RF Schedule 2017

Ive forgotten the 5-setter vs Monfils but was only a recent witness to all the tour matches on TV in 2014 so couldnt say where Gael was on his spectrum in that match but am really surprised in the light of Monfils subsequent matches these past couple of years, despite his commitment to get serious, that he was able to challenge Roger so hard back then. Im inclined to agree with milesahead that Rog had overdone it and was too flat by the end of the tournament -even if Cilic might still have won in the end given his form (sometimes even we have to admit that another player is going to have HIS day on court)- but certainly he should not have gone 5 sets vs Monfils

The thing about the IW/Miami "double" compared to the Canada/Cincy "double" is that the top guys play 6 matches in IW and Miami (after a bye) whereas they play 5 matches (after a bye) in Canada/Cincy.  So they play one less match at both events, which makes sense since they are playing both events over two weeks versus over three weeks like the 'Sunshine Double'.  

It's a tough ask, especially for a guy Roger's age.  And if you get stuck playing nights (like Roger certainly will in Canada), it's even tougher, especially if you have a few matches like the Berdych and Kyrgios ones in Miami.  And remember, Roger had a WO from Kyrgios in IW which surely helped him there.

I guess we'll know soon.

I see the majority of the fans here are in favour of Roger skipping Montreal. And you have some valued arguments why he should. Too bad for me, I guess.

But I still have some hopes he will come here. What if he takes a similar approach as he has done for the grass court season and preparation for Wimbledon? He played Stuttgart/Halle back-to-back, winning the title in Halle, then with one week rest went to Wimbledon and won it all. That was the exact same schedule as it is for Montreal/Cinci, followed by the US Open.

What is different of course is the family traveling to all three destinations. So maybe Roger could come to Montreal solo, and Mirka and the kids would go to Cinci and New York. Possible? I hope so.

avasbar wrote:Ive forgotten the 5-setter vs Monfils but was only a recent witness to all the tour matches  on TV in 2014 so couldnt say where Gael was on his spectrum in that match but am really surprised in the light of Monfils subsequent matches these past couple of years, despite his commitment to get serious, that he was able to challenge Roger so hard back then.  Im inclined to agree with milesahead that Rog had overdone it and was too flat by the end of the tournament -even if Cilic might still have won in the end given his form (sometimes even we have to admit that another player is going to have HIS day on court)- but certainly he should not have gone 5 sets vs Monfils

Yeah, Roger lost the first two sets against Monfils.  If I remember correctly, Monfils was on fire initially but couldn't sustain it and once Roger won the 4th, Monfils fell apart.  As for the Cilic match... yes, Marin was also on fire but as Roger said... the big problem was Roger going down an early break in each set and allowing Marin to play free with no "scoreboard" pressure.  Marin isn't the mentally toughest guy on tour... so had Roger held his own serve better, Marin would have felt the pressure and his level might have dropped.  I think Roger was very disappointed that he make it tougher on Marin.

oldfan wrote:But I still have some hopes he will come here. What if he takes a similar approach as he has done for the grass court season and preparation for Wimbledon? He played Stuttgart/Halle back-to-back, winning the title in Halle, then with one week rest went to Wimbledon and won it all. That was the exact same schedule as it is for Montreal/Cinci, followed by the US Open.

What is different of course is the family traveling to all three destinations. So maybe Roger could come to Montreal solo, and Mirka and the kids would go to Cinci and New York. Possible? I hope so.

True, it is a similar schedule in that it is two events back-to-back with a week off before a major.  But a 250-level event (where Roger would have only played 4 matches) and a 500-level event where he played five matches, are not TMS-level events with a much deeper draw.  And remember, Roger had a couple of months off before Stuttgart as opposed to just a few weeks off after winning a major!

I certainly understand why the Canadian folks would love to see Roger play since he has skipped that tournament so often, especially in Montreal.

I asked Roger if he decided on playing Montreal and Cincy already..said will do so within next days! #federer

— Brian (@camerlengo73) August 1, 2017

Re Cilic 2014 US Open:  Cilic very, very nearly beat Roger in Toronto - I was at the match and it went about 3 hours and I actually thought that Roger would lose, such as he was playing.  At the US Open, do not forget the 5 set Monfils match in the quarters.  That would also take a toll.[/quote]

I'd forgotten about that Cilic match in Toronto - that was a tough tournament for Roger, with all the late night scheduling. He then lost the final against Tsonga. Not forgetting, too, that Roger was still adjusting to his new racquet - his serve and BH were working well, but his 'go-to' FH was still misfiring (all the more incredible that he almost won W that year).

Cilic was playing lights out tennis in the USO (so might have beaten Roger, anyway), but Roger's schedule took its toll and he the physically and emotionally draining quarter final (where he fought back from match point down) caught up with him. Roger is 36 now - I just can't see how he can take on a potential 2 weeks of tennis prior to tilting at the USO. In writing that, Roger has been confounding expectations for years!

