2013 Tennis Thread

Watson makes winning return in DC

British number two Heather Watson needed three sets to beat Alexandra Mueller to move into the second round of WTA College Park in Washington.
Watson, 21, struggled after being diagnosed with glandular fever earlier this season, going out of both the French Open and Wimbledon in the first round.
But she has since split with coach Mauricio Hadad and showed good determination to beat the qualifier 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 in two hours and 10 minutes.
Mueller clinched the first set on a tie-break, but Watson managed to break her opponent three times afterwards to set up a second-round clash with French fourth seed Alize Cornet.
Top seed Angelique Kerber beat qualifier Irina Falconi 6-2 6-3, while Mona Barthel saw off Stefani Voegele 6-2 6-2.

Washington Open results

First round

3-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) beat Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 6-4 6-2

8-Madison Keys (U.S.) beat Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) 7-5 6-3

Caroline Garcia (France) beat Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) 0-6 7-6(5) 6-4

5-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 7-5 1-1 (Tsurenko retired)

Heather Watson (Britain) beat Alexandra Mueller (U.S.) 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3

Monica Niculescu (Romania) beat Taylor Townsend (U.S.) 6-3 6-0

1-Angelique Kerber (Germany) beat Irina Falconi (U.S.) 6-2 6-3

6-Mona Barthel (Germany) beat Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) 6-2 6-2

4-Alize Cornet (France) beat Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) 6-1 6-3
 
Robson fights through in first outing since Wimbledon

Laura Robson clawed her way back from the brink of defeat to beat Ayumi Morita 4-6 7-5 6-2 at the Southern Californian Open.
In her first outing since her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, the British number one was facing an early exit in Carlsbad, California, at 6-4 5-4 down.
But Robson, the Olympic doubles silver medallist along with Andy Murray, dug deep and turned things round, losing just two more games on her way to securing a place in the second round.
There, she will face Petra Kvitova, the world number seven. Robson, ranked 25 places lower, has a winning record against the Czech former Wimbledon champion, having beaten her in their only previous meeting in the second round of the Australian Open earlier this year.
Robson finds herself in the same half of the draw as second seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who has a bye into the second round, where the Pole meets Daniela Hantuchova, who double bagelled Tamira Paszek 6-0 6-0.
Victoria Azarenka heads the top half of the draw. The Belarusian world number three plays Francesca Schiavone in her opening match in the second round.

Southern Californian Open results

First round

Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Tamira Paszek (Austria) 6-0 6-0

Laura Robson (Britain) beat Ayumi Morita (Japan) 4-6 7-5 6-2

Urszula Radwanska (Poland) beat Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) 7-6(3) 6-4

Sesil Karatantcheva (Kazakhstan) beat Julia Goerges (Germany) 6-3 7-5

8-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Sachie Ishizu (Japan) 6-4 6-3

Coco Vandeweghe (U.S.) beat Allie Kiick (U.S.) 6-1 6-2
 
Hingis rules out playing singles despite doubles return

Switzerland's former world number one Martina Hingis said her renewed hunger for competition inspired her forthcoming comeback in doubles but she has no plans to return in singles.
Hingis is teaming up with Slovak Daniela Hantuchova at this week's Southern California Open with the pair slated to play an evening match on Wednesday against Julia Goerges of Germany and Darija Jurak of Croatia.
Hingis, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of fame just two weeks ago, has not played a WTA-level match since 2007.
She and Hantuchova are also intending to compete at Toronto, Cincinnati and the US Open but have not made any plans beyond that.
"If it's a complete disaster, I would not want to continue, but I hope that's not the case," Hingis said.
"I don't have any expectations, but I wouldn't put myself in this position if I didn't feel that I couldn't compete at this level.
"In (world) Team Tennis I was good enough, but is it good enough to be able to compete at this level? We'll see."
Hingis retired in 2002 with five Grand Slam singles titles to her credit only to launch a full-scale comeback in 2006. She called it quits for the second time in 2007, but said she always had it in the back of her mind that she might return again.
She barely picked up a racket from 2008-2011, but has played a lot of exhibitions and senior doubles during the past two years and has also coached, mostly notably world number 25 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, whom she stopped coaching after this year's French Open.
However, even though she would not completely rule it out, Hingis said she has no plans to return in singles again.
"Not at this point," she said.
"You have to put so much effort into it. Playing tournaments is the easy part, but it's all the behind the scenes training that people don't see, the six to eight hours of training and really the older you get, the harder it gets.
"I wouldn't want to come out and play one or two matches and lose in the third round. That's not my type of personality."
While Hingis feels that top level singles play may be beyond her, she does not feel that way about doubles.
There are three players in the WTA doubles world top 20 who are older than she is - Lisa Raymond, Kveta Peschke and Liezel Huber - and a handful of others just slightly younger than her.
"It's different as when we used to play there were so many more singles girls who played doubles: the (Williams) sisters, me Anna (Kournikova) and Lindsay (Davenport)," she said.
"There were like six to eight of the top 10 who played doubles. Now it's just a few girls in the top 10 who play doubles. There is much more of an opening now."
 
