Alexander Zverev went back-to-back last summer at the Citi Open and Rogers Cup, and he has a chance to accomplish the same feat after triumphing once again in Washington, D.C. Zverev won’t have to contend with Roger Federer at the Canada Masters this time around, as Federer is resting up before returning later in the hard-court swing. Andy Murray is also out, but an otherwise impressive field includes Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro, Kevin Anderson, and four-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Rogers Cup
Where: Toronto, Canada
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $5,315,025
Points: 1000
Top seed: Rafael Nadal
Defending champion: Alexander Zverev
Draw analysis: At first glance, Zverev’s draw for his title defense is a friendly one. His nearest seed is Jack Sock and the other top-eight seed in the bottom quarter of the bracket is a struggling Dominic Thiem. However, Djokovic—who missed a bye in the first round by one spot—also landed in this section and is a more likely quarterfinal foe for Zverev than Thiem. The recent Wimbledon champion opens with Hyeon Chung, while Thiem likely awaits an in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas in his second-rounder.
Anderson and Djokovic, who are playing doubles together in Toronto, are on a collision course for the semis in what would be a rematch of the Wimbledon final. Anderson’s section also includes Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, and Milos Raonic. Goffin and Raonic have to go head-to-head in an intriguing first-rounder, while other interesting ones pit Roberto Bautista Agut against Ryan Harrison and Marco Cecchinato against Frances Tiafoe.
At the top of the draw, Nadal looks to make amends for what he called his worst loss of the season to Denis Shapovalov at this tournament last summer. A strong unseeded contingent in the Spaniard’s quarter is highlighted by Stan Wawrinka, Borna Coric, Kyle Edmund, Benoit Paire, and Jared Donaldson. Following his meltdown in D.C., Paire will battle Donaldson for the right to meet Nadal in round two. Sixth-seeded Marin Cilic could be Nadal’s quarterfinal adversary, but he has cooled off in recent weeks on the heels of a hot first half of the season.
Shapovalov has to like his chances of making more noise at the Rogers Cup, perhaps even to the extent of making another semifinal run. The Canadian’s nearest seeds are Fabio Fognini and Del Potro, with both potentially fatigued after a long week in Los Cabos (Fognini beat Del Potro in the final). Recent Atlanta champion John Isner has enjoyed some much-needed rest after losing right away in Washington, D.C., so he should be able to navigate a soft section and reach the quarters to face either Del Potro or Shapovalov.
First-round upset alert: Milos Raonic over (10) David Goffin. Raonic has been inconsistent throughout his career at home in Canada, but he is a former runner-up at this tournament (2013 when it was in Montreal) and he has reached the quarterfinals in each of his last three trips to Toronto (2012, 2014, 2016). Although the world No. 29 has not been at his best of late, Goffin has won only two matches since the French Open. Raonic, who is 2-2 lifetime in the head-to-head series, won their most recent hard-court encounter at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters.
Hot: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin Del Potro, Kevin Anderson, John Isner, Fabio Fognini, Frances Tiafoe, Marco Cecchinato, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matthew Ebden
Cold: Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic Thiem, Jack Sock, Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka, Filip Krajinovic, Hyeon Chung, David Ferrer
Quarterfinal predictions: Rafael Nadal over Borna Coric, Denis Shapovalov over John Isner, Milos Raonic over Kevin Anderson, and Novak Djokovic over Alexander Zverev
Semifinals: Nadal over Shapovalov and Djokovic over Raonic
Final: Djokovic over Nadal
[polldaddy poll=10072872]
who ya got?
QFs:
Rafa over Cilic
Delpo over Isner
Anderson over Raonic
Sasha over Djoko
SFs:
Rafa over Delpo
Sasha over Anderson
Final:
Rafa over Sasha
I got Rafa, don’t need anyone else! 🙂
H’mm, if your quarterfinal predictions hold, could be a very interesting day.
