McIntyre Tennis

The Week Ahead on the ATP Tour: Cordoba, Montpellier and Sofia

Article and Photography by Mike McIntyre

With the first Grand Slam of 2019 now behind us as well as the Davis Cup qualifiers, the ATP Tour can begin to settle into its usual groove of tournaments. This week there will be three level 250 events taking place and here is a short preview of what we can expect. If you're the wagering type and looking for tips on how to bet on sports, then perhaps this preview can be of assistance as well.

Cordoba Open

Italy's Fabio Fognini will be the No. 1 seed for the inaugural installment of this clay court event in Cordoba, Argentina. He gets a first round bye and then will face the winner between Aljaz Bedene and Max Marterer. Neither should give the World No. 15 much trouble, as Fognini is 1-0 vs Marterer and a whopping 8-0 H2H against Bedene in his career.

Diego Schwartzman is the tournament's third seed and also in the top half of the draw. The Argentinian No. 2 will enjoy tremendous home court support and his first match will be against either a qualifier or wildcard Thiago Seyboth Wild who is ranked 451st in the world.

In the bottom half of the draw, surprise 2018 French Open semifinalist Marco Cecchinato is the No. 2 seed. Since his stunning run at Roland Garros, the 26 year old Italian has gone 10-14 on tour and will very likely have a major ranking tumble this year in Paris.

Best bet for the lower portion of the draw is instead 4th seeded Pablo Carreno Busta or 7th seeded Leonardo Mayer - both very capable clay court players.

Open Sud de France

Turning our attention over to Europe, there is a hard court tournament for French tennis fans to flock to in Montpellier located near the southern coast. This event has been one by a Frenchman in six of the eight times it has been held, including by Lucas Pouille a year ago. Pouille would be a solid pick to repeat as champion given his past success in the event and the fact that he recently made his first ever Grand Slam semifinal in Melbourne. He opens with a bye and will then face the winner between a qualifier and Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic. Pouille has a 2-0 record against Vesely at the ATP level, but lost both matches that were prior to 2016 against him at the Challenger/Future level of play.

The top half of the draw is littered with other talented yet aging French players such as 4th seeded Gilles Simon, Jo Wilfried Tsonga as well as Jeremy Chardy. All three are over thirty years old and Tsonga required a wildcard to enter the event as he is currently ranked 210th in the world.

The bottom half of the draw has Canada's Denis Shapovalov as the third seed. Shapovalov just helped his country qualify for the Davis Cup finals that will be held in November as he won both of his singles rubbers against Slovakia. The talented 19 year old has yet to win his maiden ATP title, and this week in Monpellier might afford him a solid opportunity to do just that.

David Goffin is the No. 2 seed and has had an underwhelming year thus far, falling in the opening round in Doha before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the third round of the Aussie Open. Veteran Tomas Berdych also lurks in this section of the draw and has had a resurgent start to 2019 by making the finals in Doha and then the last 16 in Melbourne.

Sofia Open

In Bulgaria, the Sofia Open has Mirza Basic as defending champion. The World No. 99 represents Bosnia-Herzegovina and accomplished little else at the ATP level in 2018 save for his surprising run of 7 victories in Sofia where he had to endure two qualifying wins before eventually taking down Marius Copil in a close final.

Young Russian sensation Karen Khachanov is the No. 1 seed this year and after an opening round pass will face either Denis Istomin or Matteo Berrettini in the second round. Stan Wawrinka could be a potential third round opponent for Khachanov but he will first have to get by Copil and then potentially face fellow veteran Fernando Verdasco. Robert Bautista Agut had a great run at the Australian Open and he is in the top half of the draw here as the No. 4 seed.

In the bottom half look out for No. 2 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev as likely contenders for the title. You will also find the always entertaining Gael Monfils and last year's champ who we previously mentioned, Mirza Basic, who it appears will have a much tougher time this year if he dreams of repeating as champion.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Tuesday at the Rogers Cup in Pictures

By Mike McIntyre

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

Frank Dancevic practices in the morning despite the rain shower.

