I have to admit that, although Maria Sharapova has struggled this past year with her shoulder injury, I had predicted that she would beat Elena Dementieva during yesterday’s Rogers Cup final in Toronto but I was wrong.  The women have met 10 times before and Sharapova emerged the victor 80% of the time so I thought the odds were stacked in her favor but she really struggled and ultimately lost.

Both women were using the event as a warm-up to the U.S. Open which begins next week and I would say that Dementieva should feel very confident after beating Sharapova 6-4, …read more

Maria Sharapova will face Elena Dementieva in the 2009 Rogers Cup final, making it an all-Russian event.  I hope you got to catch the semifinals because they were extremely interesting, especially the match between Dementieva and Serena Williams.
Williams just couldn’t get it together and grew increasingly frustrated with every error she made.  Meanwhile, Dementieva was the picture of composure, which allowed her to overcome a 5-3 deficit in the first set.  After losing to Williams in the semis at Wimbledon, I wasn’t surprised at all by the Russian’s focus.  “I was really waiting for this match after Wimbledon,” Dementieva said.  …read more

It was a good day for Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at the Rogers Cup in Toronto yesterday despite the heavy rain and lightning.
The weather caused the match between Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva to be postponed for more than an hour but Sharapova was able to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over her compatriot.  This marks the first time that Sharapova has made it past the third round at the Rogers Cup so I’m sure she’s pretty excited considering the tough year she’s had.  I’m sure she wants to move away from being ranked 49th …read more

It was a tough day for Dinara Safina in Toronto.  Her serve betrayed her from the very start and she just could not seem to pull herself together.  Unfortunately, it cost her the chance of winning the Rogers Cup title.
Safina was eliminated by Aravane Rezai after committing 17 double faults.  She lost with a final score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.  The Rogers Cup has been interesting for the top-seeded players this year since Venus Williams was eliminated yesterday by Kateryna Bondarenko but, also, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were both knocked out when they played in Montreal last week (okay, …read more

It was a week filled with comebacks and upsets leading up to the men’s final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal yesterday.  Event organizers used Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as major draws to the tournament but the two plays showed some rust (Federer took a break after Wimbledon since his wife gave birth to twins and Nadal was recovering from a knee injury).

The semi-finals were a bit of a disappointment for me since I really wanted to see Andy Roddick advance but after a very close match against Juan Martin Del Potro, he was eliminated.  In the end, Del …read more

Whoa!  After the organizers basically begged Roger Federer to come to Montreal and compete in the Rogers Cup, they must be shocked and disappointed by the No. 1’s shocking elimination this afternoon.  I know that I’m stunned.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga proved that you should never get up, even when you’re down against the best tennis player in the world (in history?!?) when he made an incredible comeback and ousted Federer with a final score of 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals.
Seventh-seeded Tsonga, who played with a sore arm said: “I did not feel real good — 5-1 down and Roger …read more

American Andy Roddick took on Russia’s Igor Andreev at the Roger’s Cup yesterday and emerged with a 6-1, 7-6 (6) victory.  I watched the match and Andreev seemed out of his depth during the first set and I was wondering if Roddick was going to be challenged at all when the Russian suddenly perked up.  It became a lot more interesting but Roddick was able to pull out a win.

I have to admit that, although I’ve always liked Roddick, I gained a lot of respect for him after he took on Roger Federer at Wimbledon last month and it seems …read more

Rafael Nadal’s first match in 10 weeks ended prematurely due to a knee injury – but it wasn’t Nadal who was in pain.  While many worried that the Spaniard’s knees might give him trouble it was his compatriot, David Ferrer, who limped off the court.

Not only was it sad to see a player bow out in pain, it was a letdown for the crowd who were waiting to see how Nadal’s return would end.  The spectators all groaned when the ump announced the end of the match with Nadal leading 4-3 in the set.
“It’s always a pleasure to come back,” …read more

For just a moment, Roger Federer looked a little rusty last night at the Rogers Cup after taking some time off after the birth of his twin girls last month but he quickly gained his composure and easily eliminated Canada’s Frederic Niemeyer 7-6 (3), 6-4 in second round at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal on Tuesday night.

While the No.1 player is definitely a fan favorite, the moment wasn’t for him and he was happy to step aside to let his old friend, and opponent, Niemeyer, enjoy the applause after the Quebec native played his final match at his home tournament.  He …read more

Maybe it was hometown luck but Frederic Niemeyer delivered the first upset of the 2009 Rogers Cup when the 487th ranked player beat out 39th ranked Igor Kunitsyn of Russia yesterday at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal.  Niemeyer is a native of Deauville, Quebec.

The surprising 7-5, 6-1 win has allowed Niemeyer to advance to the second round which will allow him to take on top-ranked Roger Federer in his first event since winning Wimbledon last month.  “It will be an honour to play Roger in front of this crowd,” said Niemeyer. “He’s the greatest player of all time, so to …read more