Del Potro ousts Nieminen
Despite a close first set, Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina proved too powerful for his Finnish rival Jarkko Nieminen.
After battling it out for just over an hour, Del Potro left Centre Court to the applause of conquered fans, pocketing a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
Del Potro posted an early break in the first set and Nieminen, though tenacious, was never able to mount a serious threat.
Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, was sidelined for several months after wrist surgery but seems to have regained much of his fire.
In the second set, Nieminen could only watch. Del Potro hit 13 aces (3 for Del Potro), earned 4 service breaks (0 for Nieminen) and had a first serve percentage of 79% (45% for Nieminen) and a second serve percentage of 63% (41 for Nieminen).
With 62 points (36 for Nieminen), Del Potro blew through the match with a mastery he hadn't demonstrated in quite a while.
Tsonga wins over the crowd
Wimbledon semi-finalist and 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put on a great show on Monday night at Uniprix Stadium to reach the second round of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, beating Fabio Fognini (64th) of Italy in two close sets of 6-4 and 7-6 (7-0).
Though Fognini gave a solid performance, Tsonga managed to deliver the returns that made the difference in a match that kept fans glued to their seats for just over 90 minutes.
Though Fognini racked up 42 service points versus Tsonga's 40, the Frenchman dominated the return game with 33 points versus 17 for Fognini.
Fognini broke Tsonga in the first game of the second set, holding on until 5-3 and coming close to forcing a third set.
But Tsonga stood in his way, breaking Fognini before the ultimate tiebreak.
A win for Tomic
In the last match of the evening, the young Australian wildcard Bernard Tomic reached the second round, defeating Yen-Hun Lu of Taïwan 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Chvojka doesn't fall without a fight
Erik Chvojka, one of the two Canadians in the main draw, fought for 2 hours and 13 minutes before falling 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine in the first round of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.
With only 29% of second serves in and seven double faults, Chvojka was unable to get the upper hand in the match. The Canadian gave away seventeen break points, but Dolgopolov was only able to convert three.
Vasek Pospisil, who received a wildcard from tournament organizers, is now the only Canadian left in the main draw.
Wawrinka starts things off with a bang
Today, fourteenth seed Stanislas Wawrinka had the privilege of inaugurating Centre Court at Uniprix Stadium during the first round of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.
The Swiss player put on a great show, ousting David Nalbandian of Argentina in two sets of 6-1 and 6-4 and qualifying for the second round of the tournament, at which a total of $2 430 000 in prize money is up for grabs.
In another day match, Kevin Anderson of South African defeated Pablo Andujar of Spain in two identical sets of 7-6.
In doubles, the Serbian team of Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic fought hard and disposed of Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Philipp Petzchner of Germany in three sets (5-7, 6-3 and 12-10).
Gulbis survives
Ernests Gulbis of Latvia came from behind to defeat 31-year-old former no.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in three sets of 3-6, 6-1 and 7-5.
The exciting match lasted 2 h 14 min and played out in the 11th game of the third set, when Gulbis finally managed to break Ferrero.
Gulbis racked up 13 aces and Ferrero only 2.
From the red carpet to the blue hardcourts
Before hitting the blue hardcourts at Uniprix Stadium for the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, the ATP's brightest stars sauntered down the red carpet at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel on Sunday night as they made their way to the traditional Player Party.
Celebrities, businesspeople and current and retired players all took part in the exciting event.
Rogers Cup spokesperson Geneviève Brouillette, tennis legend Jimmy Connors, business leaders, celebrities and tennis aces all sat down to a dinner prepared by the chefs of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
Guests were then treated to a fashion show organized by Chiccane.com featuring the creations of several Québec designers, including Barilà, Anne-Marie Chagnon, Dimitri Chris, Denis Gagnon, Eve Gravel, Harricana, Charlotte Hosten, Melissa Nepton, Rudsak, Second Clothing and Nadya Toto. The multitalented Misstress Barbara provided the music for the show and after-party. Some of the braver players even took to the catwalk to model the clothes and, in some cases, their best body parts...to the great pleasure of those in attendance!
It was a fantastic evening from start to finish - a great sign of things to come at the Rogers Cup!
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