McIntyre Tennis

Raonic and Pospisil to Faceoff in Antwerp

By Mike McIntyre

I'll never forget the Rogers Cup from 2010. It was a glimpse into the future for Canadian tennis fans who were starved for some home grown talent to root for. In a night time doubles match on Centre Court, two youngsters by the names of Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil took to the court to face the top two players in the world who had formed a superstar tandem as they began their summer hardcourt swing. While most expected Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to cruise through the match, the upstart Canadians had something else in mind and delivered a stunning 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 victory. It was a sign of things to come.

Raonic would be the first to excel on the ATP World Tour and his Wimbledon final appearance in 2016 remains the highlight of his career to date. When Federer and Nadal began to falter a few years back, it seemed as though Raonic would be one of the next generation of players to perhaps start to regularly challenge for some Grand Slam titles. Instead, injuries have become a regular occurrence for the now 27 year old who seems unable to get through a season without dealing with multiple betrayals from his own body.

Pospisil never had the weapon like Raonic had with his serve, but still pushed his way up the rankings to a career-high of No. 25 in the World back in 2014. He won the Wimbledon doubles titles that same year and a year later also made it to the quarterfinals at the All-England Club in singles. Since that time however his doubles ranking has all but disappeared as he has chosen to focus on his singles game, which has returned to the top 100 in 2018 but seems unable to get much higher than that.

The first two career meetings between Raonic and Pospisil were both important marks in their developing careers. In 2013 they clashed for a spot in the Rogers Cup finals in Montreal with Raonic prevailing 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4). A year later the two played in the first-ever all-Canadian men's singles final on the tour with Raonic again the victor by a score of 6-1, 6-4. At the time Canadian tennis fans likely felt they were on the verge of something special, expecting many more great duels between the two. Unfortunately that has not come to fruition, and the meeting on Wednesday in Antwerp feels rather anti-climactic between two players who seem to have flat-lined in their progress.

Instead it seems like most of the hype in Canada has turned to rising stars Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The two teenagers will be counted on to hold the torch for Tennis Canada in the future both as competitors and teammates in Davis Cup and hopefully Olympic action as well. For today however, we'll see if Raonic and Pospisil can remind us that they still matter and that better days lie ahead.

Underwhelming Start to 2018 at the Hopman Cup for Genie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil

By Mike McIntyre

For two Canadian players who suffered through agonizingly disappointing seasons of tennis in 2017, The Hopman Cup offered Genie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil a fun way to kick-off their respective campaigns in 2018. The exhibition tournament has gathered a steady following over the past few years and is a fun, yet still competitive way to get ready for the real action on both the ATP World Tour and WTA Tour. The enjoyment for Bouchard and Pospisil must be evolving into something much less amusing as they struggle to put up points on the board nearing the conclusion of the round robin portion of the event.

The Canucks opened against host-nation Australia where both Bouchard and Pospisil failed to win their singles matches. Bouchard went down at the hands of Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-4 and then Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Pospisil in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Doubles was the only area where the Canadian pair found some solace with a 4-3, 4-3 win over the same two players who had earlier beaten them.

On a non-playing day Bouchard and Pospisil hit the beach in Perth where they participated in a Baywatch themed photo shoot. It is unfortunate that this has turned out to be the highlight of their time there as they continued to struggle when they returned to the tennis court.

A strong German team swiftly beat them with former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber avenging her loss in Spain last year to Bouchard with a routine 6-1, 6-3 win. The talented Alexander Zverev then took-out Pospisil 6-4, 6-2. The Germans got them in doubles as well, 4-3, 4-3. Ok, fair enough, Genie and Vasek are not on that level and maybe few teams in the event save for the Swiss duo of Federer and Bencic are, but this tournament is not giving fans of the Canadians much reason to get their hopes up early in the season.

Only one round robin match-up remains for Bouchard and Pospisil to try and salvage something from their time in Perth. They face one of the hottest duos in the entire tournament unfortunately against Belgium's David Goffin and Elise Mertens who bring a 4-2 record into their tilt. That contest will be held Friday but barring a 3-0 sweep of their opponents, it seems likely that the Canadian tandem will be eliminated from advancing. 