I cannot imagine that Roger would come solo to Montréal and then have have the family join him in Cincy.  That would put the traveling circus for a long trip firmly on Mirka.  While they do have help etc, I just cannot get past Roger relinquishing his family "duties/responsibilities".  It is for family reasons, even more than scheduling reasons, that I can see him leaving out Montréal.  And at 36 all of the scheduling reasons and how it would affect chances at NY are really really compelling.  I just cannot see him doing that well in Montréal anyways for it to be worth the toll it would take - as I said before, his best result is a final in 2007, losing to Djokovic.  There might be more to consider were it an even numbered year and men's tournament was in Toronto - he has done well there recently and even won a couple!!! - but it isn't!!  The last time he played in Montréal was in 2011.

As far as nights is concerned - it will depend on the draw and where Milos lands.  The situation that arose in Toronto in 2014 was a result of the draw plus the requests of TV (Rogers, the primary sponsor is one of the Canadian telecom giants - they also own the sportsnet suite of channels which retained the TV rights for RC, when they relinquished the rights for the other ATP 500 and 1000 events to TSN which runs with international feed for tennis TV) and Milos.  He was advertised well in advance that he would be playing the first evening match (there are two on the ticket) while in the draw, beginning on Wednesday night.  It should be noted that Toronto is Milos' home city, growing up not too far from York Stadium where the event is.  For TV, fans, sponsors, family, they wanted the security of knowing when the match would start, and while it is a summer event, people still work and that meant that they could catch his matches.  Milos can fill the stadium on his own in Toronto.  And SN/Rogers wanted him in that slot - the cameras and TV crew following his every move was suffocating to watch.  As for Roger, unfortunately he was on the same side of the draw, opposite quarter to Milos.  The hope was that the two would meet in the semi - also night one - and so Roger needed to be scheduled in the evening as well - It was always going to be second up given TV and Milos' requests.  This year the tournament is in Montréal and there isn't the Milos hype to the same extent.  Whether SN/Rogers will put their foot down remains to be seen.  They are an English language network and will also be covering the ladies event in Toronto.  That draw and schedule will come into play too.  However, in Montréal, it will depend on which half they want to have as the night semi and that will be draw related.  It should be noted, that while other courts have lights, they are not ticketed for evening matches and the last match, even on the secondary show court, will have the last match around 5-6pm start.  Basically you buy a ticket for CC and use it anywhere.  (The secondary show court is partially ticketed for the best seats, but CC tickets will still let you in, just in poorer seats)  Roger, Milos, Rafa, Murray et al will ONLY be scheduled on CC so that doesn't leave a lot of flexibility in court allocation once everybody plays every day.  From round 2 on, one half will play early on all the courts with the stars getting the 3 slots on CC, and the other half will play last matches on the outside courts with the two stars playing the night session on CC.  It has rarely been otherwise.  The only thing scheduled and advertised early this year is that Shapovalov will play his first round match on CC, the afternoon of August 8.  Given the uncertainty of seeding in the case of Milos, and the potential no-shows of the aging European stars who can now leave a masters 1000 out, without penalty, they have not further advertised and set in stone which star would have their first match (second round) Tuesday evening.  For any European, if they can leave a masters 1000 out in the leadup to the US Open it will be RC.  And if they played Tuesday, they would have Wednesday off and could be worked in anywhere on the schedule for Thursday, depending on the dictates of the draw and which side they wanted to play afternoon and which side late.

Rufus1 wrote:

I asked Roger if he decided on playing Montreal and Cincy already..said will do so within next days! #federer

— Brian (@camerlengo73) August 1, 2017

Re Cilic 2014 US Open:  Cilic very, very nearly beat Roger in Toronto - I was at the match and it went about 3 hours and I actually thought that Roger would lose, such as he was playing.  At the US Open, do not forget the 5 set Monfils match in the quarters.  That would also take a toll.

It would be so coolly unexpectedly random of Roger to reveal his decision via a fan (then re-Tweet a confirmation himself...but only if he planned to play which is the status quo atm).
:lol!: :afro::lol!:
It's not practical, I know, because of the inevitable false tweets that would go out  before every tournament he plays from now on...but it's still an amusing thought.

Milesahead wrote:I'd forgotten about that Cilic match in Toronto - that was a tough tournament for Roger, with all the late night scheduling. He then lost the final against Tsonga.  Not forgetting, too, that Roger was still adjusting to his new racquet - his serve and BH were working well, but his 'go-to' FH was still misfiring (all the more incredible that he almost won W that year).

The scheduling and the loss in the Final are the only things I remember about that tournament. I'd even forgotten that the loss was to Tsonga. I do remember some great discussions on the old forum about the steady progress Roger was making with the evolution of his game during this period and beyond. It was a comforting discussion for me, and, of course, witnessing the fruition this year has been magical.