Kvitova schools Robson, Azarenka through in Carlsbad

Laura Robson's Southern California Open campaign was abruptly ended as Petra Kvitova demolished the Brit 6-1 6-2 in the second round, while Victoria Azarenka encountered few problems in her opener in Carlsbad.
The British number one, who had fought back from the brink of defeat to win her first-round encounter with Ayumi Morita, had nothing left in the tank against former Wimbledon champion Kvitova.
The world number seven raced into an early lead, breaking Robson twice to take the opening set for the loss of just a single game.
It was a commanding position which the Czech would not relinquish and, while Robson was able to break her serve once in the second set, Kvitova ultimately eased to a victory which went some way to exacting revenge for her Australian Open defeat to the Brit earlier this year.
Kvitova's win came in just under an hour and quarter and the third seed moves on to meet either Carla Suárez or Virginie Razzano.
World number three Azarenka had no problems in overcoming Francesca Schiavone in straight sets, the Belarusian top seed winning 6-2 6-3 as she kicked off her campaign after having received a bye directly into the second round.
Australia's Samantha Stosur awaits Azarenka in the quarter-finals.
It was a day to forget for defending champion Dominika Cibulkova though as the Slovak dropped to a 4-6 6-3 6-2 defeat to Ana Ivanovic in the last remaining first round match.
Cibulkova came into the tournament in California having just picked up her third WTA title - in Stanford - and she looked set to continue that rich vein of form when she took the opening set - her ninth straight set won in Carlsbad.
But that is where the wheels came off as Ivanovic launched an onslaught that she had no answer to.
At 3-3 in the second set, the Serb won the next eight games to end Cibulkova's defence early and set up a second-round encounter with Coco Vandeweghe.

Southern California Open results

Round 2

1-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beat Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-2 6-3

3-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Laura Robson (Britain) 6-1 6-2

4-Roberta Vinci (Italy) beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) 6-4 6-2

5-Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat Sesil Karatantcheva (Kazakhstan) 6-4 6-1

Round 1

7-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 4-6 6-3 6-2
 
Radwanska sisters through to Carlsbad quarters

Agnieszka Radwanska made her ninth quarter-final of the season courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 win over Daniela Hantuchova at the Southern Californian Open.
The second-seeded Pole broke three times in the first set and although former world number five Hantuchova managed a break of her own the opening set was never in doubt.
Hantuchova broke early in the second to lead 2-1 but Radwanska immediately broke back to level things up at 2-2 before breaking again at 4-3 and holding to progress to the next round.
Radwanska was joined in the quarters by ****** Urszula, who ousted Serbian Jelena Jankovic 6-2 4-6 6-3.
Jankovic, seeded sixth at the tournament, put in an error strewn performance that included seven double faults while she only won 59 per cent of her first serve points.
Wild-card Virginie Razzano also advanced beating eighth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-4.
Razzano, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round, will face third-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic – who beat Laura Robson 6-1 6-2 in the second round.

Southern California Open results

2-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-3

Urszula Radwanska (Poland) beat 6-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) 6-2 4-6 6-3

7-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 7-6 6-3

Virginie Razzano (France) beat 8-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-1 6-4
 
Del Potro overcomes Tomic in Washington

Juan Martin Del Potro reached the quarter-finals of ATP Washington courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 win against 14th seed Bernard Tomic.
The Argentine, back in action after nearly a month off, will face Kevin Anderson in the last eight, and he was in fearsome form at a tournament that he has won twice before.
He won 80 per cent of his first service points and just gave up one break point as he extended his winning streak at the tournament to 11 matches.
He had racked up win number 10 earlier in the day as he completed Wednesday’s rain-affected encounter with Ryan Harrison, who he comfortably beat 6-1 7-5.
Del Potro will face Kevin Anderson in the quarter-final after the South African beat James Duckworth 6-3 3-6 6-4 in another rain-halted clash before disposing of Mardy Fish 7-6 (7-2) 6-1.
Second-seeded Kei Nishikori was the biggest scalp of the day, going down 6-1 6-2 to Marcos Baghdatis.

