Roger Federer is in the hunt for the World No. 1 ranking this summer. However, at the 2017 Rogers Cup, he cannot do enough to get to a top spot in the rankings that will immediately follow the tournament. Rafael Nadal is the player that can get to No. 1 in Montreal with Federer looking ahead to possibilities in Cincinnati and New York. The draw for the Canadian Masters was released on Friday with Federer seeded 2nd at the bottom of the draw.
Federer will face Pospisil or Polansky
Federer, as the two seed in the event, avoids having to play a first-round match.
When he opens his tournament, he will do so in the round of 32, making the tournament a five-round affair for him if he claims the title. While his second-round opponent remains to be determined, it will be a Canadian player. Federer will face either Vasek Pospisil or Peter Polansky, both Canadian wild cards in the 2017 Rogers Cup. Between Pospisil and Polansky, it is definitely the former that is more proven as he was in the Wimbledon quarterfinals at an earlier point in his career.
Federer should survive the second round, and speculation on his third-round opponent should include David Ferrer. Ferrer enters the tournament having won a title in his last outing, that coming on clay in Bastad in July.
Ferrer has a draw through Kyle Edmund, a bit of an underachiever on tour, and then maybe Jack Sock.
Sock himself is deep in the Washington draw this weekend and could be tired entering the Rogers Cup. Ferrer, on the other hand, should be fresh as he has taken two weeks off since winning the Bastad title. If Federer faces Ferrer, then the match should be a dunk for the Swiss Maestro.
They have one of the more one-sided head-to-head series in modern ATP tennis with Federer owing a 16-0 record against the Spaniard.
Federer vs. Nishikori possible for quarters
An analysis of Federer's draw has to see him as a huge favorite to make the quarterfinals. The high seed near Federer is Kei Nishikori. Nishikori, who is also still alive in the Washington draw, is 2-5 against Federer.
Other high seeds on Federer's half of the draw include Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem. Dimitrov is slumping at this point in the season, and Federer recently demolished him at Wimbledon. Thiem isn't a great hard courter, and his high seed reflects clay-court results more than any other surface.
Tomas Berdych is also on the bottom half of the draw, but then the Czech player went deep in the Los Cabos draw this week, losing a tough match in the semifinals. The bottom half of the draw at the Rogers Cup has to be judged as safe for Federer. If he plays anything like the tennis he has played over the course of most of the season; then it is very hard not to picture him making the final.
Federer can block Nadal from the title in Montreal.
However, the Swiss Maestro can't block the Spaniard from the World No. 1 ranking. Nadal needs but to make the semifinals to surpass Andy Murray, one of the tournament's subplots this week. At opposing ends of the draw, Federer can't get in Nadal's way of that goal. However, most will still be calling for a 'Fedal' final in Montreal with implications for No. 1 over the longer term.
