nadal is playing doubles because... hes feeling fine, he always does, and hes too stubborn to change it up and play less?? agree with u, absolutely dreadful decision. Hope he lsoes first round cos that can't do much damage.

If Murray wins this hes no.2, right? Please don't let that happen.

U need to get a new twitter account or something... ur missed.

Great prediction there Ricky.I daresay,its the most likely scenario so far.That said the long break could result in some huge surprises.Players doing well could end up not doing that well and players who've been in minor slumps could rise again-the break giving them a good time to set things right.
I do see Nadal putting on a decent showing here though its hard to comment without having watched him play.
Djokovic again is too unpredictable.But HC seems to be his best surface, so who knows...

No Davydenko being a true threat to Murray? I was thinking, given his good form as of late and their head to head, Davy might pull off beating Murray once again. I doubt it though, but there have been many upsets in my book so far, even without the big names starting.

Truth be told I am surprised with Rafa's decision in the doubles. No matter how darn good he is feeling, he IS coming back from a rather serious injury and I reckon that still warrants the whole dipping toes in water thing. But I guess Rafa (and his entourage) knows what best, so I hope that is the best decision for him.

No Rafa in semis, Ricky? I think he might just surprise everyone! I am seeing him in the finals, and maybe even potentially winning it!

I am ITCHING for a Roger v Rafa final (and let's face it, so is 80% of the TennisWorld) but yeap really tough semi-opponents if they get that far...Nole and Mandy are no pushovers after all. Really hope for Roger to pull off a win over Murray cos I think he needs it...but gonna be tough. Am still questioning whether is Murray "in Roger's head".

Anyway can't wait for this to fully start...been having tennis (or more notedly, Roger and Rafa) withdrawals.

Ricky, he and the 'aged' Roig did win their first doubles match so maybe it is just a confidence builder ... a way to test the knees.

Rafa loves doubles; also he says it's good for net play. I trust him.

Cheryl said he looked good.

Still don't agree with the decision.

wow Ricky, you didn't even bother to analyze Djokovic's section of the draw. should we be writing him off already?!

stu - yes I did. It's the least interesting, and I mentioned the three most interesting players (at least at the momet) in it: Roddick and Djokovic (who should meet in the quarters), and Isner, who is probably the only threat to derail a Djokovic-Roddick meeting.

for the SF's, i pick murray over fed in 3 [unless its a grand slam, i dont see fed beating the scot], and delpo over roddick in 3, then i got murray over delpo in 3 as well.

im looking forward to fed vs tsonga, delpo vs rafa, djoker vs roddick QF's, they should be great matches. also interested to see how others like verdasco, gonzo, isner, haas and hewitt will play.

hoping for a roger vs rafa final but i dont think it will happen in montreal, hope it will be at US Open though, one can only hope :)

I'm kind of looking forward to Roddick vs Verdasco they haven't played in a while.

if Federer can get far in this tournament and the next one, he will get extra points to be year end number one, because last year he got like 150 points from this two tournaments and 2000 from the Us Open, so I believe he is very motivated to get very far into this two master 1000 tournaments, in the other hand, he doesnt have the lack of confidence that troubled him last year or the begining of this, so i do believe he can beat murray on the semis, no pressure, less unforced errors. I also believe he could face davydenko instead of Murray.
On the other half of the draw, I really dont think Nadal could beat an in form Del Potro, also, he got to the third round without really playing, so he hasnt goten any practice against a tough player. An i also believe that Roddick is in great shape right now. My guess is Roddick beating federer on the final
On the half of the draw, as ricky da

