Italy suffered a tough Day 1 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal as No. 12 seed Flavia Pennetta and No. 13 Sara Errani were both shown the exit.

Pennetta fell to Kazak qualifier Yulia Putintseva 7-6(5), 6-3, while Errani was defeated 6-1, 7-5 by German Sabine Lisicki.

“I’m definitely pleased with my win,” Lisicki said. “Sara’s a very tough competitor, so it’s always tough to play someone like that in the first …

Andy Murray officially announced yesterday that he’ll continue working with new coach Amelie Mauresmo through the summer and post-US Open.

“We’ve agreed to work together and I think from both sides we’re willing to do what it takes to make it work long term,” Murray said on Sunday.

“I sat down with her the day after Wimbledon, we made a plan for the next few months, in the build up to …

Despite an injury to his right wrist, Rafael Nadal isn’t holding back on his training. The World No. 2 is still “optimistic” for a return at the US Open three weeks from today.

“Training these days, always optimistic,” Nadal posted on Facebook today.

Nadal, who has already withdrawn from Toronto and Cincinnati, and his team hope to make a final decision on his title defense in New York in 10 …

Serena Williams Struggles to 3rd WTA Stanford Crown

World No. 1 Serena Williams rebounded from a 1-5 deficit in the first set to defeat Angie Kerber 7-6(1), 6-3 for the title at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif.

“It wasn’t easy,” Williams said. “I blinked my eye and I was down 1-5. Angelique was playing so well.” Kerber held two set points at 5-2 in the first set.

It was …

Roger Federer is the king of tennis but when it comes to hockey he needs some help. The Swiss star traded in his tennis racquet for a hockey stick during a special promotion at the Toronto Masters this afternoon on center court.

And in a special shootout portion of the event, Federer tried not once, not twice but three times to score a psuedo penalty shot but was denied each time. …

After months of waiting, Roger Federer’s racquet finally got a name and full product marketing this week, Wilson announced. Federer will debut the branded “RF 97” this week in Canada. The racquet will be available for purchase in stores later this month.

The specs:
Headsize: 97 sq. in
Weight: 12.0 oz unstrung (340g)
Balance: 12 pts Head Light
Length: 27″
String Pattern: 16 x 19
Beam: 21.5 mm Flat Beam

After play-testing the larger frame last summer, …

Entertainment genres cross paths on Saturday when tennis World No. 1 Novak Djokovic had a light hit with Niall Horan who is in the mega boy band One Direction.

Later, the pair hooked up again this time on the 20-year-old Horan’s turf.

Great experience tonight in Toronto. Admiring the performance of my bro @NiallOfficial #Onedirection pic.twitter.com/Rg2BcuUtTn

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August …

History will be made Sunday in America’s capital when Milos Raonic meets Vasek Pospisil in the first ever all-Canadian final on the ATP.

“Personally, this is a first final for me so that’s great. It’s more special that I am playing a Davis Cup teammate and a fellow Canadian,” Pospisil said. “This is great for tennis in Canada. I’ll try to do my best.”

Raonic advanced to the final breezing past Donald …

Rogers Cup
Montreal, Canada; Surface: hard

Seeds: Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard, Angelique Kerber, Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Caroline Wozniacki, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani, Carla Suarez Navarro, Lucie Safarova, Andrea Petkovic

Floaters: Sam Stosur, Daniela Hantuchova, Garbine Muguruza, Venus Williams, Caroline Garcia, Alize Cornet, Sabine Lisicki, Camila Giorgi

Notes: Loaded field with a slew of floaters testing seeds early…Li Na out with a knee injury…The …

Serena Williams overcame a set deficit to deny Ana Ivanovic in a thriller last night in the Stanford quarterfinals. The World No. 1 fell behind early losing the first set. Then lost a 3-1 break lead in the third to go down 4-3 before rallying one last time to put away Ivanovic 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in one of the best matches of the year.

“She’s not easy to play. She always …

With defending champion Rafael Nadal out of action due to a sudden bum wrist, the only real drama with the Toronto draw would be where 2-time tournament champion Andy Murray landed – not that he’s such a huge threat these days anyway, right? Well, Murray ended up in the quarter with top seed Novak Djokovic.

The Serb, if he gets by Murray, is projected to meet either Grigor Dimitrov …

Venus Williams collected one of her best wins of the year beating Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-6(1) in the third round at Stanford last night.

“Obviously it’s always great to get a win against a player like Victoria, because she’s a champion, so it feels good,” Venus said afterwards. “But also she hasn’t been playing as much. I think she’s still looking for her range. A lot of the time she played …

After a tight start Serena Williams pulled away from Karolina Pliskova last night in Stanford. Playing in her first match since her bizarre Wimbledon retirement a month ago, Serena and Pliskova were level 5-5 until the current No. 1 ran off a slew of games to beat the Czech 7-5, 6-2.

“I was playing a player I knew was going to be very difficult to break, so it was really important …

Roger Federer celebrated reaching the two million twitter follower mark with another round of #AskRF on the popular social media site.

Some highlights from the 90 minute session:

@Analucia_98 bugs #AskRF

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) July 30, 2014

Do you prefer water with or without gas? @rogerfederer #AskRoger

— Jan Piwonski (@itsPiwo) July 30, 2014

@rogerfederer

…

Caroline Wozniacki went on the CBS This Morning Show today where in a surprise announcement the former WTA No. 1 revealed she’ll be running in the New York City marathon.

Wozniacki will run the race in support of NYRR Youth Programs.

“I’m so excited to be running the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon as a New York Road Runners Team for Kids Ambassador, and I’m asking for your support,” Wozniacki …