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

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. 

Rogers Cup Photos: Nadal, Raonic, Del Potro, Haas

Lots of great players on the grounds yesterday at the Rogers Cup in Montreal and another fantastic day for Canadian tennis with Vasek Pospisil defeating Radek Stepanek, and Milos Raonic beating Mikhail Youzhny.

Today should be even better with Nadal vs. Janowicz first up on Center Court, followed by Murray vs. Gulbis, Del Potro vs. Raonic, and Djokovic vs. Istomin. I'll also be making my way over to the National Bank Court to watch Pospisil try to take down Berdych.

Here are some photos from the Rogers Cup so far...

First up we've got Tommy Haas stretching it out during his practice session.

Then we've got Frank Dancevic and Jerzy Janowicz in their second round match. Jerzy won in three sets.

Photos: Nadal Practicing at Rogers Cup 2013

As always, Nadal had a big crowd for his practice session in Montreal this morning. He looks good, no?

Rogers Cup: Men's Predictions

I’m currently en route to Montreal, so I’ll have lots of photos, video, and stories to share once I arrive at the Rogers Cup. For now, I will leave you with my predictions for the men’s event. Please note that my first draft of this post had Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Ferrer all making it through to the semis. But as the ATP has been a little unpredictable as of late, I decided to make some riskier predictions. Here we go!

Novak Djokovic’s Quarter

Djokovic should easily make it through to the quarterfinals—especially since his only intriguing potential match would have been against Bernard Tomic in the second round...but unfortunately the always unpredictable Bernie went down to Florian Mayer in his first match. Anyone in the bottom half of this section could make it through to the quarters, with Nishikori and Gasquet being the most likely candidates. I’ll take Djokovic and Gasquet meeting in the quarters with Djokovic destroying Gasquet to make it through to the semis.

Rafael Nadal’s Quarter

Nadal’s opening match will be against Canadian Jesse Levine—a match that Nadal should have no problem getting through. Jerzy Janowicz is an exciting third round possibility for Rafa, with Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Haas as potential quarterfinal opponents. Although Nadal is always the safer bet, I’ll take Nadal and Wawrinka meeting in the quarters, with Wawrinka making it through to face Djokovic in the semis. (And for the record, I also won’t be surprised if Jerzy takes out Nadal in the third round. Just saying.)

David Ferrer’s Quarter

Up first for Ferrer will be either Llodra or Bogomolov and then Andujar or Davydenko in the next round. None of these players should prove difficult for Ferrer, and I can’t see him running into any trouble until at least the quarters where he’ll likely play Tomas Berdych. I’m hoping that Vasek Pospisil will be able to use some of the Canadian energy to move past John Isner and then either Stepanek or Almagro, but that might be overly optimistic. I’ll take Ferrer and Berdych in the quarters with Ferrer making it through to the semis.

Andy Murray’s Quarter

Murray probably has the most interesting quarter with Del Potro, Raonic, Gulbis, Fognini and Dimitrov as possible opponents. First up for Murray will be Granollers or Dimitrov, and then Gulbis, Baghdatis or Fognini in the third round. Del Potro should easily make it through his first match and then he’ll face a potential third round clash with Canadian favourite Milos Raonic. I wish I could believe that Raonic could beat Del Po, but I just can’t, so I’ll take Del Potro overpowering Murray to make his way into the semis. 

Semifinals: Djokovic vs. Wawrinka and Ferrer vs. Del Potro

Final: Djokovic defeating Del Potro

Rogers Cup Photos and Recap: Qualifying Day 1

Back home from my first day of covering the Rogers Cup in Toronto. I'll be at the tournament every day this week, so check back often for photos, videos, and news. As expected, there were not many big name players on the practice courts today, as they either withdrew (Federer, Nadal, Roddick, Ferrer, Wawrinka, Almagro, and most recently Feliciano Lopez) or they're still at the Olympics (Djokovic and Murray). However, I did get a chance to see lots of great players sweating it out in the ridiculous heat of Toronto.

First up on Court 1 was Italian Fabio Fognini who defeated Canadian Pavel Krainik in the first round of qualifying.

