By Eno’ Iyagbaye
This year’s Rogers Cup Tennis Championship will be very interesting with the return of recent past Cup champions which include Murray (2009), Nadal (2008, 2005), Djokovic (2007), Federer (2006, 2004), and Roddick (2003).
Tennis Canada announced the official list of players accepted for the 2010 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, which is scheduled to hold from August 7 to 15 at Rexall Centre in Toronto. Each of the Top 44 players on the ATP World Tour have been listed for the Masters 1000 event, including world No. 1 and recent Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal, the most decorated Grand Slam titlist Roger Federer, and defending champion of Rogers Cup, Andy Murray.
“We are thrilled to welcome the best tennis players on the planet back to Toronto this summer,” said tournament director Karl Hale. “The world-class players list, combined with a festival-like atmosphere, makes Rogers Cup presented by National Bank one of the best sporting events in Canada. We just witnessed an historic Wimbledon and we are looking forward to seeing similar tennis drama unfold at Rexall Centre.”
The stars list also includes local fan-favourite Novak Djokovic, American Andy Roddick and recent Wimbledon finalist, Tomas Berdych, among others.
There are 20 countries represented in the official player acceptance list, including Spain, who leads the tally with nine men scheduled to compete, followed by France (5), USA (4), Croatia (3) and Argentina (3).
To complete the 56-player draw, seven positions are reserved for qualifiers; four spots are held for wild card entrants at the discretion of Tennis Canada. One additional position is reserved for any special exemptions. These entrants will be announced at a later date.
Rogers Cup represents a long-standing Canadian sport tradition. Celebrating its 129th anniversary, it serves as the third-oldest tournament behind only Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
As an ATP Masters 1000 event, the highest-level tournament outside of the Grand Slams, Rogers Cup is a mandatory event on the men’s tennis calendar. More than a tournament, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank brings elite tennis together with 15-acres of family-oriented promotions, fireworks, a retail village, restaurants, bars, auctions, live music and more.
Tickets to main draw action start at $25. Session seats, group offers, packages and executive suite opportunities are still available. Inventory for championship Sunday is very limited according to the organizers.