ATP Washington results

Round 3

1-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) beat 14-Bernard Tomic (Australia) 6-3 6-3

16-Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) beat 2-Kei Nishikori (Japan) 6-1 6-2

3-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat 13-Ivan Dodig (Croatia) 6-4 4-6 7-5

Marinko Matosevic (Australia) beat 4-Milos Raonic (Canada) 7-5 7-6(7)

7-Kevin Anderson (South Africa) beat Mardy Fish (U.S.) 7-6(2) 6-1

8-John Isner (U.S.) beat Somdev Devvarman (India) 7-5 7-5

11-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat 6-Sam Querrey (U.S.) 6-3 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 4-6 6-4 7-5

Round 2

1-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) beat Ryan Harrison (U.S.) 6-1 7-5

2-Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Jack Sock (U.S.) 7-5 6-2

3-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat Tim Smyczek (U.S.) 3-6 7-5 6-3

7-Kevin Anderson (South Africa) beat James Duckworth (Australia) 6-3 3-6 6-4
 
Federer withdraws from Montreal Masters

Roger Federer has pulled out of next week’s Montreal Masters with a back problem.
Federer, 32, lost matches to world number 114 Federico Delbonis and number 55 Daniel Brands in July, blaming the latter, more recent loss on “serious problems” with his back.
He will not play in a prestigious tournament in Canada which features Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
He wrote on his Facebook page on Friday: "I am disappointed not to be playing in Montreal next week.
“It is a great tournament with amazing fans. I look forward to competing there in the future."
Federer, who slipped outside the top four after flopping at Wimbledon, has been trying out a larger racquet head but questions are hanging over his future as he struggles for form and fitness.
The Swiss master has won a record 17 Grand Slam titles but has been in relatively poor form since losing to Novak Djokovic in last November's World Tour Finals.
He failed to reach a final in the first four months of the season and, while he won his customary pre-Wimbledon title at Halle, results in the Slams have worsened, going out in the Australian Open semis, French Open quarters and the second round at the All-England club.
His ranking of number five is the lowest it has been in a decade, with the rise of Djokovic and Andy Murray seeing him eclipsed as the world's best hard court and grass player.
 
Azarenka through as Radwanskas fall

Top seed Victoria Azarenka eased into the semi-finals of the Southern California Open but Agnieszka Radwanska was dumped out by Sam Stosur.
Belarusian Azarenka, the world number three, swatted aside Urszula Radwanska with a minimum of fuss 6-1 6-2 to reach the final four of the tournament in Carlsbad.
There, she will meet Ana Ivanovic, who beat Roberta Vinci 6-1 6-7(1) 6-2 after storming away in the third set.
In the bottom half of the draw, second-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska joined her ****** on the scrapheap after falling 7-5 2-6 6-3 to Stosur.
Stosur, the fifth seed, recovered from an early break down in the deciding set to oust the 2011 champion, who has problems against the Australian and has now lost their last three encounters.
"I think today we had two very contrasting styles," Stosur said. "I was going for it and Aga makes you work really hard and gets every single ball back. She's had great success playing that way. That's the beauty of tennis. You can have lots of different game styles.
"I'm obviously very happy with today's win. To come to a tournament where you weren't expecting to play and decide at the last minute after being given a wild card, it's fantastic to have really made the most of that opportunity and now be in the semis."
Stosur will play Virginie Razzano for a place in the final after the Italian stunned Petra Kvitova in an epic three-setter 6-7(6) 7-5 7-6 (8).
At three hours and 35 minutes, the match was the second longest of the WTA season after Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Anastasia Rodionova's three hour, 42-minute marathon in the first round at Charleston.
"I think I was nervous," said Razzano, who earned her first semi-final appearance since 2009. "I am human. You know you are not too far from the win and you must take your emotions out of it. I tried to stay positive and never imagine I could lose.
"I'm so happy today to win and make a semi-final at a big tournament," she added. "It had been two or three months since I had good results until I made the quarterfinals last week in Bastad.
"It's been a long road to get back here. But day after day, week after week, tournament after tournament, I've been doing lots of hard work and I think I deserve this."

Southern California Open results

Quarter-finals

[1] V Azarenka (BLR) beat U Radwanska (POL) 6-1 6-2

[7] A Ivanovic (SRB) beat [4] R Vinci (ITA) 6-1 6-7(1) 6-2

[5] [WC] S Stosur (AUS) beat [2] A Radwanska (POL) 7-5 2-6 6-3

[WC] V Razzano (FRA) beat [3] P Kvitova (CZE) 6-7(6) 7-5 7-6 (8)
 
Del Potro moves into Washington semis

Juan Martin Del Potro showed no signs of fatigue as he moved past Kevin Anderson into the Citi Open semi-finals in Washington.
The Argentine top seed had to play twice a day previously, first beating Ryan Harrison and then Bernard Tomic to reach the quarter-finals, but despite a tough opening set against Anderson, he prevailed in straight sets 7-6(0) 6-3.
Anderson too was on court twice on Thursday, finishing off James Duckworth before downing Mardy Fish to set up his date with Del Potro, who went some way to proving his fitness since sustaining an injury at Wimbledon.
Del Potro will meet Tommy Haas for a place in the final after the German third seed saw off Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5) 7-6(3).
In the other semi-final, home hope John Isner will play Dimitry Tursunov.
Isner, seeded eighth, got past Marcos Baghdatis 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 while Russian Tursunov downed Marinko Matosevic 6-3 4-6 7-6(4).

