Rogers Cup Betting Preview – Can Roger Federer Win the Title?

Toronto, Canada – The Rogers Cup enters the second round today and on this move, Roger Federer is finally set to make his appearance. Recently demoted to No.3, he opens his Rogers Cup bid against Juan Ignacio Chela.

Many tennis bettors are anxious to see Federer in his first appearance since falling to Tomas Berdych in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The loss on his beloved grass of the All England Club, lawns over which he had ruled so serenely, and for so long, sent seismic shockwaves through the tournament and rocked the tennis-betting world. It had many bring forward and dust off the refrain they had sitting on the backburner for some time now: he is a spent force.

Watch if he is not put under the microscope in Toronto and like an exotic insect dissected in every way, for the purpose of posterity, naturally.

Close attention will be paid to his every move, his every shot and every mishit. How many fist pumps he shakes at his box, will be observed. How many times he yells “come on” will be analysed to determine where his mental grit is at right now.

Federer floated the idea that he was slightly injured in his post-match Wimbledon press conference. Something about his back issues remerging.

Federer is not the sort to cite injury as an excuse, the reason behind a defeat, per se. Such poor sportsmanship is not a part of his repertoire. Keeping this in mind, one has to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he has a mite of a back problem.

So if his backside and movement becomes a talking point during the course of this tournament and the rest of the US Open Series, you now know why.

The real deal breaker is going to be any evidence of any lingering effects of his heartbreaking loss at the All England Club. If there are, they will surely emerge in Toronto. The question will then be whether they will spill forth to hinder his chances at the upcoming US Open.

You get the feeling that nothing but serving up the title would silence his critics and put him back in favour with them.

Right now, Roger Federer is second favourite at +250 to win the 2010 US Open at BetUS Sportsbook, behind Nadal (+225) but ahead of Murray (+400) and Djokovic (+900).

This isn’t idle speculation when considering the added fact that the Rogers Cup hasn’t been kind to Federer in the last few years. In fact, he has shown an atrocious trend, completely uncharacteristic of his lofty self.

In 2007, Federer lost his first ever encounter with Djokovic, in the final no less 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2).

The following year, after suffering defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final, Federer, making his first appearance at the Rogers Cup since that epic, lost his opener to Gilles Simon, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

In 2009, Federer lost in the quarterfinal of the Rogers Cup to Tsonga in rather bizarre fashion. Federer, up 5-1 in the third set and looking for all the world the winner of the match, the small matter of closing it out all that was left, suddenly mentally unravelled and lost 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(3).