The week did not begin as auspiciously as it ended.

Two-thirds of the way through his opening match in Toronto, Rafael Nadal tossed up the ball, swung his racquet, and landed flat on his "famous" derriere.

The crowd gasped, many remembering how injuries have held him back on hardcourts for the past two summers. But as it turned out, nothing was wrong -- and if things stay that way, not much more may go wrong for Nadal during the hardcourt season this year.

Lying on the floor, he looked a little puzzled and sheepish, but bounded back up and cruised through the rest of the match.

"Co-ordination" he explained afterwards, quirking his equally famous eyebrow. "I served and I didn't find... the floor."

It didn't take him long to establish his footing. By his next match, he was playing "100% better," leaping around the baseline, hooking his forehand and pouncing on the ball with all the ferocity of the past two months.

Roger Federer lost his opening match and Novak Djokovic fell a round too early, but a couple of the tour's other most dangerous players were dispatched to face the Spaniard this week and came away chastened.

Richard Gasquet displayed all his supreme shotmaking against his junior rival in the quarterfinals, but ended the match shaking his head and wondering how anyone could win two sets against him. Andy Murray produced an exceptional performance of power and variety in the semifinals, but couldn't pierce Nadal's armour.

As expected, Nicholas Kiefer proved to be a sacrificial lamb in the final. Having made his way through the carnage in the top draw of the draw, he made things briefly competitive during a six-deuce game at 2-2, but couldn't seize any of his three break points and lost the last four games tamely.

All three of those players walked off the court convinced of one thing: Nadal is now the top player in men's tennis.

"He's great for the sport, He's only 22. He will be the upcoming No. 1," Kiefer told the Toronto crowd, which had just watched Nadal win his fifth straight title across three different surfaces.

"I think he'll be No. 1 in the world soon," said Murray.

"I was playing incredible, maybe my best set in my life. But you have to win two sets to win [against] him," said Gasquet. "He's the best player in the world for me."

Nadal has steadfastly resisted to speculate until he's finally crowned, and there's some merit to that mindset. The 52-week span over which rankings are determined means that it can take some time before the numbers fully reflect recent trends, but it ensures that the player who reaches the coveted top spot is no flash in the pan, having established his superior record over a full year to get there.

But if Nadal looked into the crystal ball at the top of the Rogers Cup trophy while he was biting into it, he might have seen how soon rankings reality will match perception.

It shouldn't be long. The various points scenarios are complex but suffice it to say that Federer must win Cincinnati to have a realistic hope of holding off Nadal in the next three weeks. Otherwise, men's tennis will have its first new No. 1 in four and a half years. Federer has now been No. 1 for a record 234 weeks in a row, while Nadal has also been No. 2 for a record 157 weeks in a row.

The buzz is loud, but Nadal feels that his long stay near the top has readied him for reaching the top. "If I [become] No. 1, I think for sure I'm prepared, because I was prepared for three years for defending the points and playing with the pressure of being No. 1," he said.

Getting to this point has been hard -- literally. Nadal has been utterly dominant on clay for over three years -- he has won 115 of 117 clay matches since April 2005 -- and become a real force on grass -- he won his first Wimbledon title three weeks ago in an epic match against Roger Federer after reaching the final the previous two years. It's a lack of consistent results on hardcourts that have prevented him from taking the next step.

It's not that Nadal lacks the ability to win on the surface -- he grabbed Masters titles in Montreal in 2005 and Indian Wells in 2007. But he has been hampered by the pounding his feet and knees receive on the punishing cement as well as his opponents' greater ability to withstand and counter his shots on the faster, lower-bouncing courts.

But earlier this year he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and Indian Wells, followed by the final of Miami. Now, by winning his first hardcourt title of the year in Toronto, he has stalled the prospect of yet another post-Wimbledon fade.

A focused effort on playing more aggressively and trying to end points more quickly has led to an all-court versatility that has allowed his win streak of 29 matches to survive a switch from clay to grass in two days and then from grass and hardcourts in two weeks. No one has won consecutive titles across three surfaces since Federer won Wimbledon, Gstaad and Toronto in 2004. Nadal has now won Hamburg, the French Open, Queen's, Wimbledon and Toronto.

Kiefer, who has lost to Nadal four times this year on hardcourts or grass, joked, "Maybe I should try to go indoors -- last option."

Nadal's heavy ball has always made it difficult for opponents to make stinging replies, and his recent willingness to step up and pound away anything short means he can now apply relentless pressure even on faster surfaces.

