John Isner Practicing at the Rogers Cup

For more news, photos, and videos from the Rogers Cup click here. 

Djokovic Practicing at Rogers Cup in Toronto

For more news, photos, and videos from the Rogers Cup click here. 

Rogers Cup Photos: Before the Rains Came

Before the rains came and washed away all the play, there were actually things happening at the Rogers Cup—like matches and practice sessions. 

 

 

Raonic Takes on Murray at the Rogers Cup

Andy Murray in his press conference on August 8, 2012

This is THE match to watch today. This might be the match of the tournament—depending on how things pan out and how many other top players lose based on Olympic fatigue (I'm talking to you Del Potro and Tsonga).

You've got Milos Raonic—the hometown favourite and Canada's highest ranked tennis player ever. And then you've got Andy Murray, the two-time Rogers Cup champion who is fresh (or not-so-fresh if you listen to the players talk about how exhausted they are) off his gold medal win in London.

On a regular day, where both players are at their best, the edge has to go to Murray. He knows how to win big matches in a way that Milos hasn't quite figured out yet. But, this is not a regular day, and I'm not sure that Andy's mind or body are up to putting in the kind of hard fight that might be necessary to take out Milos.

"I feel a bit sore in the joints and stuff a little bit," Murray said in his press conference on Wednesday. "I mean, I feel tired mentally. Yeah, I mean, haven't really slept much the last few days, so that's probably catching up with me a little bit."

Murray came to Toronto with the intent of getting in a few hard court matches under his belt before the U.S. Open—the last major event of the season and Murray's favourite slam. There should be no doubt that Murray will try his best to defeat Raonic tonight, but he certainly won't risk injury or exhaustion in order to win. On the other hand, Raonic still has a lot to prove and he must know that with so many of the top players missing from the tournament that this might be his best chance of winning a Masters series title for a long time.

I predict a close match with Raonic coming through in three sets. Let's just hope that the predicted rain for this evening holds off until after the match is finished.


For more news, photos, and videos from the Rogers Cup click here.

Rogers Cup Photos: Djokovic and Tipsarevic Practice

Could there be a better practice session than the one that happened on Tuesday at the Rogers Cup between Novak Djokovic and a shirtless Janko Tipsarevic? Pretty sure the fans didn't think so...

Rogers Cup Photos: Juan Monaco on the Practice Courts

Juan Monaco was working hard on the practice courts at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday. See photos of his practice below:

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:

Video: Milos Raonic at the Rogers Cup

I was lucky enough to watch Milos Raonic on the practice courts at the Rogers Cup yesterday. Milos looked great and he seemed to be having a good time with his coach and his practice partner Peter Polansky.

Here's some video footage of his practice session:

To see photos of Milos and other top players practicing in Toronto click here.

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.