Citi Open results

Quarter-finals

[1] [WC] J Del Potro (ARG) beat [7] K Anderson (RSA) 7-6(0) 6-3

[3] T Haas (GER) beat [11] G Dimitrov (BUL) 7-6(5) 7-6(3)

[8] J Isner (USA) beat [16] M Baghdatis (CYP) 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4

D Tursunov (RUS) beat M Matosevic (AUS) 6-3 4-6 7-6(4)
 
Granollers wins fourth career title in Kitzbuhel

Spain's Marcel Granollers won the fourth ATP title of his career in Kitzbuhel by beating Juan Monaco in the final.
The eight-seed recovered from a terrible first set to beat the second-seeded Argentine 0-6 7-6 (3) 6-4 victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
Three of Granollers four successes have now come on clay. He won his first title on the surface in Houston in 2008 and also won in Gstaad in 2011.
His other title came on Valencia's indoor hard courts also in 2011.
Granollers could face Andy Murray in the second round of next week's Rodgers Cup in Montreal but must beat Grigor Dimitrov first.
 
Del Potro to face Isner in DC final

Top seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina took advantage of a long rain delay to defeat Germany's Tommy Haas 7-6(4) 6-3 on Saturday and reach the final of the $1.3 million Citi Open.
Del Potro will face American John Isner, who moved closer to his second title in as many weeks by blasting 29 aces to despatch Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 6-7(7) 6-3 6-4.
Haas raced to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before rain caused a three-hour 10-minute delay. When play resumed, Del Potro won four straight games to take a 5-4 lead.
Third seed Haas recovered briefly, breaking Del Potro to stay in the set, but the Argentine re-asserted his dominance in the tiebreak, seizing the first four points before winning 7-4.
Del Potro broke the 35-year-old Haas to take a 5-3 lead in the second set and closed out the match on serve.
Isner landed 67 percent of his first serves, had only one double fault, and gave up no break-points in winning his first match against Tursunov in just over two hours.
The eighth-seeded Isner, who won in Atlanta last week and is the United States' top men's tennis player with a world ranking of 20, broke Tursunov to love in the fifth game of the final set to grab a 3-2 lead.
That was all the lanky 28-year-old needed, and he sealed the hardcourt match on an unseasonably cool evening in Washington with an ace on match point.
Isner has not beaten Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, in three career meetings.
"He obviously serves very well but he returns exceptionally well," Isner said. "He actually just crushes the ball from the baseline. There's a reason he's (ranked) seven in the world. He's so good."
Isner, however, is riding an eight-match winning streak.
"I've served incredibly well these last two weeks in Atlanta and here and it's carried me. There's no doubt about that," he said. "It's always going to be my shot that's going to keep me in most matches.
"I feel like I'm in a pretty good serving rhythm right now. This court helps my serve. I'm riding high on a lot of confidence now so it's nice."
 
Azarenka beats Ivanovic to reach final

Top seed Victoria Azarenka overcame a lapse of concentration to defeat Ana Ivanovic 6-0 4-6 6-3 and reach the final of the Carlsbad Open.
laying in her first tournament since suffering knee and hip injuries at Wimbledon, the Belarussian dug herself out of a second-set hole to subdue the 2008 French Open champion, who also ran hot and cold throughout.
Australia's Samantha Stosur will face Azarenka in Sunday's showdown after the fifth seed utilised her big serve and forehand to repel French wild card Virginie Razzano 7-6 6-3 in the second semi-final.
"It's something that you expect from Ana, she's a very big shot maker and loves to bang the ball," Azarenka told reporters of her hard-hitting Serb opponent.
"For me the key was to not let her make those shots and be the one who was putting the pressure. I did feel more consistent."
World number three Azarenka raced through the first set, breaking the seventh-seeded Ivanovic three times, but was less than thrilled with her play in the second, where she was broken to love and conceded it with three sizzling forehand winners.
Azarenka composed herself in the third, breaking Ivanovic with a ripping forehand crosscourt winner and never giving the Serb a look at her serve.
Following her win, the double Australian Open champion is guaranteed to pass Russian Maria Sharapova for the number two ranking when they are released on Monday. Serena Williams will remain number one.
Azarenka has won 28 straight matches on outdoor hard courts since her 2012 U.S. Open final defeat, despite withdrawing from three tournaments during the period with injuries.
"The reality is we have most of the tournaments on hard but that's a great statistic," Azarenka said.
In the late match, Stosur was able to overcome a 4-0 deficit in the first set by overpowering her ambitious opponent to reach a first WTA final in nine months.
After recovering from her slow start, Stosur dictated most of the action and played a far more authoritative tiebreaker, winning it 7-2 with a big serve that Razzano could barely touch.
The Australian broke Razzano early in the second set and went on to seal victory when the Frenchwoman, who had needed three-and-a-half hours to upset third seed Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals, hit a backhand long.
"I don't feel like I was playing too bad at the start to be 4-0 down but she was hitting a lot of winners and making me move a lot," said Stosur, who ripped 20 winners.
"So I thought I have to do something to change this and be more aggressive off the front foot a lot earlier in the rallies, dictate earlier, and that made the difference."
Azarenka will be a strong favourite going into Sunday's final with the top seed holding an 8-0 record against Stosur in previous meetings.
 
Stosur hopes to have turned corner in Carlsbad

Australian Sam Stosur, who had failed to reach a semi-final this season, believes she has turned the corner after beating world number two Victoria Azarenka in the Carlsbad Open final on Sunday to earn her a first title in nearly two years.
Stosur, whose last win was the 2011 US Open, also beat world number four Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals and said the tournament had given her a massive of confidence.
"I think winning tournaments is the absolute proof that you're a good player and you're able to beat whoever you come across," Stosur told reporters.
"I know I've only won four in my career. But I know how I'm capable of playing and doing what I can do, then I know I've got a chance. I guess this week kind of helped prove that.
"It's great to be able to have now two top five wins in a week when I hadn't had one in quite a while. That is a huge confidence boost."
Stosur came into the final with an 0-8 record against Azarenka, but largely took the racquet out of the Belarusian's hands with huge serves and big forehands.
She said she had never doubted her ability to finally get past he former world number one.
"I guess it's a different psyche each time you play someone," she said. "I went through something similar when I played Maria Sharapova a bunch of times. I think it took 10 times for me to be able to beat her.
"I knew it was possible one day against Vika, but the last two matches that we played have been very, very close. I felt like I was almost in winning positions with those two.
"So I think going into today there was no reason to believe that I wasn't going to be able to turn that result around and win today. It's a matter of playing well and doing it when it counts."
After losing to Russian Olga Govortsova in her opening round at the Stanford Classic, Stosur was not sure whether she should request a wild card into the Carlsbad Open.
She faced the same scenario in 2011, when she decided not to take a wild card into Carlsbad and went on to beat Serena Williams to win the US Open final.
"I knew that was the past," Stosur said. "My coach David Taylor and I spoke about all the pros and cons. You can practice all you want, but at some point you got to put it into play in matches.
"That's why I came, and obviously now very, very pleased with that decision."
 
Azarenka pulls out of Rogers Cup in Toronto

Victoria Azarenka, who lost in the Carlsbad Open final to Sam Stosur on Sunday, has pulled out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a lower back injury, the tournament announced.
The world number two had been playing in her first tournament since Wimbledon, where she was ****** to pull out of her second round match due to knee and hip injuries.
"I'm so disappointed that I can't make it to Toronto as I added it to my schedule knowing what an important event it is," said Azarenka.
The tournament begins on Monday.
 
Murray: Lendl helped me shed 'loser' tag

Andy Murray admitted that Ivan Lendl helped him cast aside a reputation for being a "******" and a "loser" in Grand Slams.
The 26-year-old will play his first match since being crowned Wimbledon champion when he lines up at the Rogers Cup Masters Series event this week in Montreal.
His decision to hire eight-times Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl as his coach has been inspired and the Czech has helped him shake off the tag of "******".
"He obviously lost his first four Grand Slam finals, I lost my first Grand Slam finals and felt like I was a loser, a ******," Murray said.
"Speaking to him made me feel more normal. He went on to become a great tennis player, one of the best of all time ... Being able to speak to him on an emotional level really helped."
After spending some time away from the court following last month's triumph at the All England Club, and having reassessed his goals following a holiday in the Bahamas and a training block in Miami, Murray's desire to win the sport's main prizes runs deeper than ever.
"I sat down actually just few days ago and talked a little bit about that ... I want to try and win another Grand Slam," a refreshed and relaxed looking Murray said.
"Every player would like to get to number one but I would rather win another a Grand Slam or two and not get to number one."
Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the man Murray beat to the Wimbledon crown, currently occupies the top spot, with the Scot the world number two by some distance.
Murray's next opportunity to add to his two Major titles will be when he returns to New York later this month as defending champion at the US Open, the title which he won in 2012 with a pulsating five-set victory over Djokovic.
"It took me a long time to win my first one and I know how difficult it is to win those tournaments," Murray said. "I'll work as hard as I can to give myself an opportunity at the U.S Open and see how I do there."
The Scot boasts a good record on Canada's hard courts having been a back-to-back Masters champion in 2009 and 2010.
"The last couple of years I haven't always played my most consistent tennis in the build up to the Slams and then when I got there I started to play better," Murray said.
"I've always looked ahead to the Slams and sometimes not played my best tennis in the Masters series, which wasn't the case at the beginning of my career.
"I want to try and do well here."
Murray will meet either Spaniard Marcel Granollers or Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in his first match at the Rogers Cup.
 