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.

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.

Raonic and Pospisil Make Canadian Tennis History

By Mike McIntyre

Just when you thought that Canada had accomplished all of its possible firsts in professional tennis this year, they strike again.

At the Citi Open in Washington D.C., Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil have ensured an all-Canadian final on the ATP World Tour for the first time in the Open Era of the sport which goes back to 1968.

The timing of this momentous achievement could not come at a better time for Tennis Canada as it is on the eve of Canada's marquee event - The Rogers Cup, which begins Monday in Toronto for the men and in Montreal for the women.

While Raonic (being the number two seed at the Citi Open this year) was what many would say the favourite to make the finals prior to the start of competition earlier in the week, Pospisil was anything but. His season was derailed early by a back injury that saw him miss a month following his third round withdrawal at the Australian Open and hindered him so much that he went on to lose an astounding eight opening round matches in-a-row when he returned to action. After that horrific five month period Pospisil was able to re-discover his form on grass with a quarter-final result in the Netherlands. The turning point however might have been his shocking doubles victory at Wimbledon with American partner Jack Sock. Buoyed with a new sense of confidence in his play and with his back, Pospisil is now finally seeing the returns everyone expected when he made it to the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup nearly a year ago.

Pospisil lost that semi-final to Raonic in their only professional match to-date against one another. On Sunday we will see if he can even the score, although the odds are stacked against him. Not only has Raonic been coasting through his matches all week, but he played the early semi-final on Saturday and is clearly the more rested of the two players. Pospisil had to begin Saturday by finishing his rain-delayed quarter-final match against Santiago Giraldo before playing again just a few hours later against the talented Richard Gasquet of France. In that match Pospisil had to battle back from a one set deficit and a 0-3 hole in the third and decisive set before prevailing 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 in 2hrs 28 minutes.

Regardless of the outcome the result will be a victory for Canada, a country that is quickly establishing itself as a new power on both the ATP and WTA circuits. Not only that, but the Rogers Cup is getting some free publicity that it could never have imagined just a day before the main draw is set to begin there.

While some might say the newfound hype surrouding Canadian tennis is overkill, I say they've waited long enough and we should let Canada enjoy the first of what we hope will be many finals and championships for their promising young tennis players.

Around The Corner: Atlanta, Gstaad and Umag

By Mike McIntyre

BB&T Atlanta Open

The Emirates Airlines U.S. Open Series officially gets underway with the level 250 event in Atlanta. While the major players will make their first hardcourt swing appearances in two weeks time at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, some smaller (and taller) fish will start accumulating points a bit earlier.

When I say taller I am definitely talking about John Isner who heads the field in Atlanta as the number one seed. Isner has become the hardest working player on the ATP Tour in recent summers and this year should be no exception. He has plenty of points to defend which must compel him to play such a heavy schedule, but it certainly seems to leave him weakened by the time the U.S. Open arrives at the end of August. At the age of 29 Isner is no kid anymore and if he truly wants to have his major moment he is going to have to ease up on the hours he spends out in the summer heat. Isner's success in 2014 has been limited to the early months of the season where he won his first event in Auckland and then reached the semi's at Indian Wells where he fell to Djokovic in three sets. He's the defending champ here in Atlanta and anything less than a repeat victory at this event will be seen as a disappointment.

Isner has a first round bye and then will face the winner between wildcard Robby Ginepri -who is still trying to salvage something of a once promising career - and Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine. Gael  Monfils of France is the number three seed and is also in the top-half of the draw. Monfils could win this thing or self-destruct in a dizzying array of cartwheels and Boris Becker inspired dives...you just never know with him.

Wimbledon doubles champs Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil are reunited together again since their big triumph. They are also both playing singles of course and Pospisil is the fourth seed and in the bottom-half of the draw. With his back seemingly no longer troubling him, the Canadian will look to gain some momentum as the Roger's Cup approaches where he has semi-final points to defend. Lots of pressure on the youngster who is fresh off a loss to Bernie Tomic in Bogota this past week.

