Not one, but two historic happenings during Thursday’s Rogers Cup Round of 16 action in Montreal.
Historic Happening # 1: The top eight ranked men in the world advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals – the first time this has occurred in an ATP or Grand Slam tournament since the ATP Rankings were introduced in 1973. Way to go guys! I’m sure you planned it this way.
Friday’s quarterfinals are as follows: Murray vs. Davydenko, Federer vs. Tsonga, Roddick vs. Djokovic and Del Potro vs. Nadal. Yum.
Historic Happening # 2: I’ve reached Federer Fan Zen. During his match against Stan Wawrinka on Thursday, Roger was broken at the start of the second set to go down 3-0. I watched him go from 6-1 up to 6-5 in the second set tiebreak. And none of it bothered me in the least. I didn’t wish for a time machine to transport me to the end of the match, sparing me the awful suspense. I didn’t Twitter my angst like Ashton Kutcher on a bad hair day. I didn’t even repeat Roger’s “Ai Yi Yi” under my breath. I just thought, “So what? Roger has nothing more to prove.” Of course, we’ll see how Zen I am when Roger plays guys like Rafa, Nole or Murray. Baby steps, baby steps. . .
And how cool was this?
As GTT reader Julie “yoked”, gosh darn that arrogant Roger for inspiring such well-wishes from the obviously partisan Quebecois fans! Jerk! (And thanks, Dootsiez, for the vid!) Montreal, je t’aime!
Speaking of the young guns, Andy Murray blasted Old Guy Juan Carlos Ferrero off the court today. Murray’s stayed off the radar so far this week, but I’m considering him the favorite for the title. Seriously, the guy’s a best-of-three-sets-hardcourt genius.
What the heck, Rafa? Aren’t you supposed to be gimpy and injured? Why are you beating guys 6-3, 6-2, even if the guy in question is Philipp Petzschner? We’ll assume quarterfinal opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, is no del Petzschner. But then again, who knows what Rafa’s thinking:
I am not the favorite for sure for the match of tomorrow (against Del Potro), but the match sure going to – it going to give me another rhythm. Anyway, the result, gonna be good experience with me to continuing improving in my level.
Andy Roddick beat Fernando Verdasco in a third set tiebreaker – it was a fun match that showed off Andy’s newly honed defensive skills. He’ll face Novak Djokovic next, who beat Mikhail Youzhy 6-3, 6-4. Roddick enjoys a slight advantage in the 3-2 head to head (including their last two meetings in the Australian Open and Indian Wells.) But who can forget this US Open Series classic?
And in major Nole News: tennis.com reports that Novak Djokovic plans to begin working with Todd Martin in a coaching capacity after Cincinnati. Martin will be an addition to Djokovic’s team, which will continue to include full-time coach Marian Vajda.
Click here for the Rogers Cup TV schedule. (Click here for high quality streaming or check out channelsurfing.net for bootleg options.)
And somewhere in Cincy, a Tournament Director is contemplating his sixth Jack and Coke, as both Williams sisters are kicked out of the draw. Venus was trounced by Flavia “en Fuego” Pennetta: 7-6(2) 6-4 and Serena by Sybille “say what?” Bammer, 7-5 6-4. Gotta love Serena’s take on the match: “I never played worse in my life. It was really a bad match.”
And what to make of Kim Clijster’s three set win over Roland Garros champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova? At least it might save the Tournament Director from a bout of alcohol poisoning. The Comeback Kid faces Dinara Safina in Friday’s quarter finals. Come on Dina! Represent for the women who have actually been playing professional tennis the past few years!
The Cincy Quarterfinals are as follows: Caroline Wozniacki vs. Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina vs. Kim Clijsters, Flavia Pennetta vs. Daniela Hantuchova, Jelena Jankovic vs. Sybille Bammer.
Click here for the Cincy TV schedule.
*Thanks to my sharp GTT readers for correcting/clarifying some of my gaffes! Best editors ever!
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