QFs:
Rafa over Cilic
Fognini over Isner
Raonic over Anderson
Djokovic over Zverev
SFs:
Rafa over Fognini
Djokovic over Raonic
Final:
Djokovic over Nadal
Tbh I don’t think isner and delpo are at 100%, I hope delpo is not injured again. Shapovalov is not playing that well while fognini is and I think he can have a good run since he’s hot after los Cabos. Raonic can definitely lose against Anderson or goffin, but I think he’s just better than them and he’s playing at home. Can’t see sascha beating nole.
Sasha is playing very well, he should be able to beat Djoko. Sasha had already beaten Djoko before, so it’s not outrageous that he’s beating Djoko again.
Foggy won’t be good for two B2B HC events in a row, look for him to lose early at Toronto. How’s Raonic better than Anderson? Goffin maybe.
Im glad someone else thinks Sasha will beat Djoko. He was playing almost unplayable lately and Djoko will have cooled off just a tad.
I’ve got the same picks as you,apart from Isner beating Delpo then losing to Nadal.
‘Can’ beat Djoko.
The Rogers cup is one of those tournaments where anything can happen
anything can happen at any tournament
i wouldn’t put Rogers Cup anywhere close to the top of the list of “anything can happen” tournaments
Masters Paris.
Its harder to judge players form , if its their first tournament on hard court after Wimbledon. That’s all I meant.
But also, playing Masters tournaments in back to back weeks makes the ‘anything can happen’ factor much bigger. Players will want to concentrate on one or the other .
Otoh, if it’s the first tournament on clay after hard courts….well, pretty much only one thing can happen… 🙂
Neither Shapovalov nor Raonic will reach the final.
Rafa FTW over Nole.
Basically, tsame as Lucky except for I take Nole over Sascha.
For that matter, neither of those two Canadians will make it past the quarterfinals and Shapo will probably not even get that far.
I think lucky made some really good picks. I tend to go with her. No way do I think Fog will do well in back-to-back tournaments. I am just not sure about Sascha over Novak.
Nole is just a far better player than Zverev. If he has regained his confidence i definitely take him to get to the final. I would be surprised if Nole doesn’t rack up some masters wins between now and the wtf. I see him shooting up the rankings.
Hi to nny!!☺☺
Hope you are well hon xxx
Horrid draw for Rafa😢
Gosh those are strange smiley emojis!! Sorry about that!
Dimi has 1000 points to defend at cincy doesn’t he?
He could fall a long way at the end of the year if he’s not careful…
I think it’s time for Dimi to go down in the rankings. He is not playing like a top ten player. He hasn’t done anything lately.
Agree about dimi!! It skews the rankings having him so high and going out in the early rounds. Until Zverev does something at the slams he is too high as well.
I foresee Dimi going out of top ten by year end.
I have Rafa as YE no.1, and the other top ten (not in any particular order): Delpo, Fed, Sasha, Cilic, Anderson, Isner, Djoko, Thiem and Nishikori (Nishikori is currently at 11 in the race, Foggy at no.10 but Foggy not as good as Kei during HC season I feel).
amy,
Hey! Nice to see you here! I already posted on the Rafa fan forum that he’s got an ugly draw, but MA talked me down. She thinks Rafa is ready for it. I hope so.
I can’t decide between Sascha and Novak. I think Novak can win it for sure. He will be feeling good after his win at Wimbledon. But it should be a good match.
Well I am pretty hopeful over Rafa ‘s chances as well! I always worry after a loss to Novak though…I know Rafa played brilliantly but he has had so many mental demons over Nole.I am a bit nervous over that but still pretty gungho!!
+1 for Djokovic taking the title. For some reason, I have a feeling Sascha is going to lose early this time. We’ll see.
