Rogers Cup 2013 Toronto

Night One of the Rogers Cup always brings out the little boy in me. The atmosphere is electric the buzz is deafening and the all the other cliché sayings apply as well.

The walk down the York University road side on a summer night always builds up the anticipation for “who knows what will happen tonight”. Weaving and bending down the path until finally the glorious Rexall Centre stands tall like a giving lake in the middle of a desert. Ah It’s the best summer night in Toronto and the reason is obvious, The Rogers Cup is centre stage!

A tournament that hasn’t always had such praise and allure. In fact at one time the post Wimbledon event was openly ripped by players and skipped all together. Nowadays while some may miss occasionally the top players in the men’s and women’s game are usually well represented.

Covering the Toronto event, this year I have the women. Usually the fan appeal is less for the women but that doesn’t allow this great event to diminish in the least. Always putting their best foot forward Tennis Canada generates a buzz that seemingly grows louder every year. While that has a lot to do with emerging stars such as Milos Raonic and Gennie Bouchard, its Tennis Canada that has worked their butts off to make this an elite tournament in the sport of tennis and just as importantly, this country.

While I shot plenty of footage that will appear on my video blog Game Set N’ Blog TV next week I made sure to take in some of the action. I opted to not go directly to centre court and caught the conclusion of Lucie Safarova vs Klara Zakopalova. Two Czech ladies battling it out on the Grandstand. Zakopalova pulled off a three set upset when Safarova just couldn’t seem to find her range but sure found a lot of net.

Once they were done it was the 18 year old Canadian, Carol Zhao who came through qualifying to make her first ever main draw appearance. She would be in tough however against the talented Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Pavlyuchenkova came out flying in this one and quickly showed the young Canadian that the mutilated pronunciation of her name by the announcer, was the only thing that wasn’t going work out for the Russian on this night.

It was a thrill to see Pavlyuchenkova play such a clean, pretty match and while the result wasn’t what Canadians or Zhao desired there was a lot to celebrate in the 18 year olds run here at the 2013 Rogers Cup.

Seated just in front of me was "Killer" Darren Cahill who was taking in some Toronto Tennis. Getting the opportunity to speak with Darren was a thrill. Darren has read my blogs before and been gracious enough to comment or retweet me on Twitter. Meeting the former player, current broadcaster and genius coach was a true honor. I’m better for it. Class personified!

Now my attention turned to Centre Court for the exhibition event which featured a doubles match with Canada’s own Genie Bouchard and tennis legend Monica Seles vs the William’s sisters.

All four girls were mic’d up but to be honest for the first 30 min there was hardly any point for it. The match was designed to entertain the fans with names and not necessarily quality of play. Understandable as the three active girls have bigger and better to worry about this week. Shockingly however it was Monica Seles who was taking it, perhaps, a bit too easy out there. Looking half interested at times and ignoring pleas from her partner Bouchard to help out more, if it wasn’t for being mic’d up, Monica would have been a party pooper.

It was great to see such star power out there but it was quite obvious that they were all at half speed especially Serena who clearly chose to save her intensity for Wednesday’s singles action and who could blame her?

Three moments that were worth it... When some fan yelled out “Genie will you marry me” Venus’ quick-witted response was “she’s too young”. Another moment once again had Venus entertaining the fans in a change over when she got up and danced her butt off with an odd yet hilarious dancer guy in spandex. Kudos Venus! And the final moment was when Genie and Serena got in a baseline tilt that must have been at least 60 shots (no joke) before the idle Venus and Seles decided to bust out their own ball and play some short balls mid court amidst the ongoing rally. Classic!

Overall it was a great opening night in Toronto which was needed after last season’s Olympic ravaged field stumbled in only to be met with major rain delays. 

As the week progresses the atmosphere is heightened and the competition intensifies but at its crux is a mammoth effort and production put forth by Tennis Canada. The Rogers Cup will no doubt conclude as it always does, in glorious fashion. It's just something we are used to now.

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Dirt, Grass and Chaos

Mr. Cranky Pants

You gatta hand it to Nadal after capturing his 8^th French Open title, he once again proved that the clay courts are his and his alone. Nadal also once again proved what a fighter and competitor he is on… and off the court. There are few if any who have mastered the art of defeating the mighty Federer but that mountain was seemingly too small for Nadal. He then squared off against the ATP with their “Blue Clay” experiment and it was the ATP that would feel the tenacious wrath of The Mallorca native. Now his latest opponent, a worthy one I might add, it appears that Mother Nature is on the war path of the cranky Spaniard. French Open rain delays are not an option for the King of Clay as he openly criticized the organizers at their efforts to maintain a working schedule. The fact that after his tirade the rest of the tournament went off without a hitch, I’d chalk that one up to Rafa getting the better of o’l mother Nature. My opinion… with those wonky knees he better start devising a game plan for his greatest opponent yet, the pesky Father Time.