There's no one better positioned to attest to this than Murray, who has lost to Nadal on clay at Hamburg, grass at Wimbledon, and hardcourts at Toronto in the past 12 weeks.

"He's definitely doing a lot of things better than he was in the past. I think he's moving better on hardcourts and I think he's sort of changing the pace of the ball a little bit more and not playing so far behind the baseline like he did in the past," said Murray, always able to provide an apt sketch of his fellow pros.

"His game, in terms of the way that he hits the ball, hasn't changed a whole a lot. I just think the way that he moves and returns on the quicker courts is much better than it was before.

"He's always going to play long matches, but he's definitely going for the ball a bit more."

Not only have Nadal's improved results on hardcourts been key to getting within touching distance of No. 1, but they will also be key to staying there. As Federer noted earlier in the week, the tour will stay on outdoor or indoor hardcourts for the next nine months.

Clay is its foundation, and grass its legitimacy, but it's hardcourts that will make or break Rafa's nascent reign.

Two very different kinds of tiebreaks were the story of Friday evening in Toronto.

The one to remember was the one between Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet in the first set of their quarterfinal match, won 14-12 by Gasquet in thrilling fashion. Point after endless point, the ball zapped back and forth in lightning exchanges that usually ended with an electric winner or excruciatingly close miss.

It even began with an jolt, Nadal winning the first point on a letcord winner and going up 3-0 before dropping the next three points. Level at 3-3, Gasquet unleashed a huge forehand and neatly sent over a pick-up volley to draw a Nadal error, signalling that the contest was about to take off. The Frenchman followed up with another big forehand and a spectacular backhand return winner that took him to his first set point at 6-5.

Little did he suspect that there were five more to come! A lull in his legendary backhand sent two more set points by the wayside and then gave Nadal a set point of his own at 9-8, but Gasquet wiped it away with another clean forehand winner. Then followed one of the most nerve-jangling moments of the match. At 9-9, Nadal barely caught the line with his forehand and then sent one of his hooking southpaw shots leaping away from the court -- Gasquet barely reached it in time to send over a backhand that cleared the net by an inch, but Nadal somehow came up with an audacious forehand dropshot that had the crowd swooning.

It earned the Spaniard a second set point, but a backhand return into the net quickly levelled the score at 10-10. The authority then swung back to Gasquet, who courageously served-and-volleyed off a second serve to earn his fourth set point. That too proved fruitless, but he got another by hitting a big forehand almost on the sideline and following it in with a drop volley for which Nadal had no answer.

By this time it was 12-12 and the stadium was in a frenzy. Enough was enough. Gasquet hit an ace to reach set point No. 6, and made sure it was a last by drawing Nadal in on the next point and shooting a forehand pass by him.

The performance deserved a standing ovation, and it got one.

What followed was typical. Nadal, who showed in the Wimbledon final that he knows how to bounce back from losing an epic tiebreak, proceeded to bulldoze the fragile Gasquet 6-2, 6-1.

"It was emotional tiebreak," said Nadal afterwards. "Later I maybe improve a little bit the intensity, the rhythm."

"I was playing incredible, maybe my best set in my life," said Gasquet. "But you have to win two sets to win [against] him."

The tiebreak earlier in the evening was one to forget -- for Djokovic, anyway. "Last couple of months, I haven't been playing really good tiebreaks," he said. He's lost two to Nadal at the French Open and Queen's and one to Marat Safin at Wimbledon. "It's not really what I want to have in the future... usually I was always good in the tiebreakers."

He began in the ugliest possible fashion, hitting a backhand dropshot that barely made it to the net, let alone over it. He recovered from that mini-break, but not from losing one of the best points in the match. His forehand was erratic all evening, and three straight mishits off that wing had the crowd sharply drawing its breath as one landed right on the line and twice barely cleared the net. A fourth, however, blooped over the court and put him down again at 2-1.

Then came another dropshot attempt, this time landing just wide, and two forehand errors that meant the score was 5-1 and the writing was on the wall.

Murray smiled afterwards when it was pointed out to him that for once, he hadn't been the one hitting ill-advised drophots.

In his customary way, Djokovic greeted his opponent warmly at the net after a 6-3, 7-6(3) loss. Murray and Djokovic have been friends since their junior days and their shoulder-patting exchange was appreciatively noted by the crowd.