Sasha’s draw looks easy until he meets Djoko, so I doubt he’s going to lose early. Djoko has Chung, a not so easy but also not too difficult opponent in R1, and then he may meet Dzumhur (or Tsitsipas; as I think Thiem is going to lose to either of them in R2) in R3; Dzumhur not an easy opponent for anyone.
I think Sasha will have an edge there when they meet. My reason for Rafa beating Sasha in the final is because Sasha has to get past Djoko and then Anderson (or Raonic) in the SF and so it may be a big ask for him to beat Rafa in the final. Rafa in a final is hard to beat for anyone esp when he’s playing well.
For Rafa to get to the final, he has to be playing well given the draw that he has; but, his draw is manageable as Paire is erratic; Kyrgios is questionable where fitness is concerned and Stan isn’t ready at the level to beat Rafa (the other two candidates in R2, Rafa can handle them). Cilic in QF may be tough but Rafa has beaten him many times on HCs (even on quick HC at Shanghai last year). If it’s Delpo in the SF, Rafa can beat him too as Rafa has been beating Delpo lately – USO, FO, Wimbledon!). Isner? It may be tough but Rafa somehow has Isner’s number! (7-0!).
Think Nole will be back in the top 4 by the end of the year. Maybe he wins wtf? He has racked up huge numbers after uso before.
Don’t know why you rate Zverev so highly lucky?! He has been a busted flush at the top level.I hope the top 4 ends up being Rafa Fed Nole and Delpo.
Obviously i would like to see Murray back at the top but he has too many health issues at the moment. Maybe he gets back in the top 4 next year.
Amy, look at Sasha’s race points, he’s currently at no.2, surpasses Fed for the no. 2 position. He’s only 1675 race points behind Rafa!
He’s doing better this year so far compared to same period last season, accumulated more ranking points than last year. He’s playing very well at Washington, serving very well and so it’s not easy to break his serve.
Despite Djoko winning at Wimbledon, I still don’t think he’s playing all that well that he has become unbeatable again. If Sasha is playing and serving very well, he has the game to beat Djoko.
Ok lucky! You are a great analyst so I will defer to you over this…but Zverev has been getting a lot of points with a void at the top with only Rafa and fed there. If Nole and also Murray and Stan eventually come back into the mix with Delpo in form then he isn’t going to do so well imo.
But Sasha is improving year by year, he’s in top three for a reason. He has beaten Fed and Djoko, and pushed Rafa to the limit. He can only get better as he matures as a player. He has the skill set to be a no.1 player maybe in a few years time.
You know what, I read that Rafa was the one who recommended Sasha to Richard Mille, and so Sasha became the RM ambassador like Rafa. Why Rafa recommended Sasha to RM, well after he was pushed to the limit at IW by Sasha, he felt that Sasha would become a future no.1, so suggested to RM to snap him up ASAP. See, Rafa certainly knows better than us and calls it when he sees it.
Rafa is absolutely the best sports analyst out there! I remember that match between Rafa and Sasha at IW in 2016. Just after the handshake there was this fleeting expression of concern on Rafa’s face as he watched Sasha walk ahead of him. I thought maybe he was trying to think of a way to console the kid for blowing match point so badly, but what could anyone say? But leave it to Rafa…what better consolation prize for a kid than a great sponsorship deal? Only Rafa…
Hawkbert are you going to the Rogers Cup?
Thought about it Amy. Almost booked a last minute flight. Too many scheduling conflicts this year. I really wanted to find a way to go. Wifey couldn’t make it but said I could go on my own.
This week Rafa said his favourite memory at Rogers cup was beating Nole in 2013 and winning the final vs Raonic and I was lucky to be there for both matches!
Maybe next year sigh.
Zverev is playing well but I think Nole is back and this is hard court season.
Nole goes to number two or three in the Race to London with a title win in Toronto.
We gonna see. Hope Rafa stops him.
Also Zverev hasn’t beaten many (any?) in form top guys this year especially on hard courts.