Del Potro overcomes shaky start to beat Isner in DC final

Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina overcame a shaky opening set to defeat big-serving American John Isner 3-6 6-1 6-2 on Sunday and win the $1.3 million Citi Open, underscoring his status as a major threat at the upcoming U.S. Open.
Del Potro, playing in his first tournament since losing to Novak Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon semi-final a month ago, was at his best when it mattered most, converting four of six break-point chances.
After appearing tired and spraying the ball in the first set, Del Potro played near-flawless tennis the rest of the way to dispatch the towering Isner, who won in Atlanta last week and was seeking his third title of the year.
Del Potro had trouble returning Isner's missile-like serves early in the match but broke the American twice in the second set and in the opening game of the third.
"He broke me very early and I couldn't find my way with either my forehand or backhand," Del Potro said after winning the Washington tour stop for the third time.
"I was lucky in the second set to break his serve early. I was excited to come back in the match. I kept fighting all the time."
The 24-year-old Argentine broke Isner in the seventh game of the final set to take a 5-2 lead and brushed aside three break points in the final game to win the match.
Isner blasted 29 aces in his semi-final victory over Russian Dmitry Tursunov but managed only six against the top-seeded Del Potro, including just one in each of the final two sets.
"The aces weren't going to be as high just because of how far he was standing back," said Isner, at number 20 the highest ranked American. "He was so far back the guy calling the sideline had to get out of the way.
"With his reach, I knew he would get to a lot of balls. I'm sure that was his game plan, get my serve back and go from there. (My lack of aces) was more his doing than anything."
With the U.S. Open beginning later this month, Isner said rated Del Potro just behind the two top-ranked players in the world, Djokovic and Andy Murray.
"I would put him maybe the smallest hair behind guys like Djokovic and Murray," he said. "He could very easily right now be the third favourite.
"He's got a very good shot to go deep (in the tournament)."
Isner said he thought Del Potro, who played the night match on Saturday and didn't get to ***** until 3 a.m., appeared listless in the first set but recovered quickly.
The American said Del Potro "definitely raised his level" of play in the second set. He said the service break to start the third set was crucial.
"I was telling myself whether I lost the set 6-1, like I did, or 7-6, there was still a third set. I was liking the position I was in, especially serving first.
"If I could have gone up 1-0 it might have been a little bit different. But he played a good game. He was tough from that point on.
"It's disappointing but I wasn't as good as my opponent today. It's as simple as that. My hat goes off to him. He was just the better player today."
 
Stosur stuns Azarenka to win Carlsbad

Australia's Sam Stosur won her first title in nearly two years when she upended world number two Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-2 to win the Carlsbad Open on Sunday.
In registering her first victory over the Belarussian in nine attempts, Stosur played an opportunistic and clutch contest, fighting off 11 of 12 break points while breaking Azarenka in every game she had the chance to do so.
At another WTA Tour final in the US on Sunday, Magdalena Rybarikova beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4 7-6(2) to win a second successive Citi Open title in Washington.
"She had a lot of opportunities and all of them except for one I hit a really good first serve and she didn't get a ball into play," Stosur said after her victory.
"That's something I have to be very happy with, to step up the line under pressure and hit the serves where and how I wanted to time and time again.
"I know what it feels like not to break serve when you have the opportunities, it can get pretty frustrating."
The fifth seeded Stosur had come close to defeating Azarenka in their last two meetings at the 2012 US Open and 2013 Rome, but she hadn't been able to contend with her foe's vicious returning and superior movement.
But the Azarenka that faced Stosur in Carlsbad was just coming off knee and hip injuries she suffered at Wimbledon, and appeared to be a little slow to the ball and inaccurate off the ground.
Stosur broke Azarenka in her first service game to go up 2-0, but then was broken straight back when the two times Australian Open champion ripped a backhand down the line.
But Azarenka handed the break right back by committing three straight errors to go down 3-1, and after Stosur was able to hold in the next game to 4-1 by fighting off five break points with a series of hard serves, she gained control of the contest.
Stosur fought off another break point with a big body serve to go ahead 5-2, and then won the first set when Azarenka committed two more errors.
Stosur was able to fight off another five break points to open the second set, bombing aces on two of the break points, which left Azarenka muttering to herself.
Azarenka's level continued to drop and Stosur broke her to 4-2 when she dumped a backhand into the net.
On her first match point, the Australian watched Azarenka careen an easy backhand well wide.
"I didn't take my chances, but she was really serving well today," said Azarenka, who finished the contest with only 11 winners and 32 unforced errors.
"I was trying to do the same thing that wasn't working. That wasn't very smart for me to do. But I have to give her credit, she played great."
The 29-year-old Stosur said that the title was exactly what she needed heading toward the US Open, which she won two years ago.
"This is a huge boost for me," said Stosur, who ripped 20 winners and ****** Azarenka into 18 errors.
"I haven't had great results all year, so to be able to bounce back from last week's first round loss (at Stanford) and play better and better each day and come away with this is a good boost going into the last Slam of the year."
World number 43 Rybarikova, from Slovakia, won her fourth career title by continuing an excellent streak in Washington, where she has never lost a match.
"It’s a great city and I love to play here - I would like to play all of them here,” the 24-year-old Rybarikova said.
"I feel so good here. I like playing here in the stadium in front of this crowd.They’re really nice."
Rybarikova actually fell 0-4 in the first set as Germany's world number 64 gave her the run-around.
But Petkovic is coming back after injury problems and eventually the Slovakian ground her down, taking the next six games in a row before shading a narrow second set, which the German had been serving to take.
"She’s just so easygoing," Petkovic said.
"She’s so relaxed in the locker room even before matches. It’s always a pleasure to have her around."
 
Konta triumphs as Evans loses championship points in Vancouver

There were two Britons in the Vancouver Open finals, with Johanna Konta winning the women’s title but Dan Evans agonisingly beaten in the men’s.
Konta, the British number three, beat local player Sharon Fichman 6-2 6-4 to seal back-to-back ITF titles, having won in Winnipeg the week before.
The victory pushes the 22-year-old just a few points short of the top 100, with 115 her highest career ranking.
"Going in playing against Sharon, I knew I had to stay tough mentally," Konta said.
"She really is one of the best fighters out there."
World number 248 Evans, 23, lost a topsy-turvy men’s final to Canadian world number 89 Vasek Pospisil 6-0 1-6 7-5.
The British Davis Cup star stunned top seed Evgeny Donskoy in the opener before beating top 200 players Olivier Rochus and Bobby Reynolds in the later rounds.
Evans had three championship points at 5-4 in the decider, but Pospisil was helped on by the home crowd on his way to victory.
"I know 50 per cent of the crowd personally," Pospisil said. "That's not always easy. But I couldn't be more thrilled to have the trophy now."
The Vancouver Open are second-tier ITF (women) and Challenger (men) events, but lie at the top of those divisions with prize money of $100,000 each.
 
Robson pulls out at last moment in Toronto

Laura Robson withdrew from the WTA Toronto event, moments before she was to go on court to face Yanina Wickmayer.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands took Robson's place against Wickmayer as a 'lucky loser'.
World number 32 Robson, who was suffering from a wrist injury, joined a list of injured players to withdraw which includes Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.
Mattek-Sands could not take advantage of Robson's misfortune though as she was beaten 6-4 2-6 6-4 by Wickmayer in one hour and 46 minutes.
Roberta Vinci fought back from a set down to beat Julia Goerges 2-6 6-4 6-3 and move into the second round of the Rogers Cup.
The 10th seeded Italian was joined by 14th seed Sloane Stephens of the United States, who overcame Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-2 7-6(5).
Vinci got off to a slow and struggled against the German's big forehand in the opening set. However, she mixed up her ****** in the second and third sets to upset Goerges' rhythm and came out on top.
"In the third I tried to play aggressive and to try to put a lot of balls in the court because sometimes she plays an unbelievable game, and then after not so good," Vinci said.
"So she has a lot of ups and downs. I didn't play good tennis today. But important thing was I won."
World number 12 Vinci, who has struggled on faster surfaces this season but won claycourt titles in Katowice and Palermo, said the conditions and Goerges's unpredictability made it a difficult match.
"For me, it was tough," Vinci said. "Especially because there was a lot of wind and it's not easy to play confident.
"But in the end she played so bad, and probably she's not confident and that's why I won today."
American Stephens, who was coming of an opening round upset in the first round in Washington last week, got into her rhythm quickly against the big-hitting Mladenovic but after winning the first set she had trouble closing the match out.
"She upped her game a lot in the second set, and sometimes it's going to be a little up and down," the 20-year-old said.
"But I thought I stayed pretty solid and got through it. I knew she's probably going to press a little bit and make me play more balls. I just tried to stay with it and hit a lot of angles and move her a bit. It seemed to work and I played solid so it was good."
Serena Williams is the tournament's top seed.

