Welll welll, day 3 at the Montreal Masters on the ATP men's tour saw another big upset as former World No.1 Rafael Nadal made an early shock exit to Croat player Ivan Dodig, who took the Spaniard the distance and defeated him in 1-6, 7-6, 7-6. Now this I don't think anyone was expecting at all, this was the earliest exit Rafa has made in over 3 years, the last time was at the Rome Masters, back when it was on hard court.
But that's another shock exit for a top player, and not only a top player but one of the greatest players who's played the game! Whit is going on????? Last year Rafa exited in the semi finals at the Rogers Cup to the Muzza, so perhaps this isn't his tournament, ok he did much better last year, but to go out so early is just unreal. Rafa certainly has had a rollercoaster of a year, and I do think now that the tables have turned and that he is no longer the top dog, that perhaps its knocked some of the stuffing out of him a bit. Perhaps though no longer being the world no.2 it might relieve a bit of pressure from Rafa as its something he no longer has to defend, but inevitably every time he will face Djokovic we know the expectation of defeat for him. But to go out in your first match is such as surprise, just imagine he played Ivan Dodig at the French Open instead of John Isner, he could well have gone out then!
So Rafa has now joined the Muzza in the shock exit stakes, however the other two guys in the top 3 are still very much in the game, as Federer made a fairly easy advance into the 3rd round after defeating Canadian player Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic also made it through a rather tense and ropey first set to breeze his way into the 3rd round in 7-5, 6-1 against Nikolai Davydenko. Up next for Djoko is the Croat giant Marin Cilic who knocked out Del Potro, and for Federer could be a real stiff challenge as he faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who defeated him at Wimbledon in a 5 set epic, so I'm sure Roger will be looking for revenge here, I hope he wins, so that way the chances of a Djokovic vs Federer semi final will be on the cards. And who knows, just maybe Federer if he makes it through to the semis could hand Djokovic another shock defeat.
Despite Andy's loss, he had good news in the doubles as he and Jamie made it past their Canadian opponents as they defeated them in 6-2, 2-6, 10-7, so they have another doubles match coming up today so best of luck to them, and wouldn't it be great if they could take home a Masters doubles title?? C'moon!!
On the WTA side we saw another shock exit as the World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was handed a defeat by the Italian No.2 Roberta Vinci (who is also quite freckly!) in a straight set loss 6-4, 7-5. It makes you think what is it with these top players just now??? I think it boils down to a lack of match play to be honest, as the top players haven't been playing for a month, while the lower ranked players have been actively playing over the summer, which makes their game more sharper, while the top 10 players games can be a bit sluggish. Its also another blow to Caroline as she has been handed quite a few defeats of late, its also a shame in a way as leave another question mark over her head about her ranking. She is yet to win a grand slam and being ranked as No.1 you would have expected her to by now, meanwhile players such as Li Na and Petra Kvitova have gone on to win grand slams and have beaten Caroline also. Her next best bet is the US Open and hopefully by next week in Cincinatti she will have sharpened her game, so for the top seeds who have lost out, its back to the practice court.
OK enough for now.
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