He’s going to be a great player at some point which I’ve said for a long time but he’ll only beat Nole if Nole let’s him. I think Nole will be too good for him.
I agree with you hawks! But I am really not sold on Zverev! Is it really true you can’t watch rafa play live now? That’s what you told me after wimby!!
Sorry Amy I missed your question.
Not at slams. I can watch him in Masters. Well, we gonna see…
Has Djoko beaten any on HCs for that matter?
Rafa, Fed, Murray to name three.
I know you mean this year lucky.
Let’s just say he’s proven himself. Not so much Zverev who’s not a Jedi yet.
I was referring to Zverev’s ranking and who he’s had to beat to get there.
Regardless, I don’t think an in form Zverev is going to beat an in form Nole particularly on hard court.
So if Nole has a drop in form as you’ve predicted, then your Zverev pick will probably work out.
Yeah I remember you telling me about seeing rafa play Nole in 2013! I remember you said you had great seats! And that was a fantastic match..rafa was serving great then…he played a superb tiebreak at the end of the match.
As I already said i think Nole will be racking up a lot of points from now until the end of the year. I do hope rafa wins here though☺
tsame Amy.
One slam win and analysts have all jumped on the Novak bandwagon…one even said he will win the next 5 slams..just 5 weeks back they wrote he was done n finished…so fickle my goodness
How far do you think he will go in Toronto sanju?
Who do you pick to win the title?
Novak won’t win the next 5 slams! I would take a bet on that one! Who said that for heavens sake?!
I already thought he would come back this year and win a slam but he won’t dominate like before imo.
Amy, Sanju has a tendency to misinterpret and overstate some statements. It has happened to before. Ask him who stated that Djoko will win next 5 slams and he’ll not have a specific answer.
Eugene I expected you to do better than make a sweeping statement about me. I actually thought you are a great poster and always very respectful n this was in bad taste.
Since you wanted the answer here it is. It was Richard krajicek
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Novak_Djokovic/57821/novak-djokovic-can-win-the-next-five-slams-claims-richard-krajicek/
I am not on the Novak bandwagon. Time will tell. It was supposed to be the end of the world when he lost to Cecchinato at RG. Then Novak was too emotional after the match and talked about skipping the grass court season. But he calmed down and got himself together. I don’t see him dominating at this point.
Quarterfinal predictions: Nick Kyrgios over Borna Coric, Denis Shapovalov over Juan Martin Del Potro, Grigor Dimitrov over Kevin Anderson , and Novak Djokovic over Alexander Zverev
Semifinals: Kyrgios over Shapovalov and Djokovic over Dimitrov
Final: Kyrgios over Djokovic
(Look at me hoping for mental and physical stability from Kyrgios from an entire week wow)
1R:
Nadal BYE
Paire over Donaldson 2-0
Fucsovics over Sousa 2-0
Kyrgios over Wawrinka 2-1
Edmund over Schwartzman 2-1
Mannarino over Querrey 2-1
Coric over Pospisil 2-0
Cilic BYE
Del Potro BYE
Nishikori over Haase 2-0
Shapovalov over Chardy 2-1
Fognini over Johnson 2-1
Carreno Busta over Nishioka 2-0
Khachanov over Krajinovic 2-1
P.H, Herbert over Ramos Vinolas 2-1
Isner BYE
Dimitrov BYE
Verdasco over Gojowczyk 2-0
Tiafoe over Cecchinato 2-1
Raonic over Goffin 2-1
Harrison over McDonald 2-1
Ivashka over Sugita 2-0
Rublev over Donskoy 2-0
Anderson BYE
Thiem BYE
Dzhumur over Tsitsipas 2-1
Polansky over Ebden 2-0
Djokovic over Chung 2-0
Medvedvev over Sock 2-1
