on a spectacular, Shapovalov-like run to open his 2018 campaign.

He opened the season with an upset victory over Milos Raonic and carried that to a semifinal appearance in Brisbane. The following week he made his first ATP final in Sydney. Come Monday his ranking will have jumped 81 spots to 127.

He gets a stern test against veteran Tomas Berdych, who opened his season with a win at the Tie Break Tens exhibition.

Prediction:
Berdych in 4 sets

David Ferrer vs. Andrey Rublev

It's a classic teacher vs. pupil matchup. A former world number three, 35 year-old David Ferrer still has the desire and work ethic to drive him to match wins, and he’s coming off a semifinal appearance in Auckland.

Andrey Rublev is a next-Gen Russian star who made a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open last season.

Prediction:
Ferrer in 5 sets

Mischa Zverev vs. Hyeon Chung

Often over-shadowed by his younger brother, Mischa Zverev quietly had an excellent 2017 season, going old-school with his serve and volley approach. He had a stunning upset victory over Andy Murray at the tournament last season.

Hyeon Chung is another exceptional young talent, he finished 2017 with a title at the Next-Gen Finals and will look to dictate rallies from the baseline.

Prediction:
Zverev in 5 sets

Australian Open Men's Draw Revealed

By: Mike McIntyre

The Australian Open draw was released on Thursday for both the men's and women's singles draws in Melbourne. For the men, 36 year old Roger Federer is the defending champion and will be considered the favorite among many with the match-status and conditioning of Djokovic, Nadal and Wawrinka all unknown as they return from injuries.

Let's take a look at the main contenders on the ATP side of things. Have a glance at your leisure at LeoVegas Sports as well for their take on the favorites in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Isn't it something that this year a 36 year old Roger Federer is considered the favorite for the first Grand Slam of the season. A year ago he was almost five years removed from his last major triumph. Then he went on a rampage winning in Melbourne, the two Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami as well as Wimbledon after having skipped the entire clay court season.

This year he is the only stable one amongst the "Big Four" with Andy  Murray having withdrawn after surgery on his troublesome hip and with Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Stan Wawrinka still having yet to prove themselves as 100% fit after injury issues.

Nadal holds the top seed and has the easiest draw of the big names mentioned above. He opens against Victor Estrella Burgos and doesn't seem to have any noticeable threats until a potential fourth round match with American John Isner and Marin Cilic as his projected quarterfinal opponent. The top quarter is really wide open aside from those players and we should see several surprising names still alive into the third round.

The second quarter gets a little more tricky with third seed Grigor Dimitrov having to likely face either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round. A Dimitrov/Kyrgios affair would be a re-match of their recent semifinal at the Brisbane International that Kyrgios emerged victorious from en route to the title. Kyrgios is going to win Grand Slams at some point in his career I have almost no-doubt. With the established talents on the ATP World Tour still getting over their injuries, could this be the Slam for Kyrgios to have his breakthrough? Kevin Anderson and Jack Sock are my picks for the final quarterfinalist spot in this section of the draw but neither is expected to make-it much further. Anderson took advantage (and good for him) of a nice draw at the final Slam of 2017 in New York, but I don't see that story playing out again here for the South African.

In the third quarter of the draw, Novak Djokovic would normally be considered the overwhelming favorite to advance. However, the former World No. 1 and 12 time Slam champion has not played a competitive match since Wimbledon due to an elbow injury that shelved the rest of his season in 2017. Djokovic was back on the court this past week at the Kooyong Classic exhibition event and displayed a new service motion that clearly is the result of his recovery from surgery. How this will impact his ability to hold serve remains to be seen and he could just as easily win the tournament or bow out early due to his inactivity. Let's not forget though that the Aussie Open accounts for half of Djokovic's Grand Slam career totals.