I heard Milos was on the practice courts so I quickly ditched the Fognini match and headed over to watch everyone's favourite Canadian. He was practicing with fellow Canadian Peter Polansky.

Then Milos stated telling his coach some crazy story where he made monster-like movements with his arms.

While watching Milos on the practice courts I turned around to catch Bernard Tomic posing for photos with a bunch of fans. Made me like him a little more.  

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:

Nadal Wins Eighth Straight Monte Carlo Title

Rafa won his eighth straight Monte Carlo title after beating Djokovic 6–3, 6–1 in the final yesterday. Nadal hadn't won a match against Djokovic in quite a while, so this was a much needed win for him. 

Although the score suggests a fairly one-sided match, Djokovic was certainly not at his best after learning of his grandfather's death during the tournament, so I'm not sure this is necessarily an indicator of what's to come for the remainder of the clay court season. However, regardless of the situation, eight years in a row of winning the same event is pretty awesome, so good job Rafa...and I really hope Fed doesn't wind up in your half at the French. 

Clay Court Season Begins in Monte Carlo

So, the back-to-back Indian Wells and Miami events took a lot out of me—yes, I did in fact watch the tournaments from my couch—and so I needed a little tennis break before I could focus on the clay court season. Which basically means that I missed the start of the Monte Carlo tournament and am only starting to pay attention to match results now.

The most exciting thing about Monte Carlo for me is waiting to see if Nadal can win the event for the eighth time in a row. THE EIGHTH TIME IN A ROW. It's actually pretty ridiculous.

Nadal has been having knee issues as of late, so who knows what will happen, but I think it's really important for him to win this event so he has some confidence going into the rest of the clay court season. I just realized how stupid it sounds for me to say that Nadal needs confidence going into his favourite part of the year, but if he can't win all (or at least most) of these upcoming clay events then he might have some trouble at the French Open. After all, Djokovic really really wants that trophy.

Tsonga Says Umpire Favours Nadal

Near the end of his match with Nadal, Tsonga was visibly upset with the umpire who he claimed was favouring Rafa when it came to line calls. Tsonga discussed the issue in his press conference after the match: 


Q. At the end of the match when you were talking to the chair umpire, you were like complaining or something? 


JO WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah, I was complaining because all the match, you know, I've got to I have to challenge, and I was right, you know, many, many times. So never take how you say? (Through translation.) He never take, you know, initiative when it's against Rafa, you know. And you know now it's all the time like this. All the time. 


So, you know, I have to be, you know, really focused, you know, on the ball, because if the ball is out, it would never if it's really close, he would never say out against Rafa. Always to say against me. If Rafa don't like him anymore, I mean, he would not be in the chair many times on final and semifinal. So it will not, you know yeah. That's it.

Previewing the Men's Draw in Miami

To view the official men's draw at the Sony Ericsson Open click here.

Djokovic's Quarter:
I really don't see anyone in this section who will threaten Djokovic's chances of making it to the semifinals. Matches to watch in this section include possible second round clashes between Djokovic and Baghdatis, Tomic and Ferrer, and a possible fourth round match between Del Potro and Ferrer. I'm picking Djokovic and Del Potro to play in the quarterfinals with Djokovic making it through to the next round.

Federer's Quarter:
Federer should make it through his quarter pretty easily, but there are a few interesting potential match-ups to watch including Federer vs. Harrison in the second round and Federer vs. Roddick in the third round. I know I'll also be watching the first round match between Jeremy Chardy and Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic. Come on Frank! I'm picking Roger to play in the quarterfinals against...I don't even know...maybe Mardy Fish? or Verdasco? Let's just say that I don't think Federer will have any trouble beating whichever opponent he meets there.

Murray's Quarter:
This is probably the most interesting quarter because I don't think it's a guarantee that Murray will make it through to the semis. It won't be surprising if he does, but I don't necessarily think it's going to be an easy run for Andy. Interesting matches in this section could include Berdych vs. Gonzalez and Nalbandian vs. Tipsarevic in the second round, Raonic vs. Murray in the third round, and any matches that Gonzalez is in as this is the last tournament he'll play before his retirement. I'm going to pick Murray and Berdych to make it to the quarters with Murray coming through to win that match.

