2014 Rogers Cup...ATP 1000...Toronto, Canada

[don_budge]

http://www.atpworldtour.com/share/event-draws.aspx?Year=2014&EventId=421&Draw=ms

Here's the draw. Anything of interest? Mike Russell, the son of George Russell, into the second round after a victory over Nicolas Mahut. The "EverReady Energizer Bunny" David Ferrer next. Good luck Mike...do it for the Wolverine State!

Jerzy Janowicz ousted by a wild card entry. All of that wonderful potential...the results are sorely lacking. Interesting first round...Popisil vs. Gasquet. Fresh off of a semifinal clash in Washington.

Everyone is here...

[don_budge]

Kyle...

I already did.

[klacr]

beat me to it!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Roger's Cup...

beat me to it!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Four days ago...the thread went nowhere to this point. There is no real interest in actual play these days it seems. Except maybe in Grand Slam matches and then only in a begrudging manner. Coaches nowadays are only interested in the infinitesimally small details of technique where the modern coach can sink his teeth. But of course they have a life too...bills to pay.

[klacr]

No talk or thread of the Masters Series Toronto? There is much more happening in Toronto than the Maple Leafs and a dynamic food scene y'know.

I get it. I don't blame you. The August Issue of tennisplayer.net is pretty awesome. Takes up alot of the attention. But just think about this tournament. The 2 Canadians Raonic and Pospisil are out. After making finals on Washington DC they have come up short in their own backyard.

Pospisil losing to Gasquet, a player who defeated in three sets just days earlier in Washington. Raonic losing last night to an awesome display of attacking tennis from Lopez. Raonic never broke serve. Not once. In one game, Raonic had nine, yes, nine break point chances, did not convert. Raonic grew increasingly agitated and felt the pressure of hitting passing shots for two straight hours.

The semifinalists are all players who have ability to attack. Federer, Lopez, Dimitrov, Tsonga. Pretty awesome stuff. Funny how their is no Murray, Djokovic or Nadal. Nice to see the change. But Federer and his game still manage to compete and go deep in seemingly every event. There is an occasional blip on the radar screen, but for the most part, we always count on him in every tournament to make it deep. He's created a standard of excellence from his fans that few athletes ever achieve. Credit to him.

Part of me is deeply rooting for Lopez. I sort of have to since he took out Tomas Berdych. You always need that player to make a deep run to make the loss not sting as much and simply use the excuse that Lopez played brilliant all week, not just getting lucky in one match.

So, the semis are set. Tsonga vs. Dimitrov. Federer vs. Lopez. What will happen?

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

I think Rogers Cup with be Roger's cup....

Only threat is the resurgent Tsonga...

[klacr]

This tourney is Roger's for the taking. berdych had great shot to make at least finals, but that loss to Feliciano Lopez was soul crusher. Managed to destroy a racquet out of frustration. Don't see that too often from the Czech.

Dimitrov and Tsonga should be entertaining at the very least. 3 of 4 semifinalists have one-handed backhands. That's a pleasant site.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Holy Toledo...

3 of 4 semifinalists have one-handed backhands. That's a pleasent site.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

There is a God!

[klacr]

Dimitrov still didn't look 100% in this tourney after withdrawing last week in Washington DC with the flu. It showed today against Tsonga. Dimitrov looked listless and uninspired. Credit to Tsonga for playing great tennis this week but Dimitrov may need to skip Cincy, build up his fitness so he can make at least a quarterfinal run to the US Open and live up to his seeding.

Federer and Lopez tonight.

On a different note, some tennis royalty with Birthday's this weekend. Federer's was yesterday. Rod Laver and Brad Gilbert today.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Did anyone...

...catch any of the tennis yesterday?

I watched Grigor Dimitrov and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for about ten minutes then I fell asleep. It was late...but the tennis was awfully boring. Both players were hitting forehands from their respective backhand doubles alleys. Just trading shots back and forth.

Changing things up a little now and then. A little. Now and then. At least I think that they were.

Get my point?

[don_budge]

Roger Federer vs. Feliciano Lopez

There was a repeat of some action of the Federer vs. Lopez match. It was interesting that Federer seemed to be making an effort to follow some of his serves in and also he was trying to move forwards when he was in position to attack.

It will also be interesting to see if he pursues these tactics against the titanic hitting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

I wonder if the speed of the courts are the same as last year. I wonder about the speed of the courts at the upcoming U. S. Open.

[klacr]

Tsonga defeats Federer 7-5, 7-6. Federer once again showed his shotmaking ability as well as his shot shanking ability and questionable tactical acumen.

He started serving and volleying after he couldn't keep 5 balls in the court and was very successful. Then he stopped. Game over.


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[GeoffWilliams]

Fed could have been better than edberg at coming into the net. He just can't take the time it would take to be perfect in coming in. Sad to see such a break down in his bh, as he lifts his hitting foot up too early, and his strategy, and he did not learn anything when he beat sampras after coming into net 139 times in five sets.

[gzhpcu]

OK, enjoying old tennis matches is one thing, but it is time to move on. Can't live in the past all the time. I grew up as a kid seeing Pancho Gonzales playing Pancho Segura at the nearby Beverly Hills Tennis Club, but I still enjoyed the Tsonga - Federer match. Tsonga really played well beating Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov and Federer in succession. Come on, modern tennis isn't that bad. When you guys speak of the old days you are only selecting the exceptional champions, it is not representative of the general level of tennis played then.

[don_budge]

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga...Champion of the 2014 Rogers Cup

OK, enjoying old tennis matches is one thing, but it is time to move on. Can't live in the past all the time. I grew up as a kid seeing Pancho Gonzales playing Pancho Segura at the nearby Beverly Hills Tennis Club, but I still enjoyed the Tsonga - Federer match. Tsonga really played well beating Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov and Federer in succession. Come on, modern tennis isn't that bad. When you guys speak of the old days you are only selecting the exceptional champions, it is not representative of the general level of tennis played then.

It was a very impressive performance...it will be interesting to see how he uses this momentum looking forwards to the 2014 U. S. Open Championships. I didn't see any of his matches against Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray. But he overwhelmed "Baby Fed" and "Mr. Fed".

Four top ten players in a row. Incredible sustained performance.