Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer today in the finals of the Rogers Cup Master’s Series tournament to win his second “Masters” trophy this year. Djokovic won in three sets: 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (2). Djokovic had the tournament of his career in Canada with impressive victories over Kiefer of Germany (former #4 in the world), Nalbandian of Argentina (former #3 in the world), Roddick of the USA (current #3), Nadal of Spain (current #2), and Federer (current #1) of Switzerland. Anyone who can beat those types of players deserves to win a Grand Slam, let alone a Masters Series.

On Any Given Day….

I watched the entire match and Djokovic was very impressive. Not to give any excuses but Federer did not bring his usual A game to the table and still almost won it. Federer has 45+ unforced errors and couldn’t convert many of his break point opportunities. Federer’s forehand let him down and was a liability instead of a weapon. That’s one of the beauties of the game of tennis because on any given day, you can win or lose against the best. It’s also one of the beauties of an individual sport in that you get all the blame and all the credit for what you accomplish in the sport. There are no on-court coaching, no team support, and no outside interference.

Interesting Suspense Lead-up to US Open

The ATP really has bad scheduling because months can go by without any major tournaments while other tournaments can only have a few days in between them. The next Masters Series tournament starts TOMORROW! All the top players are required to play in all the Masters Series or else they face stiff fines for skipping them without legitimate reasons such as injury. Djokovic and Federer have to pack up their bags and fly to Cincinnati, Ohio for Tuesday matches. After Cincinnati, there is a one week break until the final Gland Slam of the Year, the US Open! Djokovic is now added to the bag of favourites besides Federer and Nadal for the US Open title. The seeding will be a huge role in determining when the big guns will meet each other. Federer and Nadal are locked at number one and two respectively but spots 3-5 is up in the air right now. Depending on how they do in the Cincinatti Masters Series, Djokovic, Roddick, and Davydenko’s (from Russia) seeding will depend on that.

Prediction, Hopes, and Wishes

I hope that Federer wins his 4th consecutive US Open title next month. I also hope that James Blake recovers from his dismal 2007 season with a fair showing at the US Open. The US Open has arguably the fastest hardcourt surface in the world so it will favour the hard-hitting Americans and Australians while hurting the chances of the European and South American players. Even the punk, Andy Roddick, will be one of the favourites in the US Open because it’s his favourite surface and he has the fastest serve on the tour today. Whatever happens, I do not want Nadal to do well because he’s also a punk.