Djokovic had the majority of fans in his corner after losing the first set, and won them over even more at 4-4 in the second with his reaction to two successive points. After a couple of forceful forehands and a (very) cautious overhead, Djokovic clenched his fist above his head and gave his first smile of the match, a beam that could be seen in the last row. Then when Murray responded with a crosscourt return win to earn a break point, Djokovic applauded the shot.

"Everyone has different behaviour on the court," said Djokovic. "I admit when someone makes a great shot. Why not? I congratulate them."

After saving break points in the first game, Murray was dominant in the first set and twice went up a break in the second set as well. Despite frequent errors, Djokovic didn't back ofof his shots and started to get back in it around the sixth and seventh games. His best chance came when he reached set point at 4-5 with Murray serving, but again missed a forehand.

He said he was most disappointed with his serve, winning only about half the points on his delivery. Murray, meanwhile, managed to get 71% of the points on his first serve and 62% on his second despite a first-serve percentage of just 48%. Djokovic also finished with 23 winners but 36 errors, 20 of those on the forehand.

Murray's performance was extremely solid, and his subtle variations of spin and pace keeping Djokovic from finding his groove. He had never beaten the Serb in four previous meetings.

Next up is Nadal, who he's also 0-4 against. "Every match is different, no?" said Nadal. "Murray didn't ever win against Djokovic, and today he did."

Their tiebreak record, incidentally, is 1-1.

Repent, all ye who made jokes at Gilles Simon's expense when he topped the US Open Series standings last week with his win in Indianapolis. No one expected that to last, but thanks to his run in Toronto, he'll remain top of the leaderboard this week as well.

And he's done it the hard way. Simon played three-setters all the way to the final in Indianapolis, and went the distance against Roger Federer and Marin Cilic as well. When he plays against Nicolas Kiefer in the semifinals, he'll be trying to win his tenth match in a row.

The Frenchman speaks excellent English and has given thoughtful, detailed answers to the questions peppered at him since his monumental upset of Roger Federer in the second round here. So when looking back at his excellent week, why not let Simon say it for himself?

What follows is a montage of his comments in his interviews this week.

It was the first time I played against him. It's so impressive when you enter into the central court against Federer. It's, "Come on. Where am I?" I look [around the stadium] -- there is my parents, here my coach.

For me it was the first time. I didn't know what to expect. I know he's playing so fast, but I just wanted to play my game and to know what would be the result if I was just playing my game. I'm so confident actually because I won the tournament last week, and I just wanted to not "miss" this match. I just wanted to fight and play a nice game and play a nice match. That's what I did, so I'm so proud of it.

Even if it was not a good match for him, he's hard to defeat. That's just unbelievable for me to win against him.

I was just too tired to think. I just saw the ball and I hit the ball. Federer played a nice game in the four first games, with so many aces and so many winners on forehand. And then I had to play my best tennis and I have to hit the ball as hard as him.

Fortunately for me he missed some forehand and I played some nice shots with my backhand. Maybe destabilize him a little bit.

For sure this is my best victory. I don't think that you win so many times against the No. 1 in the world -- happens maybe, I don't know, in the career of a player maybe two, three times if you are lucky.

What is hard in tennis is I can't just stay on this match because I have one more match tomorrow, and I have to think about it right now. It was the same for my victory in Indianapolis. I didn't have the time to enjoy it yet, but it's a good thing for me. If I lose this week, then I think I'll make a big party for all these reasons.

It's not like if you defeated Roger in the final. Then you can say -- okay, I don't play the next tournament, I don't play for one year if you don't want.

I finished the match and it was 10:00 pm. Then I have to rest, I have to hit, I have to go back to the hotel, the massage and everything. I had to sleep only at 1:00 am, and then I have the match 12:00 pm this morning.  I have no time to enjoy it yet.

It was hard to rest, but when you defeat Roger you are so confident. 

I really wanted to win [against Jose Acasuso in the third round], because if you defeat Roger and then you lose the match right after it's not the same. If I'm still in the tournament, I'm still dreaming.

That's what is nice when you defeat a player like Roger. After, when you are on the court, you just think that you can defeat everybody.  That's why I played a great match [in the third round], even if I was tired, even if the recuperation was not so good, just with my tennis and with the confidence.

The start of the match was very important. I had to move my legs. It was harder to move than usual.  I'm tired, but I play without pressure. I just try to give the best every match, and I try to keep like this until the end.

