Rafa and Del Potro the value in Montreal

The Rogers Cup has taken place in Canada since 1881 (1882 for the Ladies) and this week the best Tennis players in the world head to Montreal (Men) or Toronto (Women) for the ATP 1000 Tour event, The tournament is a great preparation for the final major of the season, the US Open, which gets underway August 26th.

World number 1 Novak Djokovic has won this event in the last two years and is the 13/8 (betfred) favourite to complete the hat-trick. The Serbian is in fact seeking his fourth win here and his second ATP 1000 Tour win of the year after a victory in Monte Carlo. Djokovic has a decent route to the last four and should have few problems winning his quarter. One of Florian Mayer and Bernard Tomic will be his second round opponent while compatriot Janko Tipsarevic is his likely third round challenger. Two time finalist Richard Gasquet is seeded to meet him in the last eight. Djokovic then has a potential semi-final with Rafa Nadal which is a worry as the Spaniard leads the season head-to-head record four to one.

Speaking of Nadal I do think he could go well and at 7/1 (SKYBET) he also looks worth an interest. The Spaniard does have a tricky looking game with Jerzy Janowicz awaiting though the bicep injury the Pole is suffering might see him struggle. Rafa is a combined 27-1 against Haas, Paire, Wawrinka and Kohlschreiber who are the other players he is likely to face.

Andy Murray is playing his first event since winning Wimbledon and he will look to build on his success here in 2009 and 2010. I am prepared to take on the Scot as he is not at his best when returning from a break and he has only made the last eight in one of the five 1000 events he has competed in this year.

If not Murray then perhaps his quarter-final opponent Juan Martin del Potro who at the time of writing was preparing for an ATP Tour final in Washington against John Isner. The Argentinian showed at Wimbledon he could compete with the big boys once more and on a surface he loves he looks good each-way value at 8/1 (GENERAL).

At the time of writing no bookmaker had priced up quarter betting though if you can find it be sure to take on David Ferrer who is the third seed in the absence of Roger Federer. The Spaniard has never made it past the third round here and Tomas Berdych, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Nico Almagro all represent dangerous opponents.

With the men in Montreal, the women are in Toronto as the two events rotate. The last time the women were in Toronto was in 2011 and it was Serena Williams who emerged victorious and the American is the 10/11 (betfred) favourite. Serena could face her sister Venus in the third round before a potential quarter-final with Marion Bartoli. I think if she is on her game she can win this easily though I would not be wanting to get involved at these prices.

The best strategy is to find a player in the other half of the draw and take them each-way. Victoria Azarenka is the second seed and was a beaten semi-finalist in 2011 and should go close as should 2012 winner Petra Kvitova.

The player I like though is the 2006 champion Ana Ivanovic who reached the fourth round of the Australian and the French and is gradually returning to some of her best form. She recently reached the semi-finals of the WTA California event on the hard and in a wide open section she can be backed at 99/1 (888 SPORT/unibet) to win the event or 50/1 (bet365/betfred) each-way.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Rafa Nadal each-way, 7/1 (SKYBET)
SILVER: Juan Martin del Potro, each-way, 8/1 (GENERAL)
BRONZE: Ana Ivanovic each-way, 50/1 (bet365/betfred)

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05/08/2013     © Frixo 2026