The Serb opens against American Donald Young and has a potentially tricky second round match against Gael Monfils looming. Monfils started his 2018 campaign in the best possible way as he picked up the title in Qatar. That being said, Monfils has come up a discouraging 0-14 against Djokovic in ATP sanctioned events during his career. A fourth round match against Alexander Zverev would be fun to watch, although Zverev might first have to get past his older brother Mischa the 32nd seed. Also in this quadrant is 5th seeded Dominic Thiem - whom Djokovic just defeated in Kooyong -  as well as another former Slam winner in Melbourne, Stan Wawrinka. Currently seeded 9th due to his own injury absence from the tour since Wimbledon, Wawrinka has been very low-key in the days ahead of the tournament and it still remains to be seen whether or not he will be fit enough to play. 

Federer meanwhile is the No. 2 seed and the defending champ finds himself with a decent starting draw in the final quarter of the tournament but things will quickly get intense for the 36 year old legend. He went 4-0 in singles play and 4-0 in mixed doubles with Belinda Bencic at the Hopman Cup to start the year. The only set he lost in singles was the opener in his final match against Alexander Zverev that he recovered to win 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-2. In terms of seeded players at the Aussie Open, Federer could run into Richard Gasquet in the third round and then 2016 Wimbledon foe Milos Raonic in the fourth. Gasquet has not challenged Fed in the past 8 matches they have played and the Swiss star leads their head-to-head by a staggering margin of 16-2. While Raonic did indeed deny Federer the chance to face Andy Murray in the 2016 Wimbledon finals, the Canadian has struggled with injuries since then and did not look sharp in his opening round loss to Alex de Minaur in Brisbane a week ago. In terms of quarterfinal opposition, Federer has the likes of David Goffin, Juan Martin Del Potro and Tomas Berdych as likely candidates to challenge him. Goffin has a nice draw until the fourth round while Del Potro is likely the player Federer would least choose to face in this section given their past history. Federer narrowly leads their past nine encounters by a margin of 5-4.

Check back with us throughout the two week even that begins Monday January 15th for recaps, analysis and plenty of pictures as well. You can also follow us on Twitter for more timely updates. Regardless of who wins it is certainly an entertaining period for the sport as we get to see all the big names kick-off the first Grand Slam of the year. 

Olympic Tennis Highlights Day 2

By Mike McIntyre

If tennis fans thought that day one was exciting at the Olympic Tennis event on Saturday, they must have been absolutely blown away by the shocking results from day two on Sunday. Here are some of the key matches - including the stunning upset of a certain Serbian World No. 1.

Juan Martin Del Potro d Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(2)

When the singles draw was released everyone in the tennis world locked eyes on the match between the World No. 1 Djokovic and the often injured Del Potro. The pair faced-off in the 2012 London Olympic Games with the Argentinian denying Djokovic a bronze medal. While Djokovic enjoyed an 11-3 head-to-head advantage coming into the match, the pair had not faced each other since 2013. Now ranked a lowly 141st in the ATP World Tour rankings due to ongoing injury struggles, Del Potro should be top 20, likely even top 10 if healthy and playing consistently. This was an epic battle that unfortunately could not be saved for later in the draw. On Sunday, Del Potro's forehand was lethal and he played with the confidence of a champion. His win makes it very difficult to assess where Djokovic's game is at the moment. A third round loss at Wimbledon followed by a tournament victory at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and now an opening round loss at the Olympics provide Novak with a real up and down summer so far. He walked off the court Sunday night with tears flowing freely to indicate just how much the Olympics meant to him. It will be very interesting to see how he bounces back in Cincinnati and at the U.S. Open later this summer. As for Del Potro, it sure looks like a trip to the semi-finals is a realistic prospect with how he just broke the draw wide open.

