McIntyre Tennis

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.

Federer Falls to Robredo at U.S. Open

By Mike McIntyre

A disappointing season of tennis from Roger Federer took another hit on labor day Monday as he was beaten in the fourth round of the U.S. Open by 19th seed Tommy Robredo 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium. That's the same Tommy Robredo that has lost in all previous ten career meetings against the 7th seeded Federer.

Despite a subtle point imbalance of 110 for Robredo to 101 for Federer, the Swiss superstar was only able to convert 2 of 16 break point opportunities in the match. He would lose in straight sets at the Open for the first time since 2002 when he was beaten by Max "The Beast" Mirnyi.

The loss marks the end of a Grand Slam season where Federer failed to advance to a single major final. That is also a first for Federer since 2002. He lost in the semis of Australia (Murray), the quarters at the French (Tsonga), the 2nd round at Wimbledon (Stakhovsky) and now in the 4th here at Flushing Meadows to Robredo.

The loss denies tennis fans the chance to have seen Federer take-on longtime rival Rafael Nadal in what would have been an epic quarter-final Wednesday night. The dynamic duo had never faced each other in New York and perhaps they never will.

Federer made no excuses after the match while talking to the press saying that his loss had nothing to do with either playing in a smaller venue like Armstrong or his back which felt fine throughout the tournament. Instead he said plainly that, "It just ended up being a bad combination of many things today."

For Federer it will be a real test to go back to the drawing board with coach Paul Annacone and the rest of his team. Does he return to testing the larger frame Wilson racquet that he experimented with following his even more shocking loss at Wimbledon? Is it time perhaps for him to find a new coach to help change the recent string of surprise losses? Or does Roger simply need to go out and continue to play more matches this fall in order to re-discover his confidence and top-four form?