Yen-Hsun Lu of Tapei is the seventh seed and in the bottom half as well. He is coming off a Challenger level tournament victory in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. For him it will be a battle between his rising confidence and impending jetlag. Kevin Anderson, the second seed, is also one to watch. He lost the final a year ago to Isner and played very well last summer on the smaller American hardcourt events.

Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad

For those looking to cling to red clay for a little bit longer we have just the event for you in Switzerland. No Roger Federer this year as he does not need the extra ranking points nor is he testing out a new racquet. Federer was shocked in his opening match a year ago against Daniel Brands in a forgettable 65 minute match.

Mikhail Youzhny is the number one seed and defending champion in Gstaad. He is quite capable on clay as he is on all other surfaces. He's got some decent dirt-ballers such as Juan Monaco, Thomasz Bellucci and Federico Delbonis to content with in the top half of the draw.

In the bottom half the ATP World Tour welcomes back the self-proclaimed innocent Viktor Troicki who hopefully has learned his lesson about refusing to provide a blood sample when asked. He was fortunate enough to have his 18 month suspension reduced to 12 and to receive a wildcard for this event. He opens against sixth seeded Dominic Thiem from Austria.

Fernando Verdaso will try to get his season back on track as the fourth seed here in Gstaad. Other than winning a small tournament on green clay in Houston back in April, there has been little worth reporting from the thirty year old Spaniard so far in 2014.

Marcel Granollers is the second seed in the event and won this tournament in 2011.

Take the results from this tournament with a grain of salt. Clay court events are on their way out this year and a win here does not by any means translate to success at the final Grand Slam of the year in New York. These are players who are trying to pad their stats or bank accounts but clearly care little for what they may be able to accomplish at a major.

Vegeta Croatia Open Umag

Ditto for Umag.

Number one seed Fabio Fognini will try to stick around a little longer than he did last week in Hamburg where he was defeated 6-4, 6-0 by the 150th ranked player in the world - Filip Krajinovic. A dismal effort from the defending champion to say the least. Fognini was a finalist here in Umag in 2013 and I would expect somewhat of a stronger effort this week as he tries to hold on to his current ranking of 15th in the world.

17 year old Alexander Zverev has received a special entry into the tournament due to his phenomenal effort last week in Hamburg where he reached the semi-finals before falling to David Ferrer. This kid has experienced the most prolific start to his career by a teenager since one Rafael Nadal did about ten years ago. He jumped 124 spots in the rankings up to his current of 161st in the ATP. Zverev started 2014 ranked in the 800s and won the Australian Open junior event. Looks like he's ready for the big leagues now.

In the bottom half of the draw the fans will no-doubt be pulling for Marin Cilic who won here in 2012. Tommy Robredo is the second seed and defending champion from a year ago. Every time I write anything negative about Robredo he goes on a serious run and manages to rediscover his top-twenty ranking and form. I'm done predicting anything for this guy, he is officially my kryptonite!

We're back in business here at ProTennisFan after some website issues earlier this year. Please check back with us during the summer swing for in-depth analysis of the ATP World Tour. You can also follow us on Twitter if you're so inclined.

Pospisil Amazingly Into Rogers Cup Semifinals

By Mike McIntyre

Pospisil's play has got Canadian tennis fans all worked-up

Vasek Pospisil's career just took a meteoric rise thanks in part to a match he barely even had to play. The twenty-three year old Canadian, who has been working his tail off over the past couple of weeks, moved into the semi-finals of his first Masters 1000 event on the ATP World Tour when his opponent Nikolay Davydenko retired trailing 0-3 in the first set. Davydenko was suffering from a case of bronchitis, not pospisilitis, and was unable to breathe properly enough to continue the match. 

Speaking about the retirement after the match, Pospisil admitted that it came at a good time for him as he too was dealing with his share of aches and pains.

