2019 ATP Rogers Cup Betting Odds and Preview: Will Nadal Take The Fifth?
- The last two champions will be back to seek another Rogers Cup title
- Defending champion Rafael Nadal is the favorite and the top seed
- Alex Zverev, the 2017 Rogers Cup champion, is seeded third
Rafael Nadal doesn’t always make the Rogers Cup final but when the Spaniard does, he wins. Nadal is 4-0 in the final of Canada’s only major men’s tennis tournament. Last year, he defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 7-6(7-4) in the final to earn his fourth title.
One book has established Nadal as the +200 favorite heading into this year’s event.
2019 Rogers Cup Men’s Singles Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rafael Nadal | +200 |
| Dominic Thiem | +900 |
| Alex Zverev | +900 |
| Daniil Medvedev | +1100 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | +1200 |
| Kei Nishikori | +1400 |
| Nick Kyrgios | +1600 |
| Marin Cilic | +1600 |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime | +1800 |
| Gael Monfils | +2000 |
*Odds taken on 08/04/19.
Only Ivan Lendl (six) and turn of the 20th century Canadian politician Charles Smith Hyman (five) own more Rogers Cup men’s singles titles than Nadal.
Nadal’s Mixed Bag
Nadal has certainly enjoyed success when he’s gone on a run at the Rogers Cup. His other titles came in 2005, 2008 and 2013. But he’s also been run out of town quickly on other occasions.
In 2017, Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov stunned Nadal 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the Round of 16. Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Kei Nishikori in 2015. Croatian Ivan Dodig sent him packing in the second round in 2011.
In 2006, Nadal made a third-round exit at the hands of Czech Tomas Berdych.
Nadal has never won back-to-back titles here. There was a three-year gap between his first and second tournament wins and five years each separated the next two triumphs.
In fact, on the two previous occasions that Nadal has been entered in the Rogers Cup as defending champion, the world’s no. 2 player never got past the quarterfinals.
Can You Count on Zverev?
The only other players entered in this year’s tournament that own a previous Rogers Cup title are Alexander Zverev (2017) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014). Betting on either to succeed this year is a risky proposition.
Zverev’s win here in 2017 is one of three ATP Masters 1000 titles on his resume. He beat Roger Federer in the final.
This year is proving to be a struggle for Zverev, both on and off the court. He’s feuding with Lendl, his coach and is in court proceedings with former agent Patricio Apey.
Following his win last year in the Nitto ATP Finals, 2019 was supposed to be the year than the 22-year-old German national stepped up to the level of the big three of Novak Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Instead, he’s taken a step back.
Zverev is 28-15 this season. His lone title was a clay-court triumph at Geneva. But he’s played his best tennis on hard courts, posting a .714 winning percentage (10-4).
An Average Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga’s 2014 Rogers Cup title was the stuff of magic. The 13th seed, he toppled Djokovic in the third round, Andy Murray in quarterfinals and Federer in the final.
It was the first time any player had beaten all three of them in the same tournament since Nadal did it at the 2008 Hamburg Masters. But after a strong 2017 in which he won four tournaments, Tsonga hit hard times.
He’s slid all the way to 70th in the world rankings. Tsonga enters the Rogers Cup thanks to the granting of a wildcard entry.
He’s 21-12 on the season but an impressive 11-4 (.733) on hard courts. That includes a tournament win at Montpellier, Tsonga’s first title in two years.
A Deep Field of Contenders
Even with the late withdrawals of both of this year’s Wimbledon finalists – world no. 1 Djokovic and no. 3 Federer, who own a combined six titles in this event – it’s still a deep field that will fight it out for the Rogers Cup.
World #4 Dominic Thiem is the two seed. But Thiem hasn’t enjoyed his visits to Canada. He’s never made it past the Round of 16.
Last year’s finalist Tsitsipas is coming here off a semifinal appearance at the Citi Open. Tsitsipas is 20-8 on hard courts, including a win at Marseille.
Tsitsipas is seeded fourth, one ahead of 2016 finalist Nishikori. The Japanese player has won six of his last seven titles on hard surfaces. He won earlier this year at Brisbane.
Nishikori was at least a semifinalist in two of his last three Rogers Cup appearances.
Pick: Kei Nishikori (+1400)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
