The Rogers Cup Wrap Up

Tennis has a new number two and his name is Andy Murray. It took over four years to break the stronghold that Roger and Rafa had over the top two spots in the world, but with a semifinal win over Jo-Willy Tsonga (no. 7) at the Rogers Cup, Andy Murray did it. Roger and Rafa had ruled the roost at the top of men's tennis since July 2005, but with Rafael Nadal's (no. 3) nagging knee injury and Murray's consistent success, the Scot proved he is deserving of this new echelon.

On the other side of the draw, Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro (no. 6) topped America's best Andy Roddick 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a rematch from last weekend's Legg Mason final. Again, Del Potro proved to be just a little too much for Roddick. At 5-5 in the third set, Roddick either tightened up or felt fatigued as he started and ended the game with a double fault - two weeks in a row, Andy has blinked in critical moments of a big match. Unfortunately, there seems to be a consistency to this theme for Andy this summer as I'm sure he still wakes up at night thinking of the volley that got away in the second set breaker at Wimbledon.

What a story line for a final: the new world's no. 2 versus the guy who beat the former no. 2. Murray and Del Potro seemed to be on a collision course for the final throughout this tournament as they carved up the competition match by match. The final was nothing short of spectacular, at least for the first two sets, each taking a set in a tiebreak before fatigue got the best of the Argentine as Murray steamrolled 6-1 in the third set to win the tournament.

This match confirmed for me that Andy Murray is ready to win the U.S. Open, yet this tournament also confirmed for me that so can ten or so other guys. At the top of the list you have the world's number one, yet despite all of Roger's success this year, I think we see he is not a given to win in New York like he was in year's past - perhaps this is either because Roger doesn't seem quite as dominant over his peers as he once was or that the competition is that much better 0r maybe some of both. Next, you have Rafa who is not the player he was a few months ago, but you'd have to be crazy to count him out. Then you have this bunch of guys who are a virtual tie in ability and all are very capable of winning - Roddick, Djokovic, Del Potro, and Tsonga. Flushing out this mess, you have these wild cards who are incredibly dangerous - Verdasco (no. 10), Gonzalez (no. 12), Karlovic (no. 29) - to name a few. Unquestionably, this tournament answered a lot of questions for us, but yet why do I feel like we still have no idea who is going to win the Open?

Rogers Cup Update...

The Rogers Cup is shaping up to be one of the best tournaments of 2009 - yes, including the Grand Slams. For the first time in the history of the ATP tour, the top 8 seeds made it to the quarterfinals of the draw. Now some might say that there is something boring about the lack of upsets through the first few rounds, but I couldn't be more excited. The top 8 seeds also represent the top 8 ranked players in the world. I ask you when are we going to see this kind of draw again on a neutral surface (unquestionably, an outdoor hard-court is the most neutral of the surfaces)?

This tournament also features the return of no other than Rafael Nadal, making his first tournament appearance since the French Open and since losing his no. 1 ranking. Just this aspect alone is reason for elation. There are so many questions that this tournament will answer and raise about the Spaniard - are his knees better?, has his conditioning slipped?, is he match tough?, will he be back to number 1?

The quarterfinal match-ups proved to be some of the most exciting matches of the year. To begin the day, Andy Murray (no. 3) dispatched Davydenko (no. 8) 6-2, 6-4 in a very routine manner. Clearly, we see Andy Murray is on a quest for the top. Next, the world's number one, Roger Federer, faced-off against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (no. 7) in what was expected to be a typical quarterfinal match for Roger. But this match proved to be anything but typical as Tsonga came back from a 5-1 deficit in the third set to win in a tiebreaker. Am I surprised, shocked, awed? Yes, but we all know that Roger has been distracted the past few weeks with the birth of his twin daughters. The most important question that faces Roger is whether or not he will be able to regain his form for the U.S. Open. Oddly enough, I think he will.

On the other side of the draw, we saw a hard hitting match-up between rivals Andy Roddick (no. 5) and Novak Djokovic (no. 4). Roddick's new found conditioning and confidence were overwhelming for the Serb as Andy triumphed 6-4, 7-6 (4). In the last quarterfinal matchup, we finally got to see Nadal tested against a top ranked opponent in Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro, fresh off a Master's Series victory at Legg Mason, was in top form and dismantled the Spaniard 7-6 (5), 6-1. This match featured incredible points, beautiful shotmaking, but left me scratching my head about both players. First, I thought Nadal looked good, but not great and nowhere near his top form. I wonder whether or not he will be a threat at the Open, the jury is out. And as far as Del Potro is concerned, I have serious doubts about his fitness and conditioning. After last weekend's final against Roddick, the Argentine cramped in the locker room after three long sets. Last night, he looked very tired and was breathing hard after one grueling set with Rafa. How will Del Potro fair in Flushing Meadows in best-of-five matches over two weeks?

Many experts say that the Rogers Cup foretells the results at the U.S. Open and if that is true, we will have a champion who doesn't bear either the name Roger or Rafa.