As Rafael Nadal sprawled across the All-England Tennis Club’s grass centre court after his dramatic Wimbledon win, the scandals plaguing tennis seemed all but forgotten.
In early August of last year at the Sopot Open in Poland, tennis became the subject of uncharacteristically bad press. The fourth seeded player Nikolay Davydenko was cruising for a set and a half against the relatively unknown Martin Vassallo Arguello with no reason to question his eventual victory. However the odds on the popular British gambling website Betfair did not see it that way. Millions of dollars poured into the site from just a few users on Davydenko’s opponent, pushing the odds in Arguello’s favor. Davydenko went on to retire in the third set complaining of a foot injury. Betfair cancelled all bets on the match as the integrity of the gentleman’s sport was abruptly thrown into question. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) launched a probe into the matter while several players reported to journalists of incidents in which they were approached to fix matches.
Such corruption was the top story despite so many engaging developments: the meteoric rise of Serbian youngster Novak Djokovic, the clay court domination of Mallorca’s Rafael Nadal, and the first signs of aging shown by Swiss maestro and world number one Roger Federer.
The Rogers Cup begins as tennis represses the memory of the Davydenko scandal. As the physical and rhetorical grace of Muhammad Ali once rescued boxing from its reputation as a sport dominated by mafiosos during the 1970’s, the Wimbledon Final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer was so pure in its athleticism that sports fans could concentrate on something other than the strains of corruption
The top ten male tennis players have all expressed their intent to travel to Toronto to compete at the Rexall Centre at York University beginning July 19. Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal have each won the tournament the last three years respectively and will be the overwhelming favourites once again. However, with each of the top players desperately vying for a gold at the Beijing Olympics, one or more may withdraw from the tournament at the last second, or ‘tank’ an early round match to prepare for the two-week tournament in China.
The early disappearance of a few of the top seeds would be a welcome sight for Frank Dancevic, the lone Canadian in the singles draw, who will try to become the first Canadian to win in Toronto. Last year, the Niagara Falls native made it to the quarter-finals before ultimately succumbing to his nerves against Nadal in a tight three set match. Dancevic has had a disappointing year thus far, failing to advance past the second round of a Grand Slam. But Dancevic has recently shown signs of returning to last year’s form with an upset win over former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian and a quarterfinal appearance at the Hall of Fame tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.
The best chance for a hometown victory, however, is on the doubles court. Toronto’s Daniel Nestor is coming off his first Wimbledon victory, completing a Career Grand Slam, and staking claim to the title of greatest-ever Canadian tennis player. Nestor won the Rogers tournament in 2000, partnering with fellow Canadian Sebastien Lareau, and now returns in 2008 as the number one doubles player in the world anchored by a big serving partner, Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic.
If you have some free time and a few extra dollars on hand this July, take the TTC up to York to catch some world class tennis. Dozens of nations will be represented, from Argentina and Chile to Russia and the Czech Republic, each trying to capture the momentum going into the Olympic Games.