Quarter Past Fed

Well we now know who will be the trivia answer for “who was the man that halted Roger Federer’s consecutive quarter final streak” the one, thee only Serhiy Stakhovsky. More on him later. The fact is that yet another sign of the ever weakening force field, that once shielded the greatest player of all time, is continuing to dissolve. The titles and numbers behind Federer’s case to be the greatest are all firmly in check but it’s some of those smaller less heralded feats that make even the most skeptical Federer observer give him the nod as numero uno. 36 straight quarter finals in grand slams is a record that is truly extraordinary. Hey even winning a slam isn’t as potent a case for greatness course Gastón Gaudio and Thomas Johansson may say otherwise. Federer’s streak is forever etched in the tennis history books but what about the stories of Federer yet to be told? Was this just a slip up? Will order as we knew it be restored? Or will this open the door to fans, writers and even Federer himself accepting the fact that, despite 10 years of proving otherwise, early round upsets can happen to everyone. EVEN Federer?

Northern Perspective

Well it really is who does what and where it’s done that matters. Wimbledon 2013 was yet again a major disappointment for Milos Raonic in a country that is now starting to doubt and tune out the once sought after prospect of the North. The chats went from “ this Canadian Roanic is good eh, finally a Canadian tennis player with some hope” to “ I guess Raonic was flash in the pan eh?” No joke. The amount of people that represent those extremes and talk to me about it after every tournament is staggering. In reality though it is good to hear. While 2nd round upsets are not what Canadians want nor expect, the anger or disappointment proves how ready the nation is to celebrate a tennis star. In my opinion I pin pointed when this Raonic struggle began. That being said, the “why” it has happened still eludes me. The irony of this all dates back to Canada’s huge Davis Cup win over Italy where Raonic locked up the tie and set up Canada’s first ever semi final date. The post match interview struck me as odd. The well spoken and laid back Raonic, caught up in extreme emotion, was rather boisterous and at times rude with his interviewer. While he seemed on cloud 9 with the win, Raonic made it very clear that there was work to be done and this was not the extent of the heights he envisions for Canada. On one hand it’s great to hear but I remember thinking to myself, lets enjoy this! Not just cause we move to the clay courts next tie to take on Djokovic and the Serbs but because this was an achievement to celebrate and enjoy. My concern is perhaps Milos is trying too hard to carry a country on his back without realizing how much he’s done for Canada already.

Then there is Genie Bouchard... her third round Wimbledon was a success story on so many levels. A huge win over former number 1 Ana Ivanovic on centre Court probably topped the cake but it was more than the result on the grass, one year removed from winning the girls Wimbledon title, the talk at bars, groceries stores, water coolers was “hey how about that Canadian girl Bouchard” it was amazing to hear and even greater to be able to stand proud and reply “ya, she’s doing great”!

 

 

Draw Breakers

Tennis is not a sport that appreciates an upset. I firmly agree with those who said this first. While the 2013 Wimbledon draw was rife with them there was very few underdogs getting any love whatsoever. The fact is, in a sport that is one on one, you need both the "ones" to be intriguing storylines at the very least. And even though Stakhovsky was definitely a storyline 48 hours ago to the fans who paid top dollar to see Federer play in round 3, the Ukrainian was an undisputed  heel. But its not just the upset that potentially ruins a draw it’s the follow up by the underdog that really grinds the gears of the tennis fan. All too often and history shows this, a major upset does NOTHING to boost a player from obscurity into seizing momentum and making a play deep in the draw. Look at this year for example. Stako falls next round after stunning Federer. Darcis fails to even get on the court after taking out Nadal. De Brito took out Maria Sharapova then swiftly followed her on a flight out of town. Even last year… Rosol decided that beating Nadal was a great way to end a tournament, even if it was only round 2. Its part of tennis.  A really really annoying part that has no answers. We just need to hope it happens as little as possible. It’s the beauty of the draw but at the same time, the beast. But this problem dates back many years. Remember when Pete Sampras lost his 4^th round Wimbledon match to a certain Swiss player who next round bowed out routinely to Tim Henman? Wait, okay maybe scratch that guy from this argument. He ended up doing ok in the end.

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March Madness

So it has been a while since my last blog that there are so many things I wish to write about so I thought I would try something different. Instead of my rather long and in-depth takes on one topic let’s get outlandish, hit light speed and cover some of the things that have caught my attention since the Aussie. Of course staying true to my passion, Canadian Tennis, but not stopping there. So strap in and here we go.
Our Blog starts off at the enchanted land known as Indian Wells.

INDIAN WELLS – Masters Series Event – California

Often regarded as the 5^th slam this event swoops in as a savior every March after the rather harsh and lonely layoff from the Australian Open. While other tourneys take place in-between that time, IW trots in like a white knight saving fans from the insignificant hole in the tennis calendar known as February.