I definitely agree with this from upthread:

Milesahead wrote:Cilic played very well in the USO semi 2014 - but Roger didn't. Roger at his peak = better than Cilic at his peak imo (and, I'm guessing, in the opinion of most members of this site). The exhausting schedule he chose in north America in 2014 meant that Roger was very flat by the time he reached that semi-final - it cost him another major, I believe.

If Monfils can take Roger to five-sets on a hard court, then I think that something is definitely off. Fatigue seems to cause Roger to lose mph and precision on his serve which means he's basically feeding balls into the strike zones of the big hitters who are swinging for the fences and hitting the lines or just finding the open court for winners. Personally, I believe that Cilic thought he was going into the Wimbledon Final to play against the Roger Federer he faced in the 2014 USOpen. But, yeah, that didn't happen.

This post came in while I was putting mine together:

Rufus1 wrote:I cannot imagine that Roger would come solo to Montréal and then have have the family join him in Cincy.  That would put the traveling circus for a long trip firmly on Mirka.  While they do have help etc, I just cannot get past Roger relinquishing his family "duties/responsibilities".  It is for family reasons, even more than scheduling reasons, that I can see him leaving out Montréal.

Hubbing in Cincy (meaning that the family fly to and stay in Cincy for the duration of both tournaments) would be the only practical way to manage the travelling situation that I can see. If he weren't seriously considering playing in Canada, I think we would have heard by now. It still might not happen, but should he decide to play Montreal, I think that it would be because he has so much confidence with his game on what I'm presuming is a slower surface than Toronto, but then he'd have a quicker pace to work with in Cincy.

Speculation Alert!:  Hmm...very interesting about scheduling. I wonder who would win in a clash of Roger vs Rogers. Rogers can insist all they want, but if Roger makes the Tournament contractually bound to a reasonable schedule, then Rogers would be forced to accept the terms or have Roger withdraw all together. We'll never know one way or the other, but, I admit, it is fun to speculate :bball: :bball: :bball:

That's the good bit milesahead! He does indeed continue to confound us all . So if he goes for it - ok Roger!
However, much as we appreciate Roger's willingness to play attacking- even risky- tennis, this is normally a sign of confidence in his game, rather than - apparantly -desperation and lack thereof as with Djoker in '15 But remember that Roger is essentially cautious. He might like scaring people, but he can also be a scaredy-cat too

Not that Im suggesting that playing Montreal is a scary thought, rather that by not playing it, Roger is simply being cautious re health & injury and overdoing it - rather like withrawing from RG.

MaxUS and Avasbar - yes, it's an interesting quandary. I hope Roger makes the announcement soon!

I find it hard to believe that Roger hasn't decided yet. I think he's just keeping it to himself until he must say. Which leads me to believe he will skip Montreal otherwise he would have already said he's playing there. Of course this is just my opinion. Roger cares about his fans (although must I remind you about a certain forum that he dissolved without any warning? ) but he also cares about tennis and if the TD wants him to delay his announcement for a few days I think he would. I don't think this makes him a bad person. He can't always think about what's best for the fans. There are other factors involved. I'm sure many of his fans have already bought tickets anyway and will be disappointed.

Just read that Roger will play Montreal! Source: Courtney Nguyen's Twitter

From US Sports Illustrated tennis writer ... teases Roger will be in Montreal; that's literally all he says. Roger must feel good -- and want that #1 ranking back!

https://twitter.com/jon_wertheim/status/892501779069448192

The tournament has now confirmed Roger's participation in Montreal:

https://twitter.com/CoupeRogers/status/892501003710476289

The 19-time Grand Slam champion will return to Montreal for the first time since 2011

Tennis Canada announced Tuesday that Swiss Roger Federer has confirmed he will play in the 2017 edition of Rogers Cup presented by National Bank. It will be his first trip to Montreal since 2011.

“I’m happy to be coming back to Montreal, as I have not had the chance to play there for many years,” said Federer. “This 2017 season has been very exciting and I am really looking forward to being back on the court on the ATP Tour.”

To date, the 2017 season has been a memorable one for Federer, highlighted by the 18th and 19th Grand Slam titles of his career at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Currently ranked no. 3 in the world, he was also crowned champion at Indian Wells, Miami, and Halle.

“We are obviously very happy to announce the return of the great Roger Federer, said Eugène Lapierre, Tournament Director of Rogers Cup presented by National Bank. “We are celebrating today and the celebrations will continue over the next few days especially since Federer will celebrate his birthday with us on August 8. I am certain that the Montreal fans will give him the welcome he deserves.”

Federer will be seeking his third Rogers Cup title, and first in Montreal. He won the tournament in Toronto in 2004 and 2006.

Roger is full of surprises this year! Didn't expect him to play and not sure what to think of it tbh. Roger knows best I guess

He is full of surprises! I have tickets for Cincinnati, so don't want him tired out!