The organizers for the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal next month (August 8-16) are hoping that two of the sport’s biggest stars will be able to play in the event.  I suspect they would draw a slightly smaller crowd if they were both absent but that’s just speculation.  Montrealers love summer festivals and events so they could end up with a great turn out either way.

They have good reason to wonder if Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will make the trek to the Canadian city.  Nadal had to bow out of Wimbledon this year due to a knee injury.  He has been resting and should be able to play by then but when it comes to physical ailments, it’s impossible to know how quickly a person will fully heal. 

Federer is not injured but his wife, Mirka, is due right around the time the tournament begins so he might want to stay close to home either way.  If she hasn’t delivered, he might not want to leave and miss the birth.  If she’s had the baby, he might not want to give up those precious first days with his son or daughter.  However, he lists the Rogers Cup on his schedule this year (on his official website) so I’m going to assume he is planning to go. 

The tournament director, Eugene Lapierre, is apparently ready to do just about anything to get him to the event.  He said, in a news conference:  "If ever his wife has already given birth, we’re offering him a house, along with a nurse, instead of having them stay at a hotel. And if she hasn’t, we’re giving him the option of flying back as quickly as possible on a private jet to be there for the birth."

Top-ranked players who are scheduled to play include Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick.

image: TSN

It looks like Andy Roddick suffered more than a bruised ego during his loss to Roger Federer at this year’s Wimbledon finals.  If you saw the match, you’ll know that Roddick seemed to give everything he had in his attempt to win the tournament and now it appears that he suffered an injury to his right hip flexor in the process.  The picture below is from the match so you have to wonder if this was the moment when he hurt himself.  Either way, he never let it show and he fought a great battle.

image: Zuma Press

Unfortunately, the injury has caused him to withdraw from the U.S. Davis Cup team’s quarterfinal in Croatia.  He has represented the United States at the event in 18 consecutive Davis Cup matches and played a role in the country winning the 2007 title.

The U.S. Tennis Association announced that he will be replaced by Mardy Fish.

Mathieu Montcourt was banned from tennis after it was learned that he was betting on matches.  If that wasn’t sad or bad enough, Montcourt was found dead by his girlfriend in the stairwell of his Paris apartment.  It looks like he died overnight but they won’t know the cause of death until they perform an autopsy.

image: Newscom

The French Tennis Federation confirmed the reports and issued the following statement: “it is with great sadness that the French tennis federation has learned of the sudden death of Mathieu Montcourt.  Mathieu was an enthusiastic young man, passionate, very endearing, and extremely appreciated for his kindness and politeness.”

The French player grew up playing against superstar (and fellow countryman), Rafael Nadal, who was taken aback by this tragic news.  On his website, Nadal wrote:  “This morning I woke up with one of the worst news anyone can receive.  I heard about the death of our friend Mathieu Montcourt. I am still under shock for this. I can’t believe it.  I knew Mathieu since we were kids. We competed together at all the events at an international level there is since you are a kid: Les Petit As, Copa Borotta, etc. and of course afterwards once becoming professionals.  When someone like this disappears, when something like this happens, you really know where we are and the relativeness of winning or losing a tennis match, of not competing at an event or anything else. This is the loss of a guy who was only 24 and that was sports person. He won’t be playing with us again.  I would like to send my most deep and sincere condolences to his family, to his friends and to the French fans. Mathieu, Rest in peace.”

It’s a very sad day for the world of tennis.  My condolences go out to the Montcourt family.

Serena Williams won the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon and her sister, Venus Williams, was her runner up but the ladies were not content to let their winning streak end there.  Yesterday, the two paired up to take the top prize in the women’s doubles final.

image: TSN

The American tennis stars beat Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-4 to clinch their fourth Wimbledon title together.  “There’s nothing like winning a title with your sister,” said Serena. “It’s really a good feeling. I’m really excited to have doubles titles.  I rack ‘em up.”

“One out of two’s not bad,” Venus said. “I really wanted to win the singles, but they’re two separate events. If I won the singles and not the doubles, it’s still not the same.  I wanted my name on the trophy so one out of two’s not bad.”

I know that some people might complain about the domination of the Williams sisters but I think it brings excitement to the sport.   Congratulations on all your success at Wimbledon this weekend, Venus and Serena!

If it had been anyone but Roger Federer, America’s Andy Roddick would have won the men’s final today at Wimbledon.  Unfortunately, the amazingly tight match ended up with Federer celebrating his record-setting 15th major title.  There was a great Nike commercial congratulating the Swiss star for his huge accomplishment and I thought it was pretty amazing that some of sport’s biggest names were included (John McEnroe, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams and more).  I’ll put it up when it becomes available.

image: TSN

Roddick left it all on the court and he was clearly devastated by the loss.  He went over to the bench and just hung his head.  He clearly shed a few tears and when it came time for him to accept his runner-up plate, he seemed overcome with disappointment.  During his post-match interview, Roddick was incredibly gracious and congratulated Federer and then apologized to Pete Sampras for not being able to hold Federer off from breaking his record.

image: Zuma Press

Federer was also incredibly gracious during his post-match interview.  Her recognized Roddick for his incredible effort on the grass court today.  He talked about how amazing his life is right now with being named No. 1 and with his wife preparing to make him a father in a few weeks.

For the eighth time in 10 years, one of the Williams sisters has been named the women’s Wimbledon champion.  At the All England Club today, Serena Williams beat Venus Williams 7-6 (3), 6-2 and won her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship.

image: Zuma Press

I’m sure it’s strange to play against each other (and even difficult since they are both so skilled and competitive) but I’m also sure that it felt great for Serena to beat her big sister in the fourth all-Williams final.