Thomasz Bellucci and Andre Sa d Andy Murray and Jamie Murray 7-6(6), 7-6(14)

Djokovic's loss clearly makes Andy Murray the favorite to win Olympic Gold in singles and I'm sure the folks at Bet Bind would agree on that one. In doubles however the second seeded Murray brothers surprisingly went out in the first round to Brazilians Bellucci and Sa. While Andy is not a doubles player of the same calibre of Jamie, it is a surprise that he and his brother have struggled so much as partners in the Olympic Games. They lost in the first round in London in 2012 and in the second round in Beijing back in 2008. Andy had not played a doubles match since April and had only teamed up once with his brother in 2016, back in February in Davis Cup play against Japan. The lack of practice together and overall absence of any real doubles preparation made the Murray brothers an overrated second seed in the draw, but a first round exit is clearly a disappointment. Andy is still alive in singles of course and Jamie will undoubtedly get another crack in doubles where I expect he will be playing in the mixed draw.

Rafael Nadal d Federico Delbonis 6-2, 6-1

Back in action for the first time since the French Open in May, Rafael Nadal wasted little time with his thrashing of Federico Delbonis. Having won their two previous career encounters, it was not a surprise that Nadal won. That being said, I'm not sure I expected such a run-away scoreline after two and a half months away from competition. The scary thing is that Nadal admitted after the match that he was still not playing at full capacity. “If there is not Olympic Games I will not be here competing, because the wrist needs a little bit more time to be 100 per cent recovered.” Hopefully he is not doing further damage to it by playing in Rio. Nadal gets Andreas Seppi from Italy in his next match whom he leads 6-1 in previous matches played.

Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova d Serena Williams and Venus Williams 6-3, 6-4

In three previous Olympic Games together, the Williams sisters had three gold medals to show for it. They won't be adding to that total in Rio after a straight set loss at the hands of the Czech Republic. Venus had been dealing with a virus that hindered her during her singles loss on Saturday to Kirsten Flipkens and that was no-doubt still holding her back from playing at 100% in doubles with her sister. Only Serena commented to the press after the loss and said, “I wouldn't say it's devastating. We had a chance to compete for our country and we did the best that we can. We had a blast out there. It was a lot of fun and we'll always remember these moments and these matches, and I think that's what matters most. We've had so many Olympic doubles golds, so many grand slam championships. It's been unbelievable." Unbelievable is exactly the word I would use to describe their opening round flop.

Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil d Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)

Gotta mention some Canadian content here and that falls on the doubles duo of Nestor and Pospisil who represent Canada's best chance at a medal in Olympic tennis in Rio. The Canucks were surprisingly tested by the duo of Daniell and Venus from New Zealand and pushed to a third set tiebreak to win the match. With the Murray brothers ousted, Nestor and Pospisil have a good draw and an excellent shot at a medal if they play up to their potential together. As we have seen thus far in the doubles draw however, anything can, and will happen here in Rio.

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.

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.

 

 

Around The Corner: Cincinnati Masters

By Mike McIntyre

As the Rogers Cup is set to wrap-up this weekend in Montreal with the men, the draw for the second consecutive Masters 1000 event has just been released in Cincinnati. With the U.S. Open just two weeks away now, players will be looking to fine-tune their games and round into form for the final Grand Slam of the year.

How will Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray rebound after poor showings in Canada? The answer to that question has a lot to do with the draws they have received as well as how they deal with their mental and physical short-comings from this past week.

World number one Novak Djokovic will enjoy the benefits of a first round bye at the Western and Southern Open and gets the winner of American Ryan Harrison and Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela. The progress that Harrison has made this year has been quite positive and he is giving U.S. tennis fans some real hope as they continue to search for the successor to Andy Roddick. Harrison should get by Chela, a player whose game is never really that dangerous on hard-courts.

Djokovic also has Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils in his section of the draw. Both of those players made the quarter-finals in Montreal this week. Djokovic can handle either, especially evidenced by his 6-2, 6-1 beating of Monfils on Friday evening.

Andy Roddick makes his return to the ATP World Tour after some injury issues of late. Currently ranked 12th in the world, Roddick could see his ranking start to fall quickly if he cannot put together some results this summer. Roddick has not played since a Davis Cup loss to David Ferrer on hard-courts in early July. He will open in Cincy against Philipp Kohlschreiber, a tricky opponent to be sure.

