My favorite part of the year is upon us with the U.S. Open coming up soon. But first things first. The Toronto Rogers Masters. The draw is out and we have some interesting match ups if everything goes according to the plan:
1. Federer’s Quarter: Not easy by any means though he has avoided Djokovic in his half. He still will have to beat Gonzalez and/or Roddick on his way to the semis.
2. Davydenko’s Quarter: Davydenko was on a tear on hardcourts before the clay court season. I expect him to beat Haas and potentially meet Blake for a spot in the semis. At this point, with Blake losing steam, Davydenko could reach the semis without much trouble.
3. Nadal’s Quarter: Nadal has Baghdatis, Berdych, and Ferrer on his path, but he should make it to semis. This year is Nadal’s year and reaching a semis here will help Nadal finally closing on that No. 1 spot.
4. Djokovic’s Quarter: Djokovic’s draw is the easiest in my opinion. He has some tough opponents in his draw but no one that actually can beat him on a hard court. On the other side of the quarter we have Murray and Safin. That will be an interesting match up but something tells me Murray will face Djokovic in the quarters on his way out of the tournament.
Predictions:
Semis: Federer over Davydenko, Djokovic over Nadal.
Final: Djokovic over Federer
Who are your picks?
P.S. don’t forget that ESPN is supposed to cover this event so don’t pay ATP a ton to watch the coverage online.