With a deep field featuring the top players from both the WTA and ATP tours, and a whole lot to be excited about if you’re a Canadian tennis fan, this year’s Rogers Cup in Toronto and Montreal promises to be appointment viewing throughout the week. Each morning we’ll preview the action here on Sportsnet.ca, so without further ado:
Match Of The Day:
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) versus Richard Gasquet (FRA). It’s been a whole three days since these two last met, squaring off in the semi-finals of last week’s Citi Open. We know how that turned out- a victory for Pospisil that setup the first all-Canadian final of the open era- but it’ll take another big effort from the B.C. native if we’re going to see a repeat performance. Thankfully, Pospisil is hitting his stride at the right time, earning big wins against ATP heavyweights like Gasquet and Tomas Berdych, to say nothing of his recent doubles title at Wimbledon. The mid-summer hot streak is something we saw last year as well when Pospisil employed an all-around game that helped him to reach the Rogers Cup semis versus you-know-who.
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For those who have followed the sport relatively closely over the last few years, it’s no surprise to see the 24-year old’s ascension, and had it not been for a back injury that limited him during the first half of the season, it’s not unfathomable that we would’ve seen Pospisil’s name among the top 20. He has that kind of talent. He does a great job with his shot selection and is able to paint the sidelines and baseline at will. Factor that in with a doggedness that allows him to dig deep for points, and you can guarantee Pospisil won’t look like the underdog versus 12th seeded Gasquet, even though he technically is. Regardless, with their last match going three sets- including a tiebreaker in the first set and a 7-5 score in third- this is not one you’re going to want to miss. Your boss will understand. 3 pm ET
***Oh, and just to make things interesting, Gasquet and Pospisil will face each other this morning at 11 am, too…in doubles action, with Pospisil teaming up with fellow Wimbledon champ Jack Sock. Gasquet will be playing with countryman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
The Number: 11
That’s the number of first-round matches won by Eugenie Bouchard this year, in 17 tries- which is probably actually lower than you’d think given her strong 2014 campaign, reaching the semi-final of every Slam thus far. For an athlete that doesn’t exactly struggle to find motivation, expect Bouchard to be ultra-aggressive today playing in front of her hometown crowd against American qualifier Shelby Rogers. Rogers has struggled to advance deep in tournaments on both the WTA and ITF circuit this season, but she did reach the finals at a WTA event in Austria last month, beating three top-10 players in the process, including Sara Errani and Carla Suarez-Navarro, who made relatively easy work of Bouchard at the French Open. 6 pm ET
For Your Consideration:
*Peter Polanksy played well in his first match last night vs Jerzy Janowicz, but was helped out considerably by his opponents’ shoddy play and ongoing temper tantrums. You won’t find that kind of mental weakness in Polansky’s next opponent, some guy named Roger. Word is he’s a pretty composed dude who may go down as the best to play the game. Best of luck, Peter. 7 pm ET
*Other Canadians in action today include: Frank Dancevic (vs. Donald Young, 11 am), Adil Shamasdin (playing doubles with Dancevic “after suitable rest” from his aforementioned singles match), and wild card entry Gabriela Dabrowski, who will be teaming up with Israel’s Sahar Peer in doubles in Montreal.
*Random Potential Fun Match: Mens: Tommy Robredo (Spain) versus Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 11 am– Robredo holds the all-time edge 4-3 in what have historically been close, entertaining matches. After a dominant run by the Spaniard, the last three matches have all gone to Kohlschreiber.
Women’s: Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) versus Madison Keys (USA)- experience versus youth as the two-time grand slam winner looks to assert herself against the up-and-coming American.