mdmuch, your post is interesting. i watched federer play yesterday and indeed he was rusty (his returns anyway), i am sure the more match practice he gets, the more his 'on game' will return. but i think it is the same for everyone out there. they are all playing down their chances of winning the tournament. hedging their bets. i always think that federer now has his sights set on the slams and that is his focus more than any of the other tournaments. perhaps if he was starting out or had been on the tour for say 3 or 4 years, you know, at the start of his career, than his goals would be different. i still think he will be around for another 4-5 years - he certainly intends on being at the 2012 olympics and i will, for sure, go and see him there. in the masters series, surely, he again steps up to the challenge but i dont see him as hungry in these tournaments. Though, i contradict myself now, whereby he says he wants to end the year as no. 1 so i guess, that being the case, he will be out to gain as many points as he can, naturally. so i have kind of shot myself in the foot now. i guess i am typing and thinking at the same time, one ahead of the other. but i do think he is in with a shot, i just see roddick more hungry and murray more hungry as well as delpotro. that is not say that i dont think fed can beat them. i do. but they all have points to prove. he doesn't have that point to prove anymore. so i guess it comes down to how much he wants to win the tournament. i still want him to have the killer spirit, that hunger that surpasses anything i have ever seen before. a lot of the journalists are now saying he is going to lack the motivation (the guy can do nothing right can he?), but over and over again, he states how much he loves the game. and let's face it. this has been his life since he was 6 years old, so to suddenly bow out, losing that motivation i cannot see that happening to fed until another 5 years as i say. but i think provided he keeps that motivation, determination and hunger, fed can still go on to win. he trains every day. has a great team behind him and so i support him all the way as a fan to go deep into this tournament, and want him to keep that self-belief.

Hi Maxi, thank you for your reply, i read your posts on another threat, i dont remember where, but you were speaking about the never ending debate about Nadal and federer, and about Tennis.x, I liked them. I agree we should stick to the tennis performance, technique, tactics, strategy and mental aspects of the game, and stop talking about personalities issues.
About Federer, I believe he is yet to show his very full potential, thats because, after breaking almost every record in tennis, he is more free to experiment with new ways of playing, untill now he was "obligated" to play in a kind of traditional way, because thats what worked and got him to be almost indisputably the Best player to ever play the game, but now, he is 28, I believe he will want to play untill 35 or more, he is amazingly fit, and never got seriously injured. So I conclude that, given he doesnt have to prove anything to no one, he will want to try new things, things no one have ever done before, he will loose a few matches because of this, but, like someone said, Federer is like the bethooven of tennis, so he will want to make his game the most artistic that can be. I am very sure we are yet to see the very best of him, and most importantly, his very contribution to tennis evolution

mdmuch, i think i am going to like you - very much!

jaja, me too Maxi, there is something intersting about you, You and Malt1 (the one they are saying that is your previous being) are the only ones that call me mdmuch, (coincidence?) i wont tell either way, i like Malt1, I only noticed that she disapeared lately because she use to post a lot, but I havent been here since wimbledon, so I wouldnt know. In the other hand, why Malt1 would want to change her name?. There are certain coincidences between you guys, but I still think you are different persons, sorry to bring this up..

aahh..md...you are not the first person who has said that. a simple mistake on my part....looking at your name....'mch'...i have only just noticed. i guess mch - much - similar....? yet my eye sight is 20:20. i will get it right for next time. apologies.

you seem to be very analytical in your precis of federer md - i like the fact that you go into his game very carefully. that is an area i would like to improve on, so i think that i will learn a lot from you. and dont apologise. i think of lots of situations where people can come across as the same - think of the artists who paint similar pictures and then are found out for being 'fake pictures' - you know - turner watercolours and then there was a guy who even the experts said was Turner - 'turned' out to be not him. you know what i am saying. but then i could get all philosophical here and talk about deja vu/reincarnation - you know where you think you 'know' someone. it's a wonderful thought actually.

i post a lot on tennis.x and also read a helluva lot on bleacher. i love tennis md - love it! i tried very hard to get tickets to go to wimbledon this year - but missed out - so will try again for next year, happened to me earlier on this year as well, when i was travelling in Australia - missed getting tickets again and so headed to perth instead and swam with the rockinham dolphins! just up from monkey mia! if ever you get the chance you must go! so analyse away md!

