Rogers Cup Photos: Finals Day with Nadal, Murray, Raonic

Video: Andy Murray Interview at Rogers Cup

Here's Andy Murray and his doubles partner Colin Fleming after losing the doubles final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Sorry about the poor sound quality—Murray wasn't scheduled to talk to the media, as he was in a hurry to go to Cincinnati, but a few of us rushed down to the players area to get a few questions in before he left.

Rogers Cup Men's Semifinal Prediction: Raonic vs. Pospisil

  

Vasek Pospisil after defeating Berdych

Yesterday on Twitter I asked if anyone had predicted a Raonic vs. Pospisil semifinal, and then I claimed that anyone who said they had was a liar. But apparently I was wrong...

So thank you Jared Pine (@JaredPine) for sending me this and making me feel bad that I had less faith in the two Canadian boys than this ATP Fantasy fellow. (But seriously, who makes that pick?)

On with my semifinal prediction...

Vasek Pospisil vs. Milos Raonic 

All I can say is you did good Canada. You did really good. I don't know if it was the rambunctious and very biased Canadian crowd that helped these two reach the semis, but even if the crowd helped them along, they both had to play great tennis to end up in the final four. That's right—two of the final four players at this tournament are from Canada. 

Vasek has played some amazing tennis and his excitement is infectious. I was on the National Bank Court while Pospisil was playing Berdych and the atmosphere was incredible. The other players have been describing the experience of playing a Canadian player here as being the same as playing a Davis Cup match, and I would have to agree. And no one has revved up the crowd more than Vasek Pospisil. He genuinely seems so surprised and elated to be in the position he's in and when he walks into his press conferences he can't stop grinning. It is for this reason that I think Vasek is going to defeat Milos today. 

Milos has been the better player for the past few years, so all the pressure is on him to win this semifinal match. If he doesn't win, it will only add to the talk that Milos has been hyped up too much and that he still hasn't produced the results that people expected of him. On the other hand, just reaching the semis is an unbelievable achievement for Vasek, so no matter what happens today, this will be seen as a breakthrough tournament for him.

Milos is also the more subdued player and I think the crowd will get behind Vasek and his endearingly enthusiastic personality. That's not to say that I don't think the crowd will support Raonic, because they will. I just think that as the match goes on that Vasek might get a little more support.

I'll take Pospisil defeating Raonic in three sets. But no matter what the result is we'll have a Canadian in the final of a Masters 1000 event...and that is a big deal.

Video: Nadal Practice Session At Rogers Cup in Montreal

For photos from Nadal's practice session click here, and for other photos from the Rogers Cup click here. 

Video: Interview with Tipsarevic at Rogers Cup LIVE!

Janko Tipsarevic participated in an interview and Q&A session with fans on Monday at a Rogers Cup promotional event at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. I was able to capture most of the interview on video, so check out the two videos below to see what Janko had to say.

In this video, Tipsarevic discusses his friendship with the other Serbian players on the tour and why he thinks events like Davis Cup are important.

In the next video, Janko gives his thoughts on Murray's gold medal win, the humidity in Toronto, and his chances for success at the Rogers Cup.

Click here to see photos of Tipsarevic from the Rogers Cup LIVE! event.

Tipsarevic at Yonge-Dundas Square for Rogers Cup LIVE!

Janko Tipsarevic made an appearance at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square today to promote this week's Rogers Cup. After participating in a Q&A session with fans, Tipsarevic played tennis with young kids on a mini-tennis court and then signed autographs and was interviewed by various media outlets. He seemed to enjoy himself and was enthusiastic about playing with the children and answering questions from both fans and journalists.

See below for photos from the event:

A Tribute to Federer's 17 Grand Slams

My intense love for video tributes on the greatness of Roger Federer is a tad lame. But I might as well embrace the love and present you with the ATP's latest video on Federer's 17 Grand Slams. It makes me really happy.

Day 5: French Open Men's Matches to Watch

Milos Raonic vs. Jesse Levine (first match on Court 3)
Who doesn't love a little Canadian vs. American action? Although interestingly enough, although he's listed as an American player, Jesse Levine was actually born in Canada. Milos is the clear favourite to win this match, but who knows, Mr. Canadian-turned-American might find a way to give Milos some trouble. I'm going with Raonic in three sets.

Marcos Baghdatis vs. Nicolas Almagro (second match on Court 2)
Like the other Spaniards, Almagro is a pretty decent clay court player, but Baghdatis has never done so well on the clay. But regardless of his poor record on this surface, Baghdatis is rarely boring, and so this is a match I'm interested in watching. I'll go with Almagro winning in four sets.

Richard Gasquet vs. Grigor Dimitrov (fifth match on Court Suzanne Lenglen)
And now we come to a match between two highly touted players who didn't quite live up to their expected potential. I'm going to go with Gasquet pulling through in four sets, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see him crash out in straight sets either.

Federer vs. Raonic Highlights in Madrid

Milos Raonic played a highly entertaining match against Roger Federer yesterday in Madrid, and although Federer won, it was very very close. People were already talking about how great a player Milos is, and I think this match proves that it's only a matter of time before he's in the top ten.

Check out highlights from the match below: