The Rogers Cup is over, and we are now in full Cincinnati mode. One of the most obvious aspects of this tournament is the fact that there are more stars than at the Rogers Cup. This isn’t necessarily a good thing, nor surprising due to the fact that they are back to back. The Rogers Cup and Cincinnati should take a cue from Indian Wells and Miami, where the two tournaments span almost two weeks each and own the month of March.

The fact that two massive tournaments have to be played back to back and only give one week of rest before the US Open is a problem. Not surprisingly, some top players opted out of Canada and are now playing in Cincinnati. A prime example is Federer and Djokovic pulling out of Canada and playing Cincinnati. Nadal just won Canada and has pulled out of Cincinnati due to fatigue. 

The reason they pull out is that the season is long, and the body has a hard time handling this much tennis into the last major of the year. Just look at the folks that are injured or semi injured; they include Monfils, Williams, Halep, Anderson and Del Potro. 

Ultimately, there’s no reason to stack so much in prize money into one month. That’s just a recipe for chaos, and we’re seeing the results in real time. That Rohan Williams, being said, Cincinnati should bring us some great matches and provide us with an idea about who’s going into the US Open in form. The player everyone will have their eyes on will be Roger Federer, who at 38 is still playing with poise and precision. He had two Championship points at Wimbledon against Djokovic in the final. Will they meet again before the US Open? 

How will Halep and Williams fare after their Rogers Cup injuries? I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them or both pull out before this week is over. In the meantime, it will be fun to continue to watch the rise of two Russian top 10 players that continue to rise in the rankings: Khachanov and Medvedev.