Djokovic should be able to advance through this section but having too much success just prior to the Open could be problematic down the road. A player does not want to peak too early, although it seems that Djokovic has found a way to keep his magical results going all year long.

In the following quarter of the draw, Roger Federer is not going to have an easy run. While he was fortunate to draw Canadian wildcard Vasek Pospisil in Montreal, his first adversary in Cincy will be either Juan Martin Del Potro or Andreas Seppi. No offence to Seppi, but it would be shocking if he could get by the 6'6'' Argentine.

Federer will be pushed to the limit by Del Potro and could see his U.S. Open preparations seriously harmed if he's not on top of his game. Federer holds a 6-2 advantage in their career head-to-head, but Del Po has won the last two encounters.

Tomas Berdych is also in this section of the draw as the 8th seed, but you can never get your hopes up with this guy. It seems like a mix of quarter-final and semi-final appearances this year are all we are going to get out of the talented but enigmatic Czech. He hasn't beaten a quality opponent all year long, so I wouldn't expect that to change now. This guy must drive his coach nuts!

On the other side of the draw Rafael Nadal will try to get things back on track after a surprising second round defeat to Ivan Dodig. While Federer losing to Tsonga in Montreal was always within the realm of possibility, I don't think anyone really saw that Dodig loss coming for Nadal.

The Spaniard will play either Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or a qualifier in his opening match. That should be the perfect prescription to get things going to him. A quarter-final match against Mardy Fish is a possibility for Nadal, although with Fish going deep in Montreal I wonder how much energy he will want to expend in back-to-back weeks.

Keep an eye on the talented Alexandr Dolgopolov who opens against Richard Gasquet in this quarter as well as Fernando Verdasco and veteran Xavier Malisse as a longshot who can still play the game quite well.

Finally, Andy Murray will try to find his form against the winner of David Nalbandian and a qualifier. Nalbandian can't seem to catch a break as he opened against Wawrinka in Montreal. Murray should be a good bet to dispatch of the veteran Argentine and hopefully the doubles action he saw with his older brother Jamie in Montreal will help him out here.

David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are also in this section and are fantastic hard-court players who could go deep here if Murray is still working out the kinks in his game.

Of the top-twenty players in the world, only Sweden's Robin Soderling is missing in action.

My picks for a final four this week will be Djokovic vs. Del Potro and Murray against Dolgopolov. I don't see Federer getting by his first opponent and something just didn't seem right with Nadal while practicing or playing in Montreal this past week.

Let the speculation for the U.S. Open continue. It will be here before we know it!

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.

 

 

Wimbledon Men's Preview 2011

By Mike McIntyre

To me, the start of summer has always been christened by the opening day of play on the prestigious lawns of the All-England Club. As a child, school had just finished and my family and I would take that first week off and head to the East Coast for some beach time in Kennebunkport, Maine. Regardless of how sunny it was, I would usually find myself sitting in front of the television watching the opening rounds of Wimbledon, while my parents and siblings instead made their way to the ocean shaking their heads at my stubborn dedication to the sport I loved.

Growing up with the great Boris Becker/Stefan Edberg rivalry during the summers of 1988, 89 and 90 would forever ingrain a love for tennis within me that has endured to this day. Later, players like Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic and Tim Henman would further my affection for the magic that could happen during this famous fortnight. Today, as the tournament is preparing to begin, I find myself once more looking forward to the start of summer and the two best week's of tennis I could ever imagine.

Here then is our Wimbledon preview for 2011. We'll have a look quarter by quarter and amuse ourselves with analysis, historical data and all the potential marquee matchups that tennis fans look forward to watching as the draw unfolds. 

Nadal's Quarter:

Reigning champion Rafael Nadal has not lost a match at Wimbledon since the finals in 2007. He has won the last two times he has played the event in 2008 and 2010, while injuries kept him away in 2009. Nadal has just captured his sixth French Open title and will attempt to marvel the sporting world with the possibility of another back-to-back Roland Garros/Wimbledon accomplishment.