"It came at a perfect time to have a bit of a rest," he said. "Even those three games, I was really trying to catch my breath. Felt like I had a bit of sore legs, making me a little bit tired. So it came at a great time."

Pospisil came into the tournament ranked a career-high 71st in the world but will now see some major movement up the rankings. By making the quarter-finals he was guaranteed to be boosted to approximately 57th in the world according to ATP stats guru Greg Sharko. By making the semis he will now move to around 40th and could come awfully close to the top thirty in the world should he continue winning. Talk about a week of tennis that will change your life forever.

While tennis fans in Canada have come to appreciate Pospisil's role on their Davis Cup squad over the past couple of years, those outside of the country likely aren't too familiar with what he brings to the table or has accomplished up to this point in his young career. Here's a quick recap.

Pospisil, who hails from Vernon, British Columbia, first popped up on the ATP rankings in March 2007 at the age of 16. Pospisil was playing futures tournaments that year but would get his first taste of the big leagues in 2008 while going through qualifying at the Rogers Cup. It was more futures in 2009 where Pospisil saw his ranking crack the top 1000 in the world for the first time. At the end of 2009 is when he showed the first signs of consistent accomplishment as a pro when he won four futures tournaments in-a-row and vaulted into the top 400 in the rankings.

In 2010 he would win a couple of more futures events and enter the qualifying of a few ATP tournaments. Canadian tennis fans likely first noticed Pospisil in doubles action at the Rogers Cup that summer where he partnered with Milos Raonic to defeat the mega-star tandem of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal by a score of 10-8 in a champions tiebreak.

A year later in 2011 he would be playing challenger events instead of futures which was a step up and would also win one round of qualifying at a little tournament called Wimbledon that you may have heard of. Pospisil made his Davis Cup debut that year going 1-1 in a tie against Ecuador. He was given his first wildcard into the Rogers Cup and surprisingly defeated veteran ATP player Juan Ignacio Chela in the opening round before falling to his idol Roger Federer in the second round. The 5-7, 3-6 scoreline was respectable however and gave Pospisil the confidence to know that he could handle himself at this level. He used that confidence to win all three qualifying matches at the U.S. Open later that summer and then defeated Lukas Rosol in the first round before falling to Feliciano Lopez. Pospisil's amazing break-out year was not over yet as he would play the hero for Team Canada in their Davis Cup tie against Israel, winning twice in singles and once in doubles to help them advance back into the world group where they remain today.

In 2012, Pospisil would play in his first Masters 1000 event apart from the Rogers Cup which was in Indian Wells. He would break into the top 100 in the world in April and represent Canada in the London Olympics where he lost to David Ferrer in his opening match.

That brings us to this year where Pospisil started ranked just inside the top 130 in the world but struggled out of the gates and let a two set lead slip away in his singles match of the quarter-final Davis Cup tie against Italy's Andreas Seppi. In April he got close to the top hundred again with a tournament win in South Africa and then he qualified for his first French Open where he lost 8-6 in the fifth set against clay court vet Horacio Zeballos. You got the sense however that Pospisil was starting to knock at the door of bigger or at least more consistent success when he won the opening round at Wimbledon as well and then lost another tight five set match to established pro Mikhail Youzhny. Last week at a challenger event in Vancouver Pospisil would win the title bringing as much confidence as he possibly could into the Rogers Cup where we stand today.

Now with impressive wins over big-time players like John Isner, Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych and Davydenko today, he amazingly finds himself on the verge of the finals of Canada's biggest event, the Rogers Cup and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Pospisil's gigantic smiles after his victories this week reveal a guy who is just loving every unpredictable moment. His comments after his matches display an innocence that is hard not to like as well. For example when asked about the $135,000 he has made thus far in Montreal, Pospisil revealed, "Yeah, I had no idea how much I made until somebody told me in the TV booth.  I was like, Oh, really?  Wow!"Wow indeed.

