The ATP’s version of the Rogers Cup tournament now flows into the second round and so do our tennis picks. There were a lot of one-sided matchups on Tuesday as only four contests required the full three sets. In terms of notable results, Stan Wawrinka survived two tiebreakers to move past Mikhail Youzhny, while Canadian Vasek Pospisil earned a win over Jeremy Chardy. Pospisil did win the first set before Chardy retired at the beginning of the second. Young riser Alex Zverev was probably the most disappointing player of the day as he fell to Yen-Hsun Lu in straight sets.
Remember that while the women play their own Rogers Cup in Montreal this year, the men stage their iteration of the tournament in Toronto, and they rotate each year. Some of the bigger names in men’s tennis make their debuts in Canada on Wednesday, creating a real buzz in Canada’s largest city. Here are our tennis picks for the day.
Novak Djokovic vs. Gilles Muller
There is no doubt in the world that Djokovic wants Olympic gold. He has not won Olympic gold yet in his career, and in the 2012 London Olympics, he didn’t even get a medal. He made the semifinals but then lost to Andy Murray. In the bronze medal match, he fell to Juan Martin del Potro. He would love to make good in Brazil, and so for that reason, some bettors might think that he is vulnerable to an upset in Canada. A loss would enable him to prepare more for the Olympics. He can afford the loss in points, since he’s still several thousands of points ahead of Andy Murray, the world No. 2. Djokovic is going to be No. 1 for many more months. He doesn’t have to win the Rogers Cup at all costs.
Nevertheless, Djokovic is a comprehensively better player than Muller. What’s more is that Djokovic is one of the game’s best returners – only Andy Murray comes close. The one thing Muller does really well is serve. As long as Djokovic can get back a reasonable percentage of first serves, Muller is going to have nowhere to turn. He can’t hit a forehand or a backhand or an overhead or a lob better than Djokovic. He can’t cover the court better. He can’t do anything better than Djokovic other than serve, and even then, it’s a close call. Djokovic won’t have to play very long points. This is a matchup which works for him as long as Muller doesn’t have a career serving performance in Toronto. Take Djokovic with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Djokovic in straight sets
Milos Raonic vs. Yen-Hsun Lu
This should be a straightforward match for Raonic, who comes to his home-nation tournament as a bigger star after making the Wimbledon final and beating Roger Federer in the semifinals. Raonic could have played rising young star Alexander Zverev, but the German lost to Lu, a 32-year-old veteran who is tricky for younger players but should be easy to handle for established veterans such as Raonic. The Canadian has bigger weapons all over the court. He should be able to blast through Lu with few issues. Lu has to be able to hit second serves with power and placement if he reasonably expects to keep this match close. Take him with your tennis picks here.
Pick: Raonic in straight sets
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Denis Shapovalov
This is a matchup in which Shapovalov is a surprise. The Canadian upset Nick Kyrgios in the first round. Many will give Shapovalov a good chance against the struggling Dimitrov, who barely escaped the first round. However, it’s one of the enduring truths of tennis that it’s hard for a young player such as Shapovalov to bounce back and beat a big-name player in his very next match. As much as Dimitrov has been struggling, he’s still the better bet because a letdown should be expected from Shapovalov. Go with Dimitrov for your tennis picks here.
Pick: Dimitrov in three sets