Nadal will have his hands full with the draw he has received although his first match against veteran American journeyman Michael Russell provides a nice opening act, followed by the winner of Pablo Andujar/Ryan Sweeting. Then things get tricky for the (current) world number one.

Canadian wonder-boy Milos Raonic is set to play Wimbledon for the first time and, with his serve and volley game tailor-made for grass court tennis, could cause some serious damage. In many other sections of the draw, Raonic would have been a favorite to advance to the quarter-finals based on his impressive arsenal of fast-court weapons. While he could still give Nadal a heck of a ride, you'd have to imagine that Nadal's experience will stave off this potential upset.

Juan Martin Del Potro, seeded 24th, has shown great results in his comeback from wrist surgery and is starting to make his way back towards the top ten. He should be around to face Nadal in the fourth round in another match that will push Nadal to his limits. The Argentine has never had much success on grass, failing to ever advance past the second round of Wimbledon, yet he has many of the tools to be successful on the surface. Regardless of past accomplishments, he is not someone Nadal will look forward to facing this early in the tournament.

A rematch of last year's final with Tomas Berdych could occur in the quarter-finals if both he and Nadal hold true to their seedings. Berdych had a fantastic tournament a year ago in making his first ever Grand Slam final and in dispatching Roger Federer in the quarters, but has since failed to make much forward momentum with his career progress. A first round loss at the U.S. Open last year was followed by the quarter-finals in Australia this year and then another first round loss at the French a few weeks ago. Even at full-tilt, Berdych has not troubled Nadal in years and I don't expect that to change if they meet again here next week.

Murray's Quarter

Flying under the radar is local favorite and whipping-boy Andy Murray. Murray had a breakthrough season in 2009 where he won six titles but a year ago took a step backwards as he only captured two titles and failed to claim his first major title as many expected he might do. This season started slowly for Murray but he seems to be rounding into form after a semi-final appearance on his least favorite surface of clay at Roland Garros and then in winning the Queen's Club title over Tsonga after dismantling Andy Roddick by an emphatic score of 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-finals. With all eyes on Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Murray has the perfect opportunity to steal their thunder this year at home.

Murray opens against clay court specialist Daniel Gimeno-Traver in what should be a quick and ruthless result for the world number four and he will have to wait until the third round before a real test against either Croatian Marin Cilic or Ivan Ljubicic. In the round of sixteen he could come up against Richard Gasquet who has made the semis of Wimbledon before and the quarters would likely bring him Andy Roddick who no longer seems capable of competing with the big guns. With low expectations this year, Murray might be able to deflect the scrutiny of the UK media machine and actually come up with the moment we have all been waiting for. A semi-final with Nadal could be epic.

Federer's Quarter:

The six-time champion must be ecstatic with his draw that has a birth in the semi-finals all-but assured. Unless Roger has his "George Bastl moment", he should be sailing through just as he did in Paris last month. A meeting with David Nalbandian in the third round will not hold the same luster it once did, as Nalbandian has been oft-injured and needs more time to return to form. John Isner could meet up with Fed in the quarters, or perhaps Mikhail Youzhny, but neither one will trump one of the greatest grass-court players of all-time. Truly it will have to be a semi-final against Novak Djokovic to put Roger to the test in this year's edition, but even then I think we're going to see the Swiss maestro back in the finals where he so often has found himself.

Djokovic's Quarter

Up until his semi-final loss to Federer at the French Open, the tennis world was completely fascinated by the incomparable play of Novak Djokovic who began the 2011 season with a 41-0 record and came within one victory of tying John McEnroe's record where he began the 1984 season 42-0.

With that loss, fans and media pundits alike (yours truly included) have suddenly tapered their expectations for Djokovic and have realigned themselves for the usual Federer/Nadal final prediction at Wimbledon.