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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.

Wawrinka Success Testament to Hard Work

If you were to look up Stanislas Wawrinka on Wikipedia and scroll down to the ‘Playing Style’ section you’d notice that, according to whoever wrote this entry, the Swiss star’s biggest fault is his lack of mental toughness. Having watched him win the Australian Open this week, I believe this line should now be scratched and never entered again.

The 28-year-old has, in the past year, shown facets to his game we did not think he had, hanging with and bettering those who had been considered all-round better players by fans of live tennis online. His stunning victory over Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals was the culmination of years of hard work, the majority of which did not look as though it had paid off.

At the 2012 Australian Open, Wawrinka was dumped out of the tournament in the third round by Nicholas Almagro and was considered as nothing more than “the other Swiss tennis player”. His remarkable rise shows he is way more than that.

Despite making it to consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals the Olympic double’s gold medallist is continually written off by tennis betting pundits. Minutes after his semi-final triumph over Tomas Berdych his stats when facing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were dragged up, as if to dismiss him as a genuine title contender.

He may never have beaten Rafael Nadal but that record no longer matters. Warwinka had lost 14 out of 14 to Djokovic before this week but has now set that record straight as well.

What has gone on before should count for very little when you step out on court, and Wawrinka is a testament to that having put so many tough losses behind him to reach this point. Nadal started as the heavy favourite for Sunday’s final, and rightly so given his ability. The tag of favourite can count for very little though, as Juan Martin del Potro demonstrated when he won the US Open in 2009 against Federer. 

Wawrinka has now become just the second man in the last five years from outside the ‘big four’ to win a Grand Slam. He can now certainly upgrade his status from ‘also ran’ to ‘contender’ amongst the tennis fraternity.

 

ATP Wrap Up: Brisbane, Chennai and Doha

By Mike McIntyre

It was more of the same for the start of the 2014 season on the ATP World Tour. World number one Rafael Nadal hoisted the trophy in Doha continuing his impressive return to the game following an eight month injury break that lasted from June of 2012 until February of 2013. In the 18 tournaments he has played since then, Rafa has won an astounding 11 and lost in the finals of 4 others.

In Doha, Nadal overcame his 2012 Wimbledon nemesis Lukas Rosol in the opening round, defeated a tricky Ernests Gulbis in the third round, survived a stiff challenge from Peter Gojowczyk in the semis and then finally toppled Gael Monfils in the finals, a guy who has historically had his number in this early season tournament. Nadal is simply en fuego and not likely to let-up anytime soon. The favourite at the Australian Open - you bet.

You can count world number three and four, David Ferrer and Andy Murray amongst those who found Doha to be a disappointment to the start of their seasons. Ferrer lost in the second round to German Daniel Brands while Murray also fell in his second match against another German, Florian Mayer. Ferrer should rebound quickly enough but I am a bit concerned for Murray as he recovers from back surgery late in 2013.

Gotta give the German contingent credit for their performance in Doha. Four of them made it to the quarter-finals and the rise of the previously (relatively) unknown Gojowczyk was something to see. It reminded me of the emergence of Jerzy Janowicz in Paris in 2012 or Federico Delbonis in Hamburg last summer. We'll have to wait and see if he can continue his early season success but so far he is the surprise player on the ATP Tour in 2014.

In Brisbane, Roger Federer made his first ever appearance at the event and did not disappoint by making it all the way to the finals. Still, Federer did not leave with the trophy at the level 250 event which must be largely viewed as a let-down. No Nadal, Djokovic or Murray to contend with and yet he could not secure the title.

