Rogers Cup: Del Potro form should worry big boys

As a pre-cursor to the US Open, the Rogers Cup has long attracted the world’s best players and as such has inevitably been dominated by ‘the big four’.

World number one Novak Djokovic has lifted the title for the last two years, Andy Murray held it for two years before that and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the only others to have won here since 2004.

And with Federer not making the trip to Montreal this time round, it’s easy to see why Djokovic and Murray are the clear favourites at 6/4 and 5/2 respectively.

However, better value is available elsewhere with Argentina’s Juan-Martin del Potro priced at 8/1 to lift the trophy.

The 2009 US Open champion added a Washington title to the Rotterdam prize he picked up earlier in the year and dropped just one set – in the final against John Isner – in doing so.

The 24-year-old may not have won a Major since that US Open title, but a best-ever semi-final showing at Wimbledon this year – in a match widely regarded to have displayed the tennis of the tournament –  suggests that his game is now back to where it was.

The big four may have dominated this even in recent years but Del Potro will be boosted by the fact that he reached the final in 2009 and that the last two tournaments have offered up unfancied finalists.

Richard Gasquet and Mardy Fish made the showpiece finale in 2012 and 2011 respectively and while they ultimately failed to oust Djokovic, Del Potro goes into the tournament riding high on confidence and boasts a better hard court record than either of the last two beaten finalists.

Gasquet and Fish hold hard court win percentages of 63.94 and 64.07 respectively, while Del Potro’s is a much higher 72.85.

So, while Djokovic and Murray are definitely the men to beat, Del Potro is well equipped to rise to the challenge.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing