Canada Masters Betting

The Canada Masters, or Rogers Cup as it is currently known, is the sixth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in the tennis calendar, taking place during the second week of August.

It is unique due to the fact that its venue alternates each year between two different cities – Toronto and Montreal, with the tournament staged at the Rexall Centre, Toronto, in even numbered years and the Stade Uniprix, Montreal, in odd numbered years.

Outside of Wimbledon and the US Open, the championship is recognised as the oldest tennis tournament in existence after first being held in 1881, when native Isidore F. Hellmuth triumphed at the expense of W.H. Young.

In the Open era, Czech star Ivan Lendl bagged an impressive six titles to assert himself as the tournament’s most successful ever participant, lifting the trophy first in 1980 before further wins in 1981, 1983 and a consecutive treble between 1987 and 1989.

Since 2004, the current top four players in the world (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray) have all scooped the winner’s cheque twice, with most recent victor Djokovic ousting Mardy Fish in the 2011 renewal on his way to US Open success.

Directly preceding the Cincinnati Masters, which usually takes place the following week, the Canada Masters is the first serious test for players on a hard court following the mid-season split to clay and grass.

56 players fill the line-up with the top eight seeds all receiving a bye into the second phase.

And it is imperative for all aspiring US Open champions to immediately hit the ground running and re-acclimatise to the conditions after a punishing few months on the European clay and grass courts of Wimbledon.

The most important aspect at this point of the season is likely to be fitness and injuries as some players will almost inevitably have experienced a fair degree of wear and tear after competing week in, week out.

As with most hard court events, conditions really suit the big hitters and quick servers so the man in the best physical shape is perhaps the most likely to succeed.

Novak Djokovic’s machine-like style and stamina has clearly been a big reason why he has wiped the floor with many of his opponents in 2011, as when the energy chips are down for many, Djokovic just keeps on coming and getting stronger – despite only harbouring a slim physique.

The svelte Serb is a model of consistency and a marker for many other players on the tour to aspire to in terms of optimising fitness levels.

Unless things change radically, it is foreseeable that Djokovic will find himself ahead of the rest at this stage of the tennis season for quite a few years to come, unless others find a better way of dealing with the sport’s relentless demands.

He is, arguably, a better hard court player than Nadal even without taking this factor into consideration so he is a hard man to oppose, considering also that he has seemingly been the last of the big quartet to peak.

As 2011 demonstrated however, some outsiders (like finalist Fish and semi-finalist Jo-Wilifried Tsonga) can really give you a run for your money at big odds, especially if the favourites underperform.

The tournament should provide big clues for the US Open, but in its own right, the event is a real feast of excellent tennis and an enjoyable spectacle to punt on.

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