Rogers Cup Main Draw Officially Set

August 11, 2007 - The main draw of the Rogers Cup presented by American Express is officially set, with first round action scheduled to begin on Monday.

Fans gathered in front of the main stage at Rexall Centre on Saturday afternoon to witness the construction of the roadmap towards determining the next Rogers Cup champion.  In attendance to assist with the draw were tournament director Karl Hale, tournament referee Tony Cho, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour supervisor Fabrice Choquet, world No. 19 Tatiana Golovin of France, and top-ranked Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.

This year’s draw is highlighted by Belgian Justine Henin, who, as the world’s top player, gets the No. 1 seed here in Toronto.  Jelena Jankovic (Serbia), Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia), and defending champion Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) round out the top four.  Each of these women, along with No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze (Russia), No. 6 Nadia Petrova (Russia), No. 7 Marion Bartoli (France), and No. 8 Elena Dementieva, will receive byes into the second round of the tournament.

When surveying a brand new tournament draw, one cannot help but look ahead to possible exciting contests later in the week.  The Rogers Cup presented by American Express is no exception, boasting several tantalizing potential matches-to-be.

Should she reach the semifinals, Henin could meet Ivanovic in a re-match of this year’s French Open final (which was won by Henin) or perhaps even Bartoli, who she lost to in the semifinals of the most recent Wimbledon championships.

In the bottom half of the draw, several intriguing match ups could appear on the docket.   Chakvetadze might play No. 11 seed Shahar Peer of Israel, with the winner of that match receiving a prospective quarterfinal duel with Jankovic.  Meanwhile, in the other quarter, Kuznetsova and Dementieva could set up an all-Russian quarterfinal that would be a repeat of the 2004 US Open final, which was won by Kuznetsova.

The one thing that is certain with the unveiling of the main draw is that an thrilling week of tennis awaits at the Rogers Cup presented by American Express.

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