Mixed results for Canadians at Rogers Cup
Canadians experience mixed results in second round of Rogers Cup in Toronto
Milos Raonic’s quest to win the Rogers Cup for the first time is done. The 27-year-old was ousted in the second round on Wednesday night, falling 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1 to Frances Tiafoe of the United States in a mild upset.
Not long after Raonic was eliminated, Denis Shapovalov advanced to the third round, beating Fabio Fognini 6-3, 7-5 on the grandstand court. Competing in the event for a 10th time, Raonic won the second set after it was tied 3-3 coming out of a lengthy rain delay, but Tiafoe, ranked No. 41 in the world, rebounded in the third set and easily put the Thornhill, Ont., native away.
Raonic showed frustration several times during the match on centre court at the Aviva Centre, yelling at himself after losing points. When Tiafoe went up 3-0 in the third set, Raonic angrily smacked his own left foot with his racket.
Ranked No. 29 in the world, Raonic had reached the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in each of the past three occasions it was played in Toronto. In 2013 in Montreal, Raonic was beaten in the final by Rafael Nadal.
POLANSKY KNOCKED OUT
Life as a lucky loser hasn’t been terribly bad for Peter Polansky. Still, the Thornhill native wouldn’t mind changing his luck just a bit for the U.S. Open, which gets underway later this month in New York. Polansky set an Open Era record this year, becoming the first man to gain entry in the main draw of three Grand Slams — Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the French Open — as a lucky loser, the tag given to a player who loses in qualifying but is given a spot in a tournament when another player withdraws. “I kind of want to get in directly (to the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam this season), but a small, a very small part of me wants to get in as a lucky loser and make history ( by winning it),” Polansky said with a laugh on Wednesday. “I would say I’m a little bit lucky, but at the same time I’ve had to put myself in that position to get into the last round of qualifying consistently every single time and also being one of the higher-ranked players losing. “I’ve given myself a chance. That’s all you can ask for.” Polansky’s participation in the Rogers Cup came to an end on Wednesday, before rain delayed play at the Aviva Centre for a few hours, as he lost 6-3, 6-4 to ninth-seeded Novak Djokovic in the second round.
Playing as a wild card, Polansky said he was stymied by Djokovic’s serving ability but otherwise was happy with his match. “What I found trickiest was his serve locations,” Polansky said. “He doesn’t have the biggest serve, but he’s putting every serve on the line or an inch from the line every time. That kind of got me. “I felt like we were actually trading baseline points. It was pretty even. Even when I was able to get a forehand, I felt in control, which gave me some confidence against a top-10 player.
“I’ll take it as a good experience and look forward to the next event.”
While fellow Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic garner the majority of attention among tennis-loving Canucks, Polansky has been trying to put together a good season. He was ranked No. 121 in the world coming into the Rogers Cup after reaching a career-high No. 110 in June. None of his lucky loser appearances in the Grand Slams this season resulted in a match victory.
“Winning a round here, I think I have turned that around here a bit, and I’ve once again put myself in a good spot to get closer to the top 100, perhaps inside, maybe by the end of the year,” Polansky said. “Even though I haven’t had the results I wanted for the first four or five months, now I’m in a good spot.”
(Novak Djokovic) doesn’t have the biggest serve, but he’s putting every serve on the line or an inch from the line every time.
BRIEFLY
Juan Martin del Potro, seeded third in the tournament, withdrew because of a left wrist injury. Replacing Del Potro in the singles draw was lucky loser Mikhail Youzhny, who lost to Robin Haase 7-5, 6-2 … The 30-year-old Polansky holds Daniel Nestor in high regard. “He has been the face of Canadian tennis up until Milos (Raonic) came around,” Polansky said. “And even then, he’s one of the guys you look up to. The longevity of his career has been outstanding. I can’t even imagine playing at his age (45) right now. That’s just not going to happen with my body.”