Throughout the Rogers Cup tournaments in Montreal (ATP) and Toronto (WTA), we'll preview the upcoming days' must-see matches.
Roger Federer [2] vs. Roberto Bautista Agut [12]
Federer was 16-0 against David Ferrer coming into Thursday, but he struggled to make it 17. He’s 6-0 against Ferrer’s fellow Spaniard, Bautista Agut; could we see another struggle from Federer to make it seven straight? He started slowly against Ferrer and never kicked into high gear, and he’ll only be wearier on Friday. Bautista Agut pushed Federer to two tiebreakers on a similar court in Miami this spring, but after beating Gael Monfils in a third-set tiebreaker 24 hours earlier, he may have lost a little of the spring in his own step. Federer isn’t likely to be that far off two days in a row.
Winner: Federer
Karolina Pliskova [1] vs. Caroline Wozniacki [6]
Fancy meeting you again: Pliskova and Wozniacki, two of the best from one week to the next this year, have already played four times in 2017. Pliskova has won three of those matches, including the last one, on grass in Eastbourne. But Wozniacki wore her down on a slow hard court in Miami; the courts in Toronto don’t look all that much different.
Winner: Wozniacki
Garbiñe Muguruza [4] vs. Elina Svitolina [5]
These two hard hitters have played six completed matches and split them down the middle, 3-3. Muguruza won their only meeting of 2017, 6-0 in the third set, on a hard court in Indian Wells. It will likely be up to Muguruza who wins this one as well; she’s the more aggressive player, and she has more firepower. Svitolina will have to hope she starts misfiring, but Muguruza’s aim has mostly been true of late.
Winner: Muguruza