Marin [Cilic, quarterfinal opponent] is a very good player. He's hitting the ball so hard also. But when you play slowly we could say that he missed some easy shots because he just doesn't manage to finish the point himself. He needs the speed of the opponent. Sometimes he's a little bit impatient and trying shots he shouldn't try. I just wanted to put the ball inside on the backhand five, six, seven, ten times.

If you win nine matches in a row like this, even if you are tired you play with confidence. The confidence is more important than to be exhausted at the end of the point.

I try to sleep a little bit when I'm back at the hotel. Every time I'm playing first match, so I have to wake up early. Right now it's difficult to walk. But like usual, with a good massage and some stretching and a good rest, tomorrow I'll be a new guy. Nicolas [Kiefer, semifinal opponent] is a good player. He was injured, but he played some good tournaments this year.

I just hope that we are going to play a great match with a great fight. Even if I die on the court, I just give the maximum tomorrow.

In the 24 hours or so since Roger Federer's loss, we've all been trying to find a formula that explains the defeat. How about:

   Wimbledon hangover ("disaster" loss to Nadal)
+ pressure to put up wins (the "monster")
+ forehand/serve trouble (symptomatic of increased inconsistency?)
+ hot opponent (Gilles Simon won Indianapolis last week)
+ hardcourt rust (just two weeks and four days of practice after the grass)

It's natural to want Rafael Nadal's take. He knows Federer well, and he's the one who's gone through much of the ride with him -- they played each other in the final of Monte Carlo, lost early in Rome, and then played the finals of Hamburg, the French and Wimbledon together. Each played and won a grass warmup between the French Open and Wimbledon

Federer's loss also affects Nadal, putting him within touching distance of the No. 1 spot he's been looking up at for 154 straight weeks.

Of course, getting Nadal's take isn't easy -- in fact, it feels like it's not easy to get Nadal to answer any question these days, easy or difficult. What adjustments do you make to hardcourts, Rafa? Oh, just the same as clay. What's your goal now you've finally won Wimbledon? I'm just thinking about this week. What did you make of the wind today, Rafa? It's often windy. How about the rain? Nothing's as bad as Wimbledon last year.

It would be exasperating if he wasn't so good-hearted about it all. But in the spirit of player comradeship ('let me tell you what we go through'), he did give up his read of the loss:

    Punishing schedule
  + Wimbledon
  + hot opponent
  + missed chances

"I think you really don't know how tough it is to play Miami, Davis Cup, Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona, Hamburg, Roland Garros, Halle or Queen's, and next week after Wimbledon," said Nadal, reciting his own schedule since March. "A lot of matches and a lot of tournaments without a stop, so after Wimbledon, a tough match in the final, the body is going down. For me, too."

Not only had Federer played six previous matches and then their epic final, he had also had to absorb a loss -- something Nadal didn't have to deal with. "He lost important match I think for him, and maybe he has to be a little bit worse than me. So you don't know how tough it is to be 100% in one week, one week and a half, because you have to be here [in Toronto]."

"And Federer yesterday played against Simon," Nadal continued. "Simon came here winning the last tournament... it's a very tough match for the first match after a long time not playing on hard and with only some days of practice, no?"

Nadal saw a chunk of the match waiting around for his (midnight) doubles to start yesterday. "Well, in my opinion he had a lot of chances and he had chances to win in two sets. In the third he was a break up... two times, I think. He was a little bit unlucky with some points, and in the end Simon play very well, no?"

I'm feeling a little nostalgic this week -- it was at the men's event in Toronto two years ago that I did my first blogging for TENNIS.com at Steve Tignor's blog, then known as The Wrap. Watching young guns Ernests Gulbis and Marin Cilic this week, I found myself thinking back in particular to this post on the young guns circa 2006 ("Waiting in the Wings").

It's amusing to look back and see the references to 19-year-old Novak Djokovic as a "solid all-around game anchored by a big forehand" (it was, then!) who "may be the toughest one mentally -- not in the indefatigable way Nadal is, but in sheer ruthlessness" (some things don't change).

Nadal was already a top player, but Djokovic, Murray, Gasquet, Berdych, Monfils and co. were still trying to establish themselves. Two years on, they've succeeded to varying degrees -- and though they're still relatively young  themselves, a new group has already arrived on the doorstep. The current  working list consists of 19-year-olds Gulbis, Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro, and 18-year-old Kei Nishikori.

