Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic All Sent Packing in Montreal

ATP Montreal coverage

It's not often Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic all crash out of a tournament on the same day.   The trio, who had made up the top three for over a year and (all still reside in the top four), were sent home by the #5, #6, and #7 players in the world in the quarterfinal round of Montreal.

#1 Roger Federer suffered an unprecedented complete collapse in his match vs. #7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Federer led 5-1 in the third set, up two breaks, before inexplicably falling apart and hitting error after error and double fault after double fault to give Tsonga the match 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(3). 

Tsonga is a dangerous player who test anyone in the game when at his peak, but this loss was all Federer's doing by the end.  The only explanation I can come up with is that the effort was an homage to the Hantuchova-Zvonareva scoreline from the day before.

#4 Novak Djokovic crashed out to #5 Andy Roddick in an installment of their once bitter rivalry that was marred by good sportsmanship, for a change. 

Having dropped the first set 6-4, Djokovic seemingly held for a 4-1 advantage but suggested that Roddick challenge a ball that had been called out on game point.  Roddick did, and the ball was indeed in, resetting the score to 3-1 and giving the American #1 a new lease on life.  Roddick went on to break in that game to get the set back on serve, and eventually won the match in the tiebreak,  6-4, 7-6(4).

As a #4 vs. #5 match, this should have been the least surprising of the three upsets on paper.  But it was surprising the way Roddick won it, more by outplaying Djokovic from the ground than with the serve.  Djokovic made error after error on the forehand side, sending balls long down the middle of the court at seemingly neutral points in rallies.

Roddick can over take Djokovic in the rankings at the US Open.  Based on current form, he certainly deserves to.

And in the final match of the day, #2 Rafael Nadal was worn down by #6 Juan Martin del Potro, 7-6(5), 6-1.

del Potro, who is now riding a ten-match win streak on hard courts since Wimbledon, pummeled the defending Rogers Cup champion with his huge forehand, hitting line after line. 

Nadal probably wouldn't have beaten del Potro on hard courts at peak health, and it was clear in this match that he's not all the way back yet, in terms of shot-making more than movement.

The only favorite who did manage to win Friday in Montreal was Andy Murray, who was never tested by #8 Nikolay Davydenko.  Should Murray win his semifinal vs. Tsonga, he will replace Nadal as #2, becoming the first player besides Nadal or Federer to occupy a top two slot since mid-2005. 

No pressure.