Rogers Cup 2016: Wednesday Scores, Results and Updated Toronto Masters Schedule
The 2016 Rogers Cup continued Wednesday in Toronto, with some of the biggest names in the sport taking the court.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic opened his tournament against Gilles Muller, while Kei Nishikori took on qualifier Dennis Novikov. The top American in the event, John Isner, was back in action after his first-round win over Dudi Sela.
Below is a brief overview of how Wednesday unfolded and a look ahead to Thursday.
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Wednesday Results
| Novak Djokovic (1) def. Gilles Muller | 7-5, 7-6(3) |
| Kei Nishikori (3) def. Dennis Novikov | 6-4, 7-5 |
| Kevin Anderson def. Dominic Thiem (6) | 4-1(ret.) |
| David Goffin (7) def. Sam Querrey | 6-4, 2-1(ret.) |
| Ivo Karlovic def. Marin Cilic (8) | 6-4, 7-6(3) |
| Ryan Harrison def. John Isner (9) | 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4 |
| Gael Monfils def. Vasek Pospisil | 7-6(6), 6-0 |
| Bernard Tomic (12) def. Steven Diez | 6-3, 7-6(4) |
| Rajeev Ram def. Lucas Pouille (13) | 6-4, 7-6(5) |
| Jack Sock (16) def. Donald Young | 6-4, 6-3 |
| Jared Donaldson def. Fabio Fognini | 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 |
| Radek Stepanek def. Peter Polansky | 7-6(5), 6-4 |
| Milos Raonic (4) def. Yen-Hsun Lu | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Grigor Dimitrov def. Denis Shapovalov | 6-4, 6-3 |
Wednesday Recap
Djokovic earned a spot in the third round Wednesday, but it didn't come without a fight from Muller. After winning the first set 7-5, Djokovic fell behind 3-1 in the second-set tiebreaker before reeling off six straight points to seal the win.
This was Djokovic's first match back since he lost to Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon. After the match, the top seed explained in part what led to his struggles, per Sky Sports:
"It's tough playing the first hardcourt match since March. It was hot and that made the ball move very fast. It was hard to control, it was not easy to play. But I managed to stay tough. I was disappointed to lose serve twice in the second set when I was up a break but I was just glad to close this out in straight sets.
"
At least Djokovic managed to advance at all. Four seeded players, including Isner and Marin Cilic, lost Wednesday.
Dominic Thiem, No. 6, was the highest seed to bow out. The 22-year-old Austrian was down 1-4 to Kevin Anderson in the first set before he retired due to injury.
Cilic failed to handle the heavy serve of Ivo Karlovic, who walked away with a straight-set, 6-4, 7-6(3) victory. Karlovic didn't even allow Cilic a break-point opportunity. He won 83 percent of his first-service points and 74 percent of his second-service points. The 37-year-old also collected 20 aces over the two sets.
ESPN's Brad Gilbert noted how Karlovic has been on a hot streak going back to the last few tournaments:
Isner, meanwhile, was similarly dominant on serve, winning 80.9 percent of his service points. However, one service break in the third set was the opening Ryan Harrison needed to come out on top. He delivered an ace on match point to go through, which the Rogers Cup shared on Twitter:
Nishikori got off to a fast start, jumping ahead 4-0 against Novikov. However, he dropped the next four games to allow Novikov back into the match. The No. 3 seed took the first set 6-4 but then fell behind 4-5 in the second. He held serve in the 10th game to tie the set and took the next two games to finally put the 22-year-old American away.
"I thought it was a good match, good enough for the first match since Wimbledon," Nishikori said, per the ATP World Tour's official site. "I knew I was going to get ups and downs because I haven't played matches in a long time, and I didn't practice much the first couple of weeks after getting injured, but it was still a good, solid match today."
Thursday Schedule
| 11 a.m. ET | Rajeev Ram vs. Kei Nishikori (3) |
| Not Before 1 p.m. ET | Jack Sock (16) vs. Stan Wawrinka (2) |
| Not Before 6:30 p.m. ET | Milos Raonic (4) vs. Jared Donaldson |
| ----- | Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Radek Stepanek |
| 11 a.m. | Kevin Anderson vs. Bernard Tomic (12) |
| Not Before 12:30 p.m. ET | Gael Monfils (10) vs. David Goffin (7) |
| ----- | Ivo Karlovic vs. Grigor Dimitrov |
| ----- | Ryan Harrison vs. Tomas Berdych (5) |
Following his 6-3, 6-3 win over Yen-Hsun Lu, Milos Raonic will be right back at it Thursday.
The Montenegrin-born Raonic will be a major favorite in his adopted homeland. The 25-year-old has always been immensely talented, but this is the first year he's consistently putting it all together on the biggest stages.
Raonic's opponent will be American qualifier Jared Donaldson, against whom he has yet to play. With a partisan Toronto crowd firmly behind him, Raonic should advance to his fourth Rogers Cup quarterfinal in five years.
With one win under his belt, Djokovic should be back to his best in the third round. He'll be helped by the fact Radek Stepanek is his opponent. In their 12 head-to-head meetings so far, Djokovic is 11-1—his only loss coming back in 2006.
Gael Monfils vs. David Goffin may be the most entertaining match of the day. Monfils' unique style always makes him fun to watch, while Goffin's height (5'11") forces him to compensate by getting a little creative on the court. Put the two together and fans in Toronto will get their money's worth Thursday.
Note: The full schedule for Thursday's action is available on ProTennisLive.com. The full draw is available on the ATP World Tour's official website. Match stats are courtesy of the tournament's official website.
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