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ATP Montreal coverage

An even, close final in Montreal between new #2 Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro turned into a rout by the third set, as the lanky Argentine wilted in the hot summer weather to give the Scot the win by the score of 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-1.  You know what they say: if you can't take the heat, get out of Canada.

It was a great match for two sets, with Murray frustrated by del Potro's big hitting early and often.  del Potro really seemed to expose a weakness with Murray's forehand return (or lack thereof), a deficiency Darren Cahill blamed on Murray always preparing to return serve with his backhand grip.  If you have a grip for return that doesn't work on both backhand and forehand, that's problematic.  How Murray can't find a more versatile one or adjust escapes me.

But Murray battled through, with del Potro clearly struggling, even calling for the trainer at 6-5 in the second, which is about as bizarre timing as you'll ever see for that.  By the time the third set rolled around, the engraver already had gotten Murray's name on the trophy, with del Potro only managing nine games in the decider.

With this win in Montreal, one in which he was favored in every round, the stage now seems completely set for Murray to make a big run at the US Open.  He'll most likely be on opposite sides of the draw from Roger Federer, with those two favored to make it a rematch of last year's final.  How he does against a Roddick, del Potro, or Nadal that he runs into before the final will be interesting to see.

For del Potro, the outlook is more mixed coming out of Montreal.  He proved that he can beat big players (Roddick, Nadal) consistently on hard courts, but he also proved he doesn't always do so efficiently enough to conserve energy, and may not have the endurance to do it over seven matches in a best-of-five format.  del Potro has already withdrawn from Cincinnati citing exhaustion, and that's only after two weeks of three-setters.  How he holds up will be one of the stories to keep an eye on come US Open time.