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.

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.

Federer's Triumph and Murray's Heartbreak

Roger Federer has had a pretty good summer so far: 7 Wimbledon titles, 17 Grand Slam titles, and back to his position of the number 1 player in the world. 

I don't think I've ever been so equally excited and heartbroken after a grand slam match. On one hand I wanted Federer to win another slam—something that many people, including myself, were not sure he would ever do again—but another part of me wanted to see Andy Murray silence all his critics and finally win a grand slam title himself.

As usual, Roger outplayed Andy when it mattered most, and Federer won the title 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Murray played well, and I was happy that the British crowd enthusiastically cheered him on, but you knew that this loss was going to be devastating for Andy.

His post-match on-court interview was difficult to watch. Much like Federer after his loss to Nadal at the 2009 Australian Open, Murray broke down in tears and needed to take a few deep breaths before he attempted to speak again. His mother Judy could be seen crying onto a friend's shoulder, and his girlfriend Kim Sears looked on from the crowd with her hand over her mouth—tears streaming down her face.

Murray's past defeats in grand slam finals have often led to sub-par play for a few months after the tournament—many speculating that Andy had trouble mentally getting over the losses. But I hope that this time it's different. He's never had so much support from the British crowd before, and he's never taken a set off anyone in a grand slam final—until now. Perhaps this time he'll be able to take the positives from his results at Wimbledon and finally make a breakthrough at this year's US Open.

And as for Federer, I think he's made it pretty clear that he's going to go full out for the gold medal at the Olympic Games in a few short weeks from now. And since the matches are being played at Wimbledon—on the exact same surface that he just won his latest grand slam title on—I'm thinking the rest of the players should watch their backs.

What's Not to Love About Vasek Pospisil?

I love Vasek Pospisil. He might actually be my favourite Canadian tennis player. Vasek just always seems so happy and enthusiastic...and he rarely hides his excitement when he's played a great match.

For example, remember when Pospisil and Raonic played Djokovic and Nadal in a doubles match at the 2010 Rogers Cup? And the young Canadians (who were completely unknown at the time) actually won? Look how excited Pospisil is! 

And then the moment when he truly won me over—when he beat Chela in the first round of the 2011 Rogers Cup and celebrated like he'd just won Wimbledon...

Of course, part of his excitement after the Chela match was that his next round opponent would be none other than his idol Roger Federer. See him fanboying Goffin-style in this interview at the 3:20 mark:

And in this video around the 1:45 mark...

Which leads us to the recent tour of his Roland Garros apartment (which was actually the only video I'd planned on putting in this post, but clearly I got distracted), where Vasek is, of course, funny and charming.

Seriously, I need him to break into the top 50 as soon as possible, so I can watch him play all the time.

Federer Regains No. 2 Ranking, Wins Madrid

Federer beat Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 in Madrid to take back his No. 2 ranking from Nadal. Who would have thought that Nadal would drop in the rankings during the clay court season? Certainly not me.

Check out the Madrid award ceremony and Federer's acceptance speech below:

Milos Raonic's Harry Rosen Ad Campaign

I posted the behind the scenes video from Federer's Jura commercial yesterday, so I definitely have to post the behind the scenes video from Milos Raonic's Harry Rosen for Lacoste ad campaign. Canada represent!

Federer and Roddick to Play in Miami

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick are scheduled to play in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday. This will be the 24th meeting between the two, with Federer leading the head to head 21–3. Below are some quotes from their press conferences in Miami on how they feel about their upcoming match.

Roddick on playing Federer: 
"I know the name value for a third round is certainly there if I play Roger. We've played a ton; there's no secrets. I know I have to execute really, really well. There's a small window of percentages where you have to be right, you know. What he does is he shrinks that window with his strengths. We have had a couple really tight ones here before at night. I'm guessing that's when it would be. I think we played here twice. I won one four in the third and lost one four in the third. It's always fun. It's always fun."

