Montreal Masters Draw: Can Novak Djokovic do a three-peat?

Andy Murray

Third quarter – The 2012 Paris Masters champion and the third seed, David Ferrer is the highest seed in this section and needless to say, he has a grand opportunity to make the semi-finals .

Ferrer, at 31, is fit as ever and reached his first Grand Slam final. He will surely be looking forward to build on it. He is expected to brush aside Michael Llodra in the opener and, Gilles Simon should also not impose that much of a menace in the third round.

Meanwhile, Tomas Berdych is the second highest ranked player in this quarter but he has to overcome few obstacles if he dreams of a quarter-final in Canada.

He meets Kevin Anderson for the sixth time this year and even though he has reigned supreme every time, Anderson’s final appearance at Atlanta might just inspire him to put up a credible performance.

The Czech’s third round opponent will be the winner of the match between the in-form John Isner and Nicolas Almagro. If Isner can ward off fatigue after playing for two consecutive weeks, Berdych should have it easier against the Spaniard. But against the other Spaniard – Ferrer, Berdych has a demoralizing record which makes Ferrer the heavy favourite for the semi-finals.

Semi-finalist – David Ferrer

Matches to watch – John Isner v Nicolas Almagro (second round).

Fourth quarter – The Wimbledon champion Andy Murray returns to hardcore action after basking in his incredible success at the All England Club. What’s more important is the road to defending his first Slam – the US Open – begins right here.

As fate would have it, the second seed has been presented with the most loaded section of the draw.

The Briton has a tough second round against the winner of the highly talented Grigor Dimitrov, who put up an encouraging performance in Washington last week, and Marcel Granollers, who won the Kitzbuhel title on clay. Murray’s third round match should also be a delicious one against the dangerous Ernests Gulbis or Marcos Baghdatis who is inching back to the higher echelons after stopping his losing streak in Washington.

But his quarter-final could be a test for survival as he squares up against the dangerous Juan Martin del Potro. The Washington winner has also the Rotterdam indoor title in his resume this year and he should come unscathed against the faltering Milos Raonic, the Canadian No. 1.

The Argentine exuded loads of confidence in his semi-final thriller against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and looks eager to continue the amazing run.

Semi-finalist – Juan Martin del Potro

Matches to watch – Andy Murray v Grigor Dimitrov (second round), Andy Murray v Juan Martin del Potro (quarter-finals).

Semi-finals – Novak Djokovic beats Rafael NadalJuan Martin del Potro beats David Ferrer.

Final – Novak Djokovic beats Juan Martin del Potro.