Rogers Cup results

Round one

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) beat Carol Zhao (Canada) 6-1 6-3

14-Sloane Stephens (U.S.) beat Kristina Mladenovic (France) 6-2 7-6(5)

Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) beat Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 5-7 6-3 6-1

10-Roberta Vinci (Italy) beat Julia Goerges (Germany) 2-6 6-4 6-3

Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) beat Alison Riske (U.S.) 6-4 1-6 6-3

Varvara Lepchenko (U.S.) beat Ayumi Morita (Japan) 6-3 6-1

Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) 6-4 2-6 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) beat Jana Cepelova (Slovakia) 7-5 6-4

Sorana Cirstea (Romania) beat Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) 6-2 6-3

Mona Barthel (Germany) beat Zheng Jie (China) 6-7(3) 6-3 7-6(1)

Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Urszula Radwanska (Poland) 6-3 3-6 6-2
 
Tomic struggles continue with early exit to Mayer

Germany's Florian Mayer sent Australian young *** Bernard Tomic tumbling out of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, while Janko Tipsarevic's miserable run of results continued with a first round exit.
Mayer, ranked 50th in the world, came from a set down to win 5-7 6-3 6-3 as the year's sixth Masters series event began under blue skies and warm conditions.
Tomic has endured an inconsistent few months since the ATP ****** his ****** and coach John for allegedly assaulting his practice partner in May.
He made a promising start on Monday but Mayer capitalised on the Australian's rising unforced error count at the start of the second set, and used his unorthodox backhand slice to great effect.
The 29-year-old German, playing his first hard-court match since March, needed just one break of serve to draw level before repeating the feat in the decider as he closed out victory in an hour and 37 minutes.
"I missed my chances, I didn't focus early on in the second set and that's when he took over," Tomic said. "I dropped my concentration and he played very well."
Mayer will face top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.
Tipsarevic's hopes of rediscovering the form that took him to number eight in the world last year were shattered in the evening session when he was humbled by Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 6-4 6-3.
The 16th seed regularly held a top 10 spot during 2011-12 but has struggled for consistency this year, reaching the quarter-finals in just three of his last 15 tournaments.
Japan's ninth seed Kei Nishikori had to work much harder for his win and was given a stern test under the lights before breaking down Canadian qualifier Peter Polansky 4-6 6-4 6-2.
Local fans did not go home too disappointed, however, as wildcard Jesse Levine, a former American representative who now plays under Canada's flag, outclassed Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-4 7-6(4) to earn a second round tie against Rafa Nadal.
Earlier, Latvia's Ernests Gulbis advanced 7-6(4) 6-4 over Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez.
Gulbis has long been touted as a potential top 10 player and at times showed why, edging a tiebreaker against the former world number 15 before his big serve helped finish the job.
Gulbis is a possible third-round opponent for Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
"I like to play against the big guys on the big courts in the big tournaments," a confident Gulbis said.
Croatia's Ivan Dodig, who stunned Nadal in the second round at this tournament two years ago, crushed Slovenian Grega Zemlja 6-1 6-1 to set up a meeting with in-form sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro.
Pablo Andujar, who like Dodig only squeezed into the main draw following the withdrawals of Viktor Troicki and Marin Cilic, also made the most of his opportunity by recording a straight-sets win over Israeli qualifier Amir Weintraub.
Italian Andreas Seppi, Frenchman Benoit Paire and the second Australian in the main draw, qualifier Marinko Matosevic, were also among the day one winners.
Seppi finally ended the resistance of Czech Lukas Rozol in a third set tiebreak while Paire and Matosevic were comfortable winners over the German duo of Philipp Kohlscreiber and Benjamin Becker respectively.

Montreal Masters results

Round one

9-Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Peter Polansky (Canada) 4-6 6-4 6-2

Jesse Levine (Canada) beat Xavier Malisse (Belgium) 6-4 7-6(4)

Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan) beat 16-Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 6-4 6-3

Benoit Paire (France) beat Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 7-6(1) 7-5

Martin Klizan (Slovakia) beat Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) 5-7 6-4 7-6(6)

Marinko Matosevic (Australia) beat Benjamin Becker (Germany) 6-2 6-3

Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) beat Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 7-6(4) 6-4

Pablo Andujar (Spain) beat Amir Weintraub (Israel) 6-1 7-6(5)

Andreas Seppi (Italy) beat Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) 6-4 4-6 7-6(4)

Florian Mayer (Germany) beat Bernard Tomic (Australia) 5-7 6-3 6-3

Ivan Dodig (Croatia) beat Grega Zemlja (Slovenia) 6-1 6-1
 
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