Later when asked what he would have said if someone had told him before the event that he'd be in the semi-finals he was honest in replying, "That they're probably crazy, to make the semifinals here (laughter).  Winning in Vancouver was something I wanted to do. I knew I had a realistic shot of doing that in front of my friends and family. This is a little bit of a different situation, coming in as a wild card, playing against guys that I don't get to play with too often. Yeah, definitely would think they lost their minds a little."

Pospisil will now face friend and Davis Cup teammate Raonic who earned a tough three set win against Ernests Gulbis today. Canadian tennis fans will get a match-up that could only have been dreamed about coming into the tournament. The vibe in Montreal should be an interesting one tomorrow as fans might be confused as to where they should direct their encouragement. 

Asked about the possibility of playing Milos before his match against Gulbis had ended, Pospisil said that it would be an, "Exciting match. Two Canadians in the semifinal, one guaranteed to be in the final.  Historic moment for tennis in Canada...I think it would be more special if it was Milos for the crowd, the tournament and everybody."

Pospisil and Raonic have faced each other four times before but not in a regular ATP match. The record stands at 3-1 in favour of Pospisil, although their last meeting was back in 2010 before Milos really became Milos. Both will be dealing with their own respective hindrances, as Raonic felt numbness in his right shoulder two nights ago against Del Potro and Pospisil has been battling fatigue since arriving from Vancouver.

While Raonic will be considered the favourite on paper due to his more noticeable rise into the top twenty of the men's game, Pospisil knows his opponent's game inside and out and both men are playing in their first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, so nerves could affect either one. While Pospisil's serve isn't at the same level of ferociousness as Raonic's, it is still quite a weapon and better than your average player on tour. Pospisil moves better than Raonic and is just as comfortable at net given all the play he's accumulated alongside Daniel Nestor.

With his win already this week over a huge server like Isner, I must admit I like Pospisil's chances at defying all the odds to advance to the finals. I just re-read the last sentence several times as I still cannot believe that this is in fact the reality we are facing for Sunday. It truly is a special time for Canadian tennis.

Check back with us this weekend for more news and analysis from Montreal and the WTA tournament in Toronto. You can follow us on Twitter as well for regular updates.

Epic Doubles Win for Canada in Davis Cup

By Mike McIntyre

Doubles took centre stage in the tennis world on Saturday for a pivotal Davis Cup match between Canada and Italy at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver. Tied at one victory apiece heading into the match, the result would give a big boost to the team that emerged with the win today.

It could be argued that Team Canada captain Martin Laurendeau was taking a risk by putting Pospisil back out there after his five set singles loss to Andreas Seppi yesterday. Aside from failing to close it out after leading two sets to none, Pospisil's partnership with Nestor has also been fragile in recent matches. The two have not enjoyed much success in Davis Cup play and have lost their last three matches in a row to France, South Africa and Spain.

Laurendeau explained at the end of the day Friday that he was going to stick with the guy he described as Team Canada's "workhorse" from a key Davis Cup tie against Israel in 2011 that put Canada back into the world group. That Loyalty for Pospisil seemed to be a risky move and one that Laurendeau would certainly be second guessed for should he and Nestor be unable to secure the victory against Italy.

Italy and Canada stand united with their teammates

As for Nestor, Laurendeau was quite frank in his press conference on Friday when he was asked if the 40 year old veteran really needed to come through for Canada.

"He sure does. Daniel is a champion, he's won a lot of things. He's won pretty much everything out there and the one thing he's lacking is a semi-final appearance in Davis Cup. He's waited a long time for this opportunity as a champion. He pretty much lost one doubles match or so in the last fifteen years and now he's lost the last three so he's looking forward to the opportunity to turn that around and contribute a point for the team. He's a great team player, he shows up at Davis cup and he's there for the team every time. It's not a good feeling when you only have one match and you don't contribute. He wants to avenge that for sure. I'm expecting a good level of play tomorrow."