Wow. It's just occurring to me that A-Rod is on Rafa's side of the draw.
Hmmm.

Wow! Roger is going to play in just a few minutes to win another match toward the inevitable! LOL :) Go Roger go! Go FED go! C'MON! Just do it! :) Malty where ever you are! I love you! You were the "truest" spirit on this site (and sadly missed by many)! The most BEAUTIFUL and SUPREME! LOL Tons of fun too! May you prosper... I know, I know one game at a time... What's the hurry! LOL :) C'MON!

I just realized that this has been a perfect tournament so far! The top 8 have made it to the quarters! Hope it stays that way till the semis! :D

I am going to take a risk and predict the last four players. Roddick over djokovic. Andy is in a momentum right now, and his confidence might be very high, in the other hand Novak, is yet to discover his full potential, he doesnt really believe in himself, he tries to show everybody else who he is, instead of working to earn it.
Del Potro over Nadal. Rafa off course is, with Federer, the best player in the world right now, but This is only his third match in singles competition, and he hasnt face any true competitor to his talent, Del Potro is trying to make a point, that he not only can win 500 tournaments, but also can compete in the big league, he is also on a winnig streak, he has this inertial force that will drive him to beat Nadal ( i believe). Nadal will facea rythm, tactics and strenght that he hasnt face in almost 3 months, so he is kind of lacking the practice. My guess is Del potro over Rafa in 3.
Davydenko over Murray. Nikolay has won back to back tournaments lately, he is on a winning streak, got back to the top ten, and solidly building his confidence. He beat Murray on the Master cup last year. Murray is too worried about other people expectations, and less on evolving as a player, in the other hand Andy is very good at this kind of tournaments, so is going to be a tight match. Federer over Tsonga. Roger has only played two matches since wining Wimbledon, and that explains why he hasnt been much "solid" ( even thought he has won his last two matches on straight sets), why his serve hasnt been as good as in wimbledon. But lets remember that Roger has won ( by this date) 21 straight matches, 3 straight titles. tsonga is too erratic, and my guess is that he will be trying to go for the winners at a very high price of too many Unforced errors. I believe Federer on two.
What do you think?

why do these matches start so late in the day, i can't kill time at work in the mornings! :P

hey mdmch, so far you've got both predictions wrong...i hope the other 2 are wrong as well :)

well Fed really choked away what would have been a perfect semifinal for my predictions!!!

ricky. why do you think this happened? he was 5-1 up and usually performs so well under pressure situations. i dont get it. i read somewhere, that at that point fed saw 'murray' the other side of the net. do you think he just lost focus for that split second and then turned to jelly? I just dont understand? or may be he thought he wanted a couple of days off with his girls (mirka plus twins)?

Ricky ... US Open question ... if Andy M takes #2 will that be his seeding or is it decided earlier like the whole (six weeks before) US series thing ?

Ooh, good question smr. If he does become #2, I hope it reflects as his seeding for the USO. This way Rafa and Nole won't meet each other till the finals! :D

That would be a good final stu. :)

smr and stu - Murray would be in position for the No. 2 seed, but Nadal would have a chance (albeit an extremely slim chance) to regain it in Cincinnati.

Seeding is done according to the rankings after Cincinnati.

Nadal and Federer have been playing against each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers:

They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in 7 Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning 5 of the 7 finals. Three of these 5 wins were on Nadal's best surface (clay), and he has beaten Federer twice in non-clay major finals: Wimbledon 2008 and the Australian Open 2009.
Their 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match of all time by many long-time tennis critics.
Many critics consider their rivalry to be the greatest in tennis history.
Nine of Nadal's 13 wins over Federer have come on clay courts, Nadal's best surface. Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 13-7 (Nadal leads 9-2 on clay, Federer leads 2-1 on grass, nobody leads (3-3) on hard courts).