Rogers Cup third round
(3) Stan Wawrinka vs. Kevin Anderson: Wawrinka began the year 13-0 before losing to Anderson in Indian Wells, but the Swiss was fatigued both mentally and physically at that point. Although he needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat Benoit Paire, Wawrinka got an extra day of rest. Wawrinka in 2.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Djokovic has won 11 consecutive matches against Tsonga and the Serb is 18-0 in their last 18 total sets. What else needs to be said? Tsonga in 2.
(17) Tommy Robredo vs. (7) Grigor Dimitrov: Robredo did not drop a set against either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Gilles Simon. Dimitrov struggled against Donald Young on Wednesday. Given that Robredo is underrated on hard courts, this one could be closer than expected. Dimitrov in 3.
(5) David Ferrer vs. Ivan Dodig: Dodig is no stranger to success at the Rogers Cup, having upset Rafael Nadal in 2011. Ferrer is far from his best right now, so look for Dodig to be competitive. But the underdog will get broken down in the end. Ferrer in 3.
(12) Richard Gasquet vs. (8) Andy Murray: Murray has won five of their last six meetings. He destroyed Nick Kyrgios in his opener, while Gasquet survived tough ones against both Vasek Pospisil and Ivo Karlovic. Murray in 3.
(6) Milos Raonic vs. Julien Benneteau: Benneteau has made short work of both Lleyton Hewitt and Ernests Gulbis. Raonic outlasted Jack Sock in an intense three-setter on Wednesday night in which he never broke serve. The Canadian should be on upset alert, but he may be too clutch at this tournament. Raonic in 3.
Feliciano Lopez vs. (4) Tomas Berdych: Lopez is an impressive 5-4 in the head-to-head series against Berdych after a straight-set win this summer at Queen’s Club. Berdych simply has not been in great form and nothing in his performance against Yen-Hsun Lu indicated a turnaround. Lopez in 3.
(15) Marin Cilic vs. (2) Roger Federer: Federer is 4-0 lifetime against Cilic and 9-1 in total sets. The Swiss thrashed Peter Polansky 6-2, 6-0 while Cilic struggled mightily against both Denis Istomin and Malek Jaziri. Federer in 2.
[polldaddy poll=8232114]
[polldaddy poll=8232116]
[polldaddy poll=8232118]
Wow. Jo takes the first set off of Novak, 6/2. Novak not playing that well, but Jo’s forehand is on fire.
serving huge too
Gasquet has withdrawn with an abdominal strain. Andy gets a walkover to meet the winner of Jo/Novak. Looks like it’ll probably be Jo.
Jo wins 6/2 6/2. Novak looked like he had no energy today. Jo play very well though. That last ace was 140 mph. Great serving, good forehand and tried to keep his backhand neutral, although he had winners there, too. Novak’s lackluster play was a total bonus for Jo. Congrats to Jo.
Why can’t Jo-Willy play like this against Nole when it matters? Wimbledon? RG?
Robredo is schooling the younger generation.
not really
Dodig takes the first set off of Daveed 6/1. Must be something in the Toronto air today. I’ve always liked Dodig. He had a tough path in the early years of his career.
Tsonga in 2. Congratulations to me!
Nice call on Feli but Tsonga? Never saw it coming. He played well but any time a No. 1 goes down 2 and 2, there’s something not quite right. He didn’t even get upset about the beat down which was completely out of character almost like it didn’t matter to him.
Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Nole win less than eight games in a match when he wasn’t playing hurt.
BTW, courts are playing ridiculously quick. Looks like USO will be speedy as per Fed’s instructions.
Won’t be at all surprised if Rafa decides not to play. As defending champ however, he will probably be more inclined to try.
that was a very CONVENIENT typo
#Counts
I admire your honesty. DEFINITELY counts,
#Epic
#doi
hawkeye, why would Rafa decide not to play if he is fit to pay?
^^^The USO I mean.
Didn’t say otherwise.
IF he’s “100%” fit, I’m sure he will play. I don’t think he will be 100%.
I’ll just throw it out there.
Maybe Rafa is not so happy with the hard courts made faster to coddle Roger this summer. With these speedy low bounce courts, I’d expect a whole lotta giants in Rafa’s quarter at the USO and a bunch of weak era players in Fed’s.
Tsonga takes Muzz out in 3. Tsonga is looking very impressive hope he stays out of Rafa’s way in this mode.
there are far bigger threats to Rafa