Roddick on his win over Federer in Miami '08: 
"I mean, there's no getting around the fact that it's been he's been the biggest obstacle in my career, and, you know, his game matches up well against mine. You know, just the Xs and Os of it, I have to be really good to give myself a shot against him, better than against most. So it's rewarding. When you beat a guy who's the best ever at his sport, it's a big deal. Doesn't matter where it is. So I was obviously very happy with that."

Australian Open Day 3: Federer Interview

Roger Federer defeats Gilles Simon in a close five setter

Q. You warned us two days ago it was going to be close and it was going to be tough. Did you really expect it was going to be that tough? 
 
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, four or five sets, what's the difference really? But, look, at the end of the day I'm happy I'm through. That's what it comes down to. Doesn't matter if you win in straight or in five. Just keep on moving on in the draw and give yourself an opportunity for the next match, maybe an opponent that suits you more, maybe conditions that are maybe a bit more faster than tonight, let's say. Get the night sessions, sort of the first one, out of the way, and stay alive and feel good.

That's what's it's all about. I thought the match was great. I thought it was played at a high level for a very long time. Obviously it's always hard like also last night with Hewitt and Nalbandian to see someone lose when there's such a great match happening out there. But at the end of the day, I thought I played great and I'm very happy.

Federer Loses to Murray in Shanghai Final

Yikes. I didn't get a chance to watch this match but the scoreline is fairly brutal for Federer, with Murray beating him 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Shanghai Masters Event today. On the bright side, Roger will get his number 2 ranking back on Monday, but on the not-so-bright side he lost to Murray in a Masters Series final for the second time this fall. I guess it could be worse though, he could have lost to Jurgen Melzer.

Click here for Roger's press conference after the final, and here for Andy's.

US Open: Feliciano Lopez Press Conference

Feliciano Lopez's press conference after defeating Stakhovsky. He makes some interesting comments about Nadal, Davis Cup, and whether or not Wimbledon should ditch their no-tiebreaks-in-the-fifth-set rule. At least I think he makes some good points—personally I was too distracted by his extreme hotness and the fact that he kept rubbing his right arm to really care about what he was saying.

Interview Aces This Week

Cincinnati Masters

Q. I guess this win gets you back in the top 10 when the next world rankings come out. Is that something you pay any attention to at all?
ANDY RODDICK: (Laughing.) Um, I wish I got to talk about it as much when I am in the top 10 as opposed to when I'm not. It's only a story when I'm not.

Q. Can I ask you about a serve that you didn't make tonight, but that's obviously being talked about a lot on the Internet. Is that for real?
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, that thing? Yeah. Well, there's a lot of the debate at the moment, you know. You know how it is with magicians. They don't tell how their tricks work, you know. (Smiling.) I don't do it that much, but, yeah, it was shot in one piece and it was — the guy took a chance. (Smiling.) It worked out. I'm happy.
[later]
Q. Back to the video for a second, have you ever done anything like that before, knocked something off somebody's head?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, well, I had to do it before so I knew I could do it, otherwise it was risky for him, right? But no — what was the — what did you mean exactly?
Q. Knocking the thing off the guy's head.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it worked out. I've done it before.
Q. So it was definitely real?
ROGER FEDERER: Not saying that. A magician doesn't tell how his tricks work, so... (Laughter.)

Q. First game of the match you hit a dropshot winner, and he [Andy Murray] gave you a stare down. You kind of looked over like, What's going on? I noticed that. And then even at the changeover he appeared to say something. Was something going on right out of the gate with him?
MARDY FISH: No. I mean, you know, we're not in the first round of a small tournament anymore. I mean, these are the big -- it's big money here; big points here; bigtime confidence going into the US Open, you know. So it's two competitive guys. I welcome it. I like a little bit of trash talk. It's fine. I was fine with it.

This is why I love Roger Federer...

Federer can't stop laughing when the interviewer starts asking him questions in Spanish...

Andy Roddick Will Play in Atlanta

Awesome news for the tournament. I'm excited to see Roddick back in action, and I really think he's going to be one of the best players leading into the US Open.

Best Andy Roddick Interview...