Venus could have become the first woman to win the tournament for three years in a row since the 1991-1993 winning streak of Steffi Graf.  This is Serena’s third win in London and her first in six years.  After falling to her knees in celebration, Serena hugged her sister at the net.

image: TSN

“It feels so amazing,” she said. “I feel so blessed. I feel like I shouldn’t be holding the trophy. It’s named for Venus and she always wins.”

Congratulations, Serena!

Andy Murray’s hopes of becoming the first Brit in more than seven decades to win the men’s title at Wimbledon were dashed when he lost to American, Andy Roddick, in the semifinal match.  Murray did not go down without a fight – it took 3 hours and 7 minutes but, in the end, it was Roddick who advanced to Sunday’s final match.

The 26-year-old will have his work cut out for him when he faces five-time champion, Roger Federer, who has set a record for making the championship match at Wimbledon seven times in a row.  Federer defeated Tommy Haas of Germany 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals.

image: Zuma Press

Federer and Roddick have quite a history.  The American lost to the Swiss superstar in the 2004 and 2005 finals at Wimbledon and out of the 20 times the pair have met, Federer won 18 matches (including a flawless 3-0 record in 2009).

The 2009 Wimbledon champ will get to take home $1.39 million.

It will be a one-two finish for the Williams sisters as Venus Williams and Serena Williams square off in the ladies final at Wimbledon for the fourth time on Saturday.  It feels like a repeat of last years finals.  Venus won 7-5, 6-4 so I’m wondering if kid sister, Serena, will top her this year.

image: Zuma Press

Venus took down Dinara Safina in a predictable semifinal match. Venus Williams has won 35 straight sets for an incredible record – she hasn’t lost on Centre Court since 2004.  That’s unbelievable!  Meanwhile, 23-year-old Safina incurred 16 unforced errors in the lopsided 6-1, 6-0 loss. At least it was over quickly – Venus destroyed the world No.1 in just 51 minutes!

The battle between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva was a lot more interesting.  While the pair traded breaks in the first couple games and then went head-to-head for the rest of the thrilling match.  Right down to the final set, the intensity was incredible and it looked like Dementieva might take it after Williams double faulted but in the end, Williams walked away with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 victory over the Olympic gold medalist.

The Williams sisters, who will meet for the 21st time, have dominated the finals at Wimbledon for seven of the last nine years.  I’m sure it will be an amazing match!

For the first time, Wimbledon has had to ask employees and personnel to stay away from the Championships if they have a fever, sore throat, cough or body aches.  I have to say that I’m somewhat appalled that you even have to tell people since this seems like common sense – if you are unwell, stay home and don’t risk infecting others, especially at large sporting events.

Now, because the ball boys and girls have reported flu-like symptoms, the top players have been warned to be on high alert.  Of course, to add to the drama, the announcement came on the same day that a “nine-year-old girl became the third person to contract the [H1N1] virus and die in Britain.”  In case you are unfamiliar with the technical name, H1N1 is what many people are calling the “swine flu.”

Not only is this awful since it can affect the results of the tournament (and the health of the athletes), it can also contribute to the spread of the disease since these players and their trainers will continue to travel around the world to compete.

Some star players have spoken out about the news.  Venus Williams said: “I guess there are sicknesses around, hopefully the players won’t get sick.  Hopefully our immune systems are strong enough, that’s what they are there for. We’re going to all put ours in use, take vitamin C and keep playing.”

Roger Federer basically summed up my own thoughts: “It is not good news, especially for the players travelling round the world, meeting so many people, it is not a good thing.  But I am sure the club is trying to protect us as much as possible.”

I hope he’s right but I’m not overly encouraged by the comment by Johnny Perkins, the spokesman for the All England Lawn Tennis Club: “It is in the community, it is in the schools, it would be strange in a way if we didn’t.”  With the world monitoring the progress of swine flu, I’m surprised that they didn’t ask employees who were ill to stay away in the first place.  This should have been a precaution that was put in place before the Championships began.

image: Zuma Press

The four top-seeded women have made the semifinals at Wimbledon which will feature a Russian versus an American player in both matches.

Despite her dislike for playing on the grass, top-ranked Russian, Dinara Safina, beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court which marks the first time she has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinal.

Safina was the runner-up at the French Open and the Australian Open and she played like a true champion on the hot day in London, although she did lose her cool at one point –she slammed her racquet down after committing her seventh double-fault.  Still, she managed to compose herself, regain her focus and beat Lisicki, who had to have her trainer ice her legs as she lay down on the court during the seventh set.

The Williams sisters have both made it to the semifinals which has led me to wonder if we are going to see a repeat of last year’s results with Venus winning over Serena in the finals.

Venus Williams easily secured her spot in the semifinals by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.  It’s not surprising considering the American’s incredible record.  She has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon since 2007.  That’s almost inhuman!  She’s now 67-9 all-time on grass

Meanwhile, Serena Williams played a clean match against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and walked away with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Centre Court in 1 hour, 13 minutes.  This marks the sixth time that she has made it to the Wimbledon semifinal.  Serena is a two-time champion at the All England Club.  She battled her sister for both victories in 2002 and 2003.

Russia’s Elena Dementieva routed Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 in just 66 minutes.  It wasn’t the cleanest match for the reigning Olympic gold medalist who incurred nine double faults but she managed to finish strong with a victory.

The semifinals take place on Thursday, July 2, 2009 with the following pairings:

• Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams (Venus is 2-1 in the three times they have met before)
• Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva (Elena is 3-1 in the four times they have met but Serena won their most recent battle at the Australian Open)

The women’s semifinals are definitely going to be interesting.

images: Zuma Press