ROGERS CUP – DAY 1 (Highlights)

1. The first match of the day on Centre Court was an excellent battle between Montrealer Eric Chvojka and 3rd seed Lukasz Kubot of Poland that went back and forth and resulted in a very close 2nd set loss (6-4,7-5) for Chvojka in the qualifying round. The crowd chanted and clapped and encouraged Chvojka, but Kubot’s experience won in the end.

2. Next up on Centre Court was a gruelling training session between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray that entertained the lucky fans that were in attendance.

3. A very spirited and competitive street hockey game was had on court 2 with NHL players Georges Laraque, Alexandre Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks and newest Montreal Canadian Daniel Briere against the ATP Tennis players Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jarkko Nieminen, Martin Klizan, Jaroslav Levinski and Canadian Jesse Levine. Former NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer also played. The game was tied 4-4 in regulation time and the NHL players were exasperated when the ATP squad won 5-4 in the resulting shootout. A huge turnout of fans watched the exciting match.

4. The last qualifying match of the day on Centre Court featured Canadian Steven Diez against American Michael Russell in a match that Russell won handily 6-1 and 6-2.

Report and Images: Brian Goldschmied