Preview: Serena Drops Out, Insane Men’s Openers at Rogers Cup Tennis

Roger Federer and Serena Williams are sitting this week out, but otherwise a full slate of the WTA and ATP pros are in Montreal and Toronto respectively next week for the Rogers Cup.
ADHEREL
It’s been almost 50 years since a Canadian man or woman has raised the trophy.

On the men’s side an insane number of tough opening-round matches greet the seeds.

ROGERS CUP
MONTREAL & TORONTO, Canada; Surface: hard

Women’s Seeds: Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Sloane Stephens, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Garcia, Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, Julia Goerges, Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Venus Williams, Elise Mertens, Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka

Women’s Floaters: Maria Sakkari, Maria Sharapova, Irina-Camelia Begu, Timea Babos, (WC) Victoria Azarenka, Kristina Mladenovic, Johanna Konta, (WC) Genie Bouchard

Women’ Notes:

Sixteen of the Top 17-ranked players in Montreal, where the Top 8 seeds receive opening-round byes…

Interesting openers include (12) Kasatkina vs. this weekend’s San Jose finalist Sakkari (winner to meet Sharapova), (15) Barty vs. Begu, (10) Goerges vs. Babos who won their last hardcourt meeting, (11) Ostapenko vs. Konta (winner to meet the Azarenka-Mladenovic victor), and (14) Mertens vs. the homecountry favorite Bouchard…

(1) Halep looking at (13) Venus 3rd rd. then Sharapova, and (3) Stephens vs. (16) Osaka 3rd rd…

Wildcards went to Bouchard, Azarenka, and Canadians Francoise Abanda and Carol Zhao…

Withdrawing from the field were Dominika Cibulkova, Madison Keys, CoCo Vandeweghe and Serena Williams who pulled out citing “personal reasons”…

Svitolina rolled Wozniacki in last year’s final 6-4, 6-0…

Faye Urban in 1969 was the last Canadian to win Canada’s national championship…

Former champions in the field are Svitolina (2017), Halep (2016), Kvitova (2012), and Wozniacki (2010)…

Svitolina trying to become the first player to win back-to-back Rogers Cup titles since Martina Hingis (1999-2000).

Men’s Seeds: Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin del Potro, Kevin Anderson, Grigor Dimitrov, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, John Isner, Novak Djokovic, David Goffin, Diego Schwartzman, Pablo Carreno Busta, Jack Sock, Fabio Fognini, Roberto Bautista Agut, Nick Kyrgios

Men’s Floaters: (WC) Stan Wawrinka, Kyle Edmund, Borna Coric, Kei Nishikori, Denis Shapovalov, Steve Johnson, Fernando Verdasco, Milos Raonic, Andrey Rublev, Stefano Tsitsipas, Hyeon Chung, David Ferrer

Men’s Notes:

Sixteen of the Top 17-ranked players in Toronto, where the Top 8 seeds receive opening-round byes…

The outrageous number of opening-round seeds vs. floaters match-ups includes (16) Kyrgios vs. (WC) Wawrinka, (11) Schwartzman vs. Edmund, (6) Cilic vs. Coric, (3) Del Potro vs. Nishikori, (14) Fognini vs. Johnson (winner to meet Shapovalov), (5) Dimitrov vs. Verdasco, (10) Goffin vs. Raonic, (4) Anderson vs. Rublev, (7) Thiem vs. the fast-rising Tsitsipas, (9) Djokovic vs. Chung, and (2) Zverev vs. Ferrer…

3rd rd. match-ups to look for are (1) Nadal vs. Kyrgios or Wawrinka, (7) Thiem vs. (9) Djokovic, and (2) Zverev vs. (13) Sock…

Wildcards were awarded to Wawrinka and Canucks Felix Auger-Aliassime, Peter Polansky and Vasek Pospisil…

Dropping out of the field were Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Leonardo Mayer, Gael Monfils and Andreas Seppi…

Zverev beat Federer in last year’s championship match…

Former champions in the field are Zverev (2017), Djokovic (2016,’12-11,’07), and Nadal (2013,’08,’05).

Three-time champion Robert Bedard was the last Canadian to win the Rogers Cup in 1958.