Driving to the arena this morning with Italian Davis Cup legend Nicola Pietrangeli (166 Davis Cup matches, 120-44 record) I was asked by the former two time Grand Slam champion why Canada would not play Milos Raonic instead of Pospisil in the doubles. An Italian journalist who was with us mused that it was due to a personality clash between Raonic and Nestor although I've never witnessed anything to support that statement. In the end despite their recent struggles, the Nestor/Pospisil combination was still the best that Canada had to offer.

As was the case yesterday in singles, Canada jumped out to an early lead by taking the first set. With Bracciali serving at 2-3, 30-40, a hard forehand from Nestor forced a backhand error on the volley from Fognini to give the first break to the Canadians. They would hold on to win the opener 6-3.

The second set followed a similar path with Nestor and Pospisil getting a break of Fognini's serve to go ahead 3-2. The Canadians would then continue to hold their own serves to capture the set 6-4.

A two set to love lead gave Canadian fans plenty to cheer about

Being up two sets to none was a familiar position for Team Canada and especially for Pospisil who squandered the same lead a day ago in his singles match.

Unable to maintain an early break in the third set, Nestor and Pospisil allowed the Italians to break right back. Serving at 3-4, 40-A,  Pospisil would have his serve broken as a Fognini service return handcuffed the young Canuck prompting the unfortunate error. Fognini and Bracciali would take the third set 6-3 and suddenly the Italians had some life.

The French team erupts after winning the third set

Pospisil and Nestor continued to struggle in the fourth with double faults and errors seeming to mount. Was Nestor at age 40 starting to tire? Apparently he had tweaked his right calf in the recent Masters event in Miami. Or was the problem once again Pospisil's focus as he himself admitted to in his match against Seppi yesterday? Either way the match was quickly spiralling out of control for Team Canada as Italy took the fourth set 6-3. 

Nothing is imPospisil

In the fifth both teams were feeling the pressure but it was the Canadians who almost buckled first. With Nestor serving at 2-3, he and Pospisil would face two break points at 15-40. They held their ground however and managed to get the crucial hold to tie things up at 3-3.

In the end it was strong serving from Pospisil that allowed Canada to stay in the hunt. He held at love three times in a row to tie the set at 4-4, 6-6 and 8-8. Knowing that a loss of his serve would mean losing the match, Pospisil seemed like the poised veteran and continually gained some key points for Canada throughout the fifth set.

Canada had two looks at a break while Fognini was serving at 9-9, 15-40, but the Italians refused to capitulate and found a way to hold on.

Later while serving at 11-11, Fognini was called for a footfault on his first serve with the score 15-30. While the Italians won the next point, chair umpire Jake Garner had words with the line judge who made the call and then gave the Italian duo a warning for unsportsmanlike comments that it appeared Bracciali had made after the foot fault call.

Madness ensued at 12-12 when a timely challenge by Canada led to a video replay reversing an "out" call that would have given the game to the Italians. Fognini and Bracciali had to return from their team bench and play instead at deuce. The game went on for at least another ten minutes with each team having multiple chances to win it. Canada couldn't close out their two break points and so eventually Italy did hold serve. The Canadians certainly seemed to be closing in though.

Two games later on Fognini's serve the Italians quickly found themselves down 0-40 thanks to some great plays by Nestor who had been re-vitalized since halfway through the fifth set. With three break points the Canadians were not going to let-up and they finally earned the elusive break to move ahead 14-13 and send the home crowd into a frenzy.

With Pospisil continuing to serve so consistently the pair closed it out in 4 hours and 32 minutes by a final score of 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 15-13 to move within one win of advancing to their first ever Davis Cup semi-final.

After 4 hours and 32 minutes, the Canadians found a way to win

It was redemption for Pospisil after the way his singles match turned out a day ago and also for he and Nestor as a doubles partnership who were so desperate to get back in the win column. The victory also served as validation for captain Laurendeau's decision to keep the struggling pair together.

A hug for the winner's

Milos Raonic will now try to seal the deal on Sunday in a reverse singles match against Andreas Seppi. Will they be able to top today in terms of drama? As we've seen so far this weekend, anything can happen.