The first big summer hard court event in the beautiful city of Montreal. Murray is twice a winner here and we’ll see if after his Wimbledon excitement, normal business has resumed and he is rested and has his mind on the job. He probably will. Federer is having a nightmare season and who hasn’t tasted glory here since 2006, skips the event due to back pain and made these comments:
“I’ve had serious problems with the back; I had to get some anti-inflammatories in Hamburg due to the pain. “I will have to do a lot of exercises and see how it all feels. My main priority now is to fix my back”
Canadian tennis is arguably at an all time high with world number 13 Milos Raonic leading the brigade backed by Jesse Levine, Frank Dancevic and exciting young prospect Vasek Pospisil who at 6’4″ has a big serve. I expect Raonic and Pospisil to be at the top of the game for some years.
Coupe Rogers – The Rogers Cup, Montreal
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic – Shooting for his 3rd straight title and is 39-6 on the year. Odds on favorite.
Nasty Floater: ‘Long’ John Isner – Unseeded and playing well on the US hard courts and could blow up his section of the draw.
Veteran Watch: Nikolay ‘The Machine’ Davydenko – A spent force these days? Hard to tell but he gets a tough assignment against Gilles Simon who he is 2-5 against.
Up and Coming: Vasek Pospisil – In front of his home crowd will want to impress in a marquee serving-fest with John Isner.
Slumping: Alex ‘The Dog’ Dolgopolov – He can’t seem to align his talent with results right now. Gets a nightmare draw – plays Anderson, then possibly Berdych.
On Fire: Juan Martin Del Potro – The Hammer in full flow last week in Washington and could face Murray in the quarters.
My pick: Novak Djokovic – Rested and with the opportunity to be the first to rattle off three straight titles, the Joker is my pick.
Did You Know? Only Wimbledon and the U.S. Open have longer histories than this important Tour event.
Thanks for reading and check back next week for more tips!
