Rogers Cup 2015: Winners and Losers from Canada
A week at Canada's Rogers Cup competitions had several surprising plot twists and results. In the end, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams did not win titles. Did the two US Open favorites gain or lose an edge here before their real missions take flight?
We lead off with a set of "loser" slides for the bizarre and disgraceful way the week of tennis heated up. We profile other "winners," including teenage Belinda Bencic and persistent Andy Murray who accomplished important but different breakthroughs to set their sights on Cincinnati and New York.
It's the heart of the US Open series, which means the last stretch of summer and one more shot at a Grand Slam title. Which stars are hot and which ones are cold? Follow along with our latest "Winners and Losers" commentary.
Loser: Nick Kyrgios
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The sport of tennis was also a loser with Nick Kyrgios’ infamous remark to Stan Wawrinka in their match earlier in the week. It’s filled a thousand columns already, most calling out his lack of tact and consideration for other people. ESPN’s Peter Bodo charged that Kyrgios has “misogynistic instincts.”
Tennis does not need this kind of behavior to represent its sport where the vast majority of players have been decent and upstanding humans and good ambassadors.
Rafael Nadal’s view of Kyrgios’ comments may have been the most important to consider, as he explained in his press conference on Thursday: “The world of tennis, I think we should represent and we should be an example for a new generation of kids.”
It’s on every player to represent himself/herself to young people and to those who look at tennis as a hopeful harbor of clean competition and classy behavior. It’s great that Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic have, for the most part, been admirable examples to lead their sport.
When the next generations of players do become champions, whether this includes Kyrgios or not, tennis will also be judged by how its athletes act. It will either be a boon or bust for a sport that should care about the image it wants to project.
Loser: Stan Wawrinka
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Nick Kyrgios got the ugly side of the press, and deservedly so, but Stan Wawrinka had a trying week. Besides fielding the brunt of Kyrgios’ classless comment, Wawrinka had to retire in the third set of that opening match for him, trailing 4-0.
How is Wawrinka’s back? Will he be healthy or hampered as the tour shifts to Cincinnati and the US Open? How will he deal with any aftereffects to unwanted media attention in Kyrgios’ stab at elements of his personal life, however true or false?
Wawrinka is a tough competitor who has learned what it takes to face off for championships. Buoyed by coach Magnus Norman, he has a hardened demeanor, which is great for his tennis, but has also put him at the center of occasional controversy. Recall last November’s tiff with Roger Federer and comments made from his wife, Mirka.
Nobody can be too sure how much Wawrinka has made himself a target, or if there is some resentment or challenge to his everyman rise in the tennis world, but he’s had more than his share of antagonism.
Winner: Serena Williams
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Finally somebody defeated Serena Williams. The fact that it was Belinda Bencic really doesn’t matter in Serena’s world. She’s leaps and bounds ahead of her competitors when it comes to the biggest titles on the planet, so losing in the Rogers Cup semifinals really does not matter much.
But it will rankle Serena a bit, because it appears that she hates to lose more than she loves to win. And this is a good thing.
Cincinnati and the US Open are coming up, but the US Open is really the only thing that matters as she looks to sweep all four majors and garner the first calendar Grand Slam since historical rival Steffi Graf’s golden 1988.
A loss right now might relieve some of the pressure of total winning, but it will also help her gain an extra nasty edge the next time some young star dares to try and and knock her off her throne. Serena is already dealing with her own internal pressures to win, but her focus in training could be a little sharper and her appetite a little larger after the Rogers Cup loss.
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Loser: Rafael Nadal
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Unless Rafael Nadal wins a tournament, the automatic reflex is to wonder what’s wrong. True, his legendary career warrants championship expectations but things have changed.
So, No. 4-seed Kei Nishikori was favored to beat No. 7-seed Nadal in the Rogers Cup quarterfinals, and it happened rather routinely 6-2, 6-4.
Two things stood out in the match. One was that Nadal’s serve was soft, and six double faults did not help matters. Nishikori pounced on his serve often, steering deep shots with solid pace. Second, Nadal’s returns were short, and again Nishikori controlled most of action.
Thus far in 2015, Nadal is 41-13, but only 2-7 against top-10 opponents. His No. 9 ranking is about where it should be, and if he is to move back to the top he will need to reverse his top-10 troubles.
Winner: Simona Halep
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The ending to nearly a dream week melted away in Toronto’s hot sun, but Simona Halep has to feel much better about her place near the top of the WTA. After some inconsistent struggles in the spring and early summer, Halep looked much more like the player who can compete for a major title.
She defeated an all-star lineup including Jelena Jankovic, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani. She pushed herself to a third set in the Rogers Cup final despite medical timeouts for her left leg injury, ice packs and too much heat for the native Romanian.
Critics will point out that she wilted in the heat, but it’s less important than the very good tennis she played that put her in position to win the title. Her strokes, footwork and shot selection once again looked like her best self.
As for the heat, it got her on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be able to handle it another time, and hopefully she won’t be hampered by a bum leg. She won four matches in the first week of the 2014 Australian Open, on her way to the quarterfinals, when temperatures and conditions were scorching. She will be fine.
Loser: John Isner
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Big John Isner usually plays well at this time of the year. It’s the Americas where more local conditions, hard courts and fast surfaces help his booming serve, as long as he wins tiebreakers.