I found the 2013 IW wasn't the greatest tournament ever but it wasn't too shabby either.  At the beginning of the tournament I was rather pumped about the draw and while it mostly played out to form I wasn’t too inspired by any one match. Until the delPo vs Djokovic match.  The quality and drama in that match was something very special. Coupled with the great story of the Nadal comeback and all of a sudden, once again Indian Wells shines like supernova.

LARRY ELLISON – Owner – Super Fan

While I think the world of what Larry Ellison has done for the Indian Wells Masters tournament there is one thing that grinds on my nerves. During the match with Nadal and Gulbis, a very tight and well played match, Ellison is on video several times fist pumping and cheering on the Spaniard who would eventually win. I’m sorry but that is lame. Nadal is not the only player that Ellison is a fan of but am I wrong thinking that the owner of a tournament should at least SEEM unbiased? It’s just not right. Should there ever be a controversy of any kind and it favors a player that Ellison has cheerleaded for in the past, it’s going to look ugly. Please Larry, use the inner voice. If you don’t have one, buy one!

MIAMI – The Bridesmaid

While I grew up with the Indian Wells/ Miami back to back extravaganza, my opinion of the combo is changing and I am not alone. For years it would be 3 weeks of tennis action that was almost second to nothing on the tour. The combo of spring time hard court Masters events, having both men and women competing and most of all prepping the coming slam season was tennis heaven. All that being said, Miami has long been the red-headed step-child and now with Ellison’s plans to further bolster the Indian Wells Masters it would seem that Miami’s catch up plans will separate it even more from the perfect engine in the California desert. In the past players have passed on Miami after a grueling or unfortunate IW’s but now, one has to wonder if more will take the Federer route. Federer opted to avoid Miami all together when planning his 2013 schedule. While eyebrows got raised, it was Federer so it must be ok. Still I wonder how many have or will secretly do the same. Not publicly announcing it at the beginning of the season but planning it and keeping it close to the vest. The bottom line is, when you follow a tournament know as “the 5^th slam” it’s like having Bruce Springsteen open the concert for your garage band. The other thing that hampers Miami these days is the physical nature of the sport has greatly increased and players can only be expected to do so much with their bodies. Tennis has never been more physical and more and more players are going to need “un-official” breaks to rest their bodies. Having two Masters events back to back with not even one week in-between may have to go the way of “Super Saturday” The result of separating the two can only benefit Miami and the tour.

CANADA DAVIS CUP TRIUMPH – Vancouver 

Congrats to Canada who has made their first ever World Group Davis Cup semis. The Canadian’s lead by Milos Raonic defeated the Italians 3-1 and will now face 2010 champions Serbia for a chance to play for the title. It has been a thrill ride for Canadians unlike anything before. This nation is starting to catch on to the tennis bug and this Davis Cup win is providing media coverage unlike anything before in Canada. Great effort boys and good luck in the semis. 

THE UGLY

If you were subjected to seeing the horrible on court, post match interview with Milos Raonic and Arash Madani then you saw one of the most weird interviews in tennis history. The usually well spoken Raonic was clearly on a victory high, least I hope that was the reason cause man it was awkward!

A GENIE EMERGING FROM HER BOTTLE

My last blog was of up and comer Genie Bouchard (see blog below) It was the most read blog I have written gaining attention from some respected tennis media greats. Even Chris Evert tweeted me in regards to my take on Genie. Since then Bouchard has cracked the top 100 and seems ready to begin her ascension in the ranks. Wins over Stosur and off court pal Robson have suddenly drawn attention her way. She also had the learning fortune of playing Sharapova which could only be a bankable experience at this stage in her career.

FEARS FOR FEDS

Bad back aside it is looking like Federer is now firmly in the dog days of his career. What I mean by that is, he is fighting for matches more often then he or we are used to. The greatest of all time is looking mortal thus far this season. When Federer’s serve is not a match weapon the outcome is in serious doubt. Let’s just hope the bad back and loooooong layoff don’t add to the issue. All that being said would it really shock anyone if he wins Wimbledon?

DJOKOVIC – NUMBER 1 IN THE WORLD 

Being hailed as the “complete player” and backing up his past success every year, Djokovic does one thing

better than I have ever seen any pro tennis player do in the history of the game. No not return, not defend,  it’s lose. While he doesn’t lose often Djokovic’s class and grace at the net with his opponent after a loss is second to none. This may not seem like a big thing to most but it is huge for youngsters to see and learn. The wars that he goes through are physically and mentally daunting but no matter what, he walks to that net, win or more importantly lose, and smiles ear to ear often times wrapping his arm around his conqueror and using his other hand to pat gently the other players chest while no doubt congratulating him and wishing him luck. Anyone who has played competitive sports knows how hard a task that is to do. I give Novak a world of praise for showing class at a time when he is, no doubt feeling his worst.

I would also like to throw a bone to Tommy Haas. An all time great playing like one at 35. How great could he have been if he was able to stay healthy?

That’s all for my warp speed rapid fire…. Tweet me your thoughts. Agree? Disagree? I want to hear from you   @maydaypelligra