The pressure to continue his streak is over, so Djokovic has a bit of reprieve form the spotlight, however he is less than 100 points behind Nadal for the number one ranking, which would be a first for him in his career. It will be considered a disappointment if Djokovic fails to make the finals but I don't think he can beat Federer if Roger is at his grass-court best and playing the same brand of aggressive and near-flawless tennis he played against him in Paris.

Djokovic should be able to navigate through the first few rounds with opponents like Jeremy Chardy, Marcos Baghdatis and Viktor Troicki on deck. A quarter-final against Robin Soderling could offer a great tilt in what would be their first grass-court meeting.

Overall it seems likely to me that the top four players in the world will advance to the semi-finals. If so, we would be treated to a second consecutive Slam where this has happened and that in itself is a great thing for tennis fans of the ATP World Tour.

Enjoy the opening rounds. Matches like Marcos Baghdatis against James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt versus Kei Nishikori and most importantly a rematch of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut should offer a great start to the tournament and to another summer of fantastic tennis.

Stay tuned to ProTennisFan for coverage throughout the event and feel free to follow us on Twitter as well for regular updates.

Here is the order of play for tomorrow:

Monday's Order of Play

 

Madrid Masters Preview

By Mike McIntyre

The Mutua Madrid Open, or Madrid Masters, opens the month of May on the ATP World Tour and sets the scene for a frantic three weeks of clay court action leading up to the French Open.

Two-time and defending champion Rafael Nadal will look to extend his 34 match winning streak on clay and will face either Marcos Baghdatis or a qualifier in his opening match. Nadal has been his usual brilliant self thus far in 2011 on his favorite surface and will be the leading candidate to walk away with the trophy here in Madrid.

Rafa will face a stiff challenge in the third round where it appears likely he will face Juan Martin Del Potro who is unseeded in the draw. Nadal leads their head-to-head by a narrow margin of 5-3 but only one of those meetings was on clay.

Jurgen Melzer, the eighth seed could be a quarter-final opponent while either Robin Soderling or Roger Federer will probably see Nadal in the semis.

Novak Djokovic will be looking to extend his own winning streak that has seen him go undefeated since a loss to Roger Federer back in November at the ATP World Tour finals. The Djoker opens against either big serving Kevin Anderson or enigmatic Ernests Gulbis. His clay court record a year ago was 10-4 which is respectable but not spectacular. As evidenced by his final showing in Belgrade this past week, Djokovic appears ready to transition onto the dirt without any problems. A final showdown with Nadal would be an epic match, pitting their two different types of winning streaks on the line.

Third seeded Roger Federer did not have any favors bestowed upon him with the draw in Madrid. The two-time champion (2006, 2009) will potentially face rising Canadian star Milos Raonic in the second round. If Milos has recovered from back issues he suffered while playing back-to-back matches in Estoril he could be a very difficult early round opponent.

Fernando Verdasco and the Swede, Robin Soderling, are also in Roger's quarter of the draw and have the clay court skills to challenge the now vulnerable Swiss star.

Soderling could face Alexandr Dolgopolov in the second round which would make for a great early round encounter. While Dolgopolov experienced his breakthrough moment earlier this year at the Aussie Open on hard court he considers clay his favorite surface.

The final quarter of the draw to mention holds both Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych. Seeded fourth and seventh respectively they both have the first round off. Nikolay Davydenko, Gael Monfils and clay court specialist Juan Monaco could trouble either of the big seeds in this section.

Some first round matches worth watching include Monfils against Ivo Karlovic and his monstrous serve, former top-ten players Ivan Ljubicic and Gilles Simon facing each other and the all-American match of Mardy Fish against John Isner. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nicolas Almagro should also offer-up a great opening tilt.

For a change a Djokovic vs. Nadal final is the match-up most tennis fans want to see on the last day of play. How will Djokovic, the world's best player at the moment, fare against the world's best clay court player in Nadal? Stay tuned to find out!

Enjoy the journey this week in Madrid and don't forget to follow us throughout the tournament on Twitter.