In fairness, let's give credit to Aussie Lleyton Hewitt who was able to win his first trophy since 2010 and the 29th tourney win of his career. I can only imagine how satisfying this must be for Hewitt to do in front of his home fans and against arguably the greatest player of all-time. Could it be the last title of Hewitt's career? Not if he keeps playing this way. When you look at what 35 year old Tommy Haas has been able to do the past couple of years, there's no reason to think Hewitt can't be a level 250 and 500 contender for a little while longer.

In Chennai, Stan Wawrinka continued his string of success where he won the title for the second time in his career and in his third final there. For the second year in-a-row Wawrinka is the first Swiss player on the ATP World Tour to capture a title. Who would have thought that day would ever come? He has quietly established himself as a bona-fide top-ten player and when we talk about the next player not named Nadal, Djokovic, Murray or Federer to win a Slam, Wawrinka's name must now be mentioned as a viable option.

One more week until the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne. Keep checking back with us at ProTennisFan as we will take a look at this week's tournaments in Sydney and Auckland. Be sure to follow us on Twitter as well for regular updates and analysis.

Murray Crashes Out On Day Two Of Rogers Cup

By Mike McIntyre

Two-time defending champion Andy Murray was sent packing in his opening match at the Rogers Cup by big-serving Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Anderson pulled off the second top-ten victory of his career with relative ease as he advanced by a score of 6-3, 6-1 in only one hour and nine minutes.

Blame it on the media, myself included, for confidently predicting a top-four semi-final finish here in Montreal. Of course we should have realized that with five weeks off since Wimbledon, anything was capable of happening.

Murray said he has been training hard in Miami to acclimatize himself with the hot summer conditions that often accompany this time of year in North America. Instead today the weather was relatively mild with cloud coverage permeating the skies.

The Scotsman did not hold back in his own assessment of his play today. "I just felt very slow," he mentioned. "The game seemed to be going so fast. Yeah, I mean, it's happened to me already once this year. I've trained really hard to get ready for the tournament. I've always played very well here. Today I couldn't get anything going. I started both sets really, really badly which doesn't help against someone that serves like Kevin. I was down a break early. Yeah, didn't get anything going at all.

On the bright side for the world number four, he will be playing doubles here this week with his older brother Jamie. While normally merely using the doubles to hone his singles game he revealed that he always tries to put a bit more into his efforts when supporting his brother.

 "When I play with Jamie, I obviously want to try to win because that's his career, where he makes his money," Murray said. "Tournaments like this, there's a lot of big ranking points which aren't at stake at some of the other tournaments he plays. If we can do well here, it's really good for his ranking. I always try and play my best when I'm playing with Jamie."

They will open Wednesday against the all-Canadian duo of Erik Chvojka and Pierre-Ludovic Duclos. If all goes according to plan Murray can get the match play he obviously still needs while also helping big brother with his own career ambitions.

The loss of Murray opens of his section of the draw leaving 6th seeded Mardy Fish along with perhaps the 14th seeded Stan Wawrinka as the leading candidates to advance.

In other daytime action completed today, Richard Gasquet of France got things started off on Center Court by soundly defeating Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-2. The pair had a closely contested Davis Cup match a month ago where Gasquet had to battle back from being down two-sets-to-one, but things were much more routine today. Gasquet will next face Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.

Canadian prospect Vasek Pospisil ranked 155th in the world had the second biggest upset of the day as he sent 22nd ranked Juan Ignacio Chela home early by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Pospisil was down a break in the third but managed to use the home crowd support to his advantage and claw his way back into things. Life won't get any easier for Pospisil as he will next face Roger Federer in the world number three's first match on tour as a thirty year-old.

Other completed results today go as follows:

Philipp Petzschner d. Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-2

Sergiy Stakhovsky d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 7-5

Michael Llodra d. Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)

Viktor Troicki d. Michael Yani 2-6, 6-3, 6-1

Michael Russell d. Albert Montanes 7-5, 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic d. Alejandro Falla 7-5, 6-1

At 8:20pm ET the night matches have all been postponed until Wednesday by constant rain fall.