Nadal's Quarter:
And last but not least we've got Rafa's quarter. Matches to watch in this section of the draw include Isner vs. Davydenko in the second round and Tsonga vs. Isner in the fourth round. I'm picking Nadal and Isner to play against each other in the quarterfinals with Nadal making it through to the semis.

Semifinal predictions: Djokovic vs. Federer, Murray vs. Nadal
Final prediction: Federer defeats Nadal


Photo Credit: Miami Tennis News

Passing Shots: Safin, Navratilova, Federer and More!

Some interesting tennis news from this week...

Steve Tignor on the importance of the OOP (Order of Play) (Tennis.com)

Federer's improved backhand the key to beating Nadal? (The Fan Child's Two Cents)

Best player quotes from Indian Wells (Beyond the Baseline)

Marat Safin getting married?!? Nooooooooooooo (Open Court)

Yes, I think it's pretty clear Federer's game is up to snuff (ESPN)

Martina Navratilova on Dancing with the Stars! (LA Times)

Federer's press conference after his win over Isner (Indian Wells)

And Isner's presser after his defeat (Indian Wells)

Hottest Man in the World Just Touched Me

I'm alive! Sorry for not posting in awhile, but I was busy traipsing around Europe.

Just got back from the Rogers Cup in Montreal, so I'll post some photos from the event later tonight.

But first, some man-love for Rafa...

Unfortunately, the hottest man in the world did not touch me in Montreal. Maybe next year.

French Open Men's Semifinal Predictions

Well, we couldn't have asked for two better semifinals: Rafa vs. Murray and Novak vs. Fed. I think it's pretty safe to say that Nadal is going to win his match against Andy, but the Djokovic/Federer much is much more intriguing. I know a lot of people are going with Djoko to beat Fed, which I totally understand, but I'm going to pick Federer. Mainly because I just really want that to be the result, but also because I think it's possible.

Rafa is Ridiculous

Nadal just won his SEVENTH straight title in Monte Carlo by defeating Ferrer in straight sets. Rafa is, in fact, ridiculous. I just wish Djokovic had been at the event so we could have seen a Rafa/Nole clay final. Not that I think that Djokovic being there would have changed the end result...but who knows, maybe it would have.

Federer Beats Nadal in ATP World Tour Final

You really needed this Roger. As did I. I thought for a minute during the second set that you were going to screw things up, but you held on and played ridiculously well to win the third set 6-1. Oh, and 100% on break point conversions? Well-played R. Fed, well-played.

Perhaps I'll write a more in-depth post about the match later, but for now head on over to All Tennis Considered to read a great article on Federer's win.

Passing Shots

I am aware that I have not been posting as much lately, and that I've been the worst blogger ever. I've been busy with school, and let's be honest, the tennis world is not so exciting right now. I'll be better about posting more soon, but for now here are some links to interesting articles that other people have written...

India + Pakistan = great doubles team (All Tennis Considered)

I love tennis. And this article. (LaRosa's Sweet Spot)

Sure, Uncle Toni shouldn't be on-court coaching, but to say Nadal's record is tainted by this is ridiculous. (Jon Wertheim–Tennis Mailbag)

Photos of Gilles Simon and his new baby. (Down the Line)

Federer answers questions in Gillette's Quickfire video (GOTOTENNIS)

Good Try, Del Potro. See You Soon!

Juan Martin Del Potro played in his first match today since the Australian Open in January...and sadly, he lost. But, the good news is that he says his wrist is feeling perfect, so he should only get better from here. Let's hope he's back to normal by the Australian Open so he can really make a good run for the title. And by good run, I mean I hope he makes it to the final, and then Federer beats him. And yes, non-Fed fans, I still believe this could happen. And I do, in fact, realize that I have not included Nadal in this fantasy final, but it's my blog and I can do what I want. Welcome back Delpo!

Roger and Rafa in "The Art of Tennis"