He knocked out Nick Kyrgios in the round of 16 to the cheers and delights of the Canadian fans, and it probably meant a lot for him to hear this support even if he was serving more as the heroic foil to his opponent.
But he blew the quarterfinals against Jeremy Chardy. He played three tiebreakers, his specialty, and could only come away with the first set. He had five match points in the second-set tiebreaker before losing 13-11. Then he lost two more match points in trying to break Chardy’s serve at 6-5. Soon after, he lost the third set tiebreaker.
Chardy was lustily cheered, and the crowd support Isner had gained one match ago proved to be short-lived.
Winner: Belinda Bencic
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Another month on the WTA and another rising star making her mark. While last month’s hot flavor was Garbine Muguruza (quickly ousted in her only match) right now it’s Swiss phenom Belinda Bencic, 18 years young and with the world her pearl.
In the world of non-Serena titles (see the previous four majors), this was the most impressive title by anyone else in about a year (Take a bow, Petra Kvitova for your 2014 Wimbledon title.)
If Simona Halep is to be commended for bowling through top-10 caliber players, Bencic raised her a fistful of chips. Bencic defeated Eugenie Bouchard (last year’s rising star), hard-hitting Sabine Lisicki, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams and Halep. That’s just about the entire upper-crust of the WTA. All that she needed to do was to fly out to Montreal and see if Andy Murray would give her a shot at the ATP title.
It’s an impressive way to raise her ranking eight slots to No. 12, but the big question now is if she can play this way at the US Open. Many excellent young prospects have made their mark, but it’s almost always an in-and-out occasion.
Bencic should celebrate and cherish what she did today, but it’s really not time to suggest that she can defeat Serena at the US Open. Not this year anyway.
Loser: Novak Djokovic's Nine Matches
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Cats might have nine lives, but professional tennis players probably shouldn't play nine matches in less than one week if they hope to battle hard in the weeks that follow.
Novak Djokovic has proven that he is a gallant champion, willing to put his body on the line to compete as hard as he can every time out. He is an honest, sporting competitor who thinks as much to play his best for the fans as well as to win titles.
But this might also be his Achilles heel in a week that might prove to be his worst-case scenario.
Djokovic went the distance, playing three sets in the Rogers Cup final, but falling to Andy Murray after more than two years of beating up on his “little brother” rival. He lost the hold of eight straight wins and might have given Murray more hope and confidence to win the US Open. He also lost his opportunity to sweep the triple crown of the US Open series.
Furthermore, Djokovic’s singles disappointment came alongside a good doubles run with Janko Tipsarevic as the Serbians got to the semifinals. It’s commendable, but four more matches add up to nine matches for the week—certainly not the blueprint to conserve energy for Cincinnati and the US Open which are bigger prizes for the world No. 1.
Winner: Andy Murray
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The bad taste of Washington D.C.’s Citi-Bank Open was washed away by victory champagne from a Rogers Cup. Andy Murray was motivated, and this title might have been the breakthrough he needed to set himself up with the confidence he needs to win the US Open.
Yes, Murray has been very good this year, but that eight-match losing streak to Novak Djokovic is now in the rearview mirror. He outlasted Djokovic in a three-set grind, moving past Roger Federer for the No. 2 ranking.
Will we get a legitimate renewal of the Djokovic-Murray rivalry? One match is not enough, but right at this moment, barring a Rafael Nadal comeback or Federer's continued stubbornness to defy age, the Scotsman is more likely than anyone else to challenge Djokovic for the next year or two.
Loser: Roger Federer's Cincinnati Draw
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Roger Federer sidestepped Canada for extra rest and a greater opportunity to claim his seventh title at Cincinnati’s Western and Southern Open. There the faster surfaces are friendlier for the Swiss’s quick-strike game.
The draw was not quite as nice.
The No. 2-seeded Federer could have several tough opponents if he is to defend his title. His first match is no given against either Pablo Cuevas or Roberto Bautista Agut, but he has a greater advantage on the courts rather than the clay his opponent would prefer.
Then he could be facing a big server like Kevin Anderson or young Jack Sock who has the power to make things difficult in his home country.
The quarterfinals? Ah, none other than old nemesis Rafael Nadal. Beyond referencing Federer’s 23-10 head-to-head deficit against the Spaniard, it’s interesting to note that they have not met since January 2014 at the Australian Open semifinal. Nadal won their only meeting at Cincinnati in 2013 when he was in No. 1 form and Federer was reeling with injuries and a slump.
Could Federer be the charge that Nadal needs to start slaying top-10 opponents on a regular basis once again? After all, Federer is like a waving red flag that causes Nadal to transform into his bullish figure.
If Federer does arrive in the semifinals, Andy Murray will surely be looking for some kind of payback to the Wimbledon semifinal defeat he took at the hands of the Artful Roger. Then, Federer played a near-perfect match. Here, Murray would love to score another big title.
If all goes well, it’s hard not to pencil in Novak Djokovic for the final. The Serbian may be ready to bleed in order to finally win this title.
Federer’s road looks anything but easy, but the draw will surely shake up some surprises along the way. In the end, how far Federer goes is usually on his racket. Rested and rolling, he is still looking good.
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