Auger Aliassime over Pouille 2-1
Klahn over Ferrer 2-0
Zverev BYE
2R:
Nadal over Paire 2-0
Kyrgios over Fucsovics 2-0
Edmund over Mannarino 2-1
Cilic over Coric 2-1
Del Potro over Nishikori 2-1
Shapovalov over Fognini 2-1
Khachanov over Carreno Busta 2-1
Isner over Herbert 2-0
Verdasco over Dimitrov 2-1
Raonic over Tiafoe 2-1
Harrison over Ivashka 2-0
Anderson over Rublev 2-1
Thiem over Dzhumur 2-1
Djokovic over Polansky 2-0
Auger Aliassime over Medvedev 2-1
Zverev over Klahn 2-0
3R:
Nadal over Kyrgios 2-1
Cilic over Edmund 2-1
Del Potro over Shapovalov 2-1
Isner over Khachanov 2-1
Raonic over Verdasco 2-1
Anderson over Harrison 2-1
Djokovic over Thiem 2-0
Zverev over Auger Aliassime 2-0
QFs:
Nadal over Cilic 2-1
Del Potro over Isner 2-1
Raonic over Anderson 2-1
Djokovic over Zverev 2-1
SFs:
Nadal over Del Potro 2-1
Djokovic over Raonic 2-0
F:
Djokovic over Nadal 2-1
My hots: Nadal, Fognini, Zverev, Djokovic, Rublev, Nishikori, Del Potro, Anderson, Tsitsipas.
My colds: Ferrer, Dimitrov, Tiafoe, Querrey, Wawrinka, Schwartzman.
Unknown Condition: Coric, Edmund, Shapovalov, Thiem, Isner, Goffin, Cecchinato, Carreno Busta, Khachanov, Krajinovic, Raonic, Harrison, Dzhumur, McDonald, Verdasco, Cilic, Mannarino, Chardy.
Maybe a Zv repeat…maybe Joker, but definitely not Rafa.
Definitely?? Why so sure?? I hope Rafa will make you eat humble pie!
This Dimon’s picks are even worse than the other Dimon’s.
He’s just bummed that Rafa has threatened Federer’s legacy as GOAT.
Don’t expect a response. “Scoot” never replies. Just makes one line statements with no rationale and runs away.
Hasn’t Rafa always threatened Fed’s legacy as “GOAT”? How was it any less threatened in 2014 than it is now? I think Rafa’s had just as good of an argument for greatest of all-time as Fed has for the last 4 years…
Of course Kevin. Not sure I understand how this pertains to my comment though.
Herbert won.
#NID
I don’t know hawk. All I can say is I expect Rafa to do well. Reason being he barely played first 3 months of the year (just 5 matches) n did not have any gruelling matches entire clay stretch. He should be fresh to win few titles from now till November I hope.
I know Novak won Wimbledon but he himself posted few days back either on his fb or insta that one day he will share what all he went through these 2 years n that he is not yet entirely over it. So I don’t expect him to dominate like 15 n first half of 16. He is 31 plus too now. He deserved to win wimby but he himself will admit he did get lucky against Rafa with roof closed n not having Rafa play in the sun. I am not so sure he would have won had the roof been open n if the sun was giving Rafa’s shots the pop .
A lot of “ifs”…
Cilic or Anderson to go all the way
QF:
Nadal over Cilic
Del Po over Isner
Raonic over Anderson
Djokovic over Zverev
SF:
Nadal over Del Potro
Djokovic over Raonic
Final:
Djokovic over Nadal
All I can say is I would trade one USO or AO title for multiple Masters titlles from now on! I hope Rafa stays healthy and in form and saves himself for the big ones! He should treat these as preparation tourneys and to practice his serve and net game as well as shortening the points, all of which he has already been implementing nicely at Wimby!
As for Novak, he will also look to save his energy as he is not getting any younger and has had some fitness issues as of late. Vajda reportedly forced Novak to start eating fish in order to get stronger and to improve his endurance so he is no longer vegan!
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone other than Rafa and Novak wins the title in Toronto…