Nishikori is a little younger and hasn't yet begun to play a full schedule of ATP events, but he's competed against a few top players this season and genuinely impressed them all (a bit more on him from earlier in the year here). The constantly-injured del Potro, incongruous as a huge hitter who's most comfortable on clay, is finally putting together a run and has won two tournaments in the past two weeks.

The other two, Gulbis and Cilic, were both in Toronto this week. Gulbis has the kind of bulletproof game that's most likely to allow a sustained presence at the top -- a big serve, accompanied by a backhand that can create an opening and a forehand that can finish a point at any time, not to mention some decent touch and skilful point construction.

His challenge so far has been bringing those strengths to bear over the course of a match and a tournament. He insists he's started working harder and is getting more consistent, but his first-round match in Toronto suggests there's still some way to go.

The winners were flowing early in the third set against Jose Acasuso -- a startling backhand dropshot that hit the sideline and spun away, a reflex forehand winner down the line off an overhead from Acasuso -- but it all came to an abrupt stop when Gulbis served for the match at 5-2. He was broken to love twice, with Acasuso simply holding steady as Gulbis' ambitious shots deserted him. This time, the backhand dropshot attempt that would have given him match point at 5-3 didn't find its mark.

Gulbis is also apparently a hard man to get a hold of.  After passing on an interview request at Wimbledon, he's managed to dodge the one scheduled here for five days and counting. Imagine what it'll be like when he's top 10.

Cilic has been a lot more visible this week, not least for his 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Andy Roddick on Thursday. The Croat is a big bomber with a game that flows outward from his fluid serve -- a deep knee-bend, and quick swoop upwards for a delivery usually in the mid-120s. He's solid off both wings, with the forehand the more authoritative but more erratic side, he returns well, and  he will actually put into practice all the good intentions about coming in regularly.

A hyper-focused intensity on court helps his 6'6" frame get around the court a little better than it otherwise might -- his feet are endlessly bouncing, his eyes constantly tracking the ball. If it's a little reminiscent of Mario Ancic, that's no surprise -- on Goran Ivanisevic's recommendation, both went to Bob Brett's academy in San Remo, Italy, when they were in their early teens.

Cilic produced an impressive physical display against Roddick early on, going up 6-4, 4-2 in just over an hour.  But his mental poise later in the match was equally impressive for a young player -- after losing four games in a row to drop the second set, he gathered himself quickly to break in the opening game of the third and later authoritatively served out the match to love.

Roddick came out a little flat, attributing it to lack of match practice over the last couple of months and trouble 'clicking' on the forehand. "His aggressiveness is what won him the match today," Roddick said. "He took it to me a lot more than I took it to him." He had been "hoping" to see a lapse from Cilic in the third, but none came.

"I forget already what was happening in the second set," said Cilic after the match. "I put myself back together, and I was just thinking to start really good the third set. That thing was, I think, really crucial."

That emotional resilience may help Cilic rise a little faster and further than the big bomber of the old new generation, Tomas Berdych.

Brett was in the players' box on Thursday -- he's now travelling with Cilic to some tournaments after the Croat parted ways with his travelling coach in April. "It's tough to come through all of those things, the ups and downs," said Brett, talking both about the Roddick match and the tour generally. "What's your level of tolerance to the errors, to the missed chances? And that was impressive today, how he was able to get out of that."

Brett is a little too experienced and meditative to make any bold predictions about what Cilic might go on to achieve, but sees a lot of potential. "He's got a lot of ability and he's always been prepared to do the hard work, which is what I think separates people. He has a very good ability to learn, quite analytical, so that combination makes him easy to work with."

By the way, Cilic did allow himself to be tracked down for an interview earlier this week, during which work ethic was a frequent theme.

"I think it's not a disadvantage to be considered as a new upcoming player, as a new Top 10 player," he said. "Because I'm young, when I go on the court I don't have so much to lose but I have a lot to gain. So it's a good feeling, but I know I have to work hard and I was doing that since I was a kid so I don't plan to stop it."

He's a former No. 1 junior who won the French Open boys' title three years ago, but wants those results consigned to the past now he's on the main tour. "I would like to put that aside," he said. "You should be considered as a guy who has a bright future but has to work a lot to make it."

The fact that he took the Roddick victory in his stride is a sign of Cilic's self-belief and long-term ambitions. Cilic has reached the second week of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and wasn't inclined to name today's win a career highlight. "I played also [Fernando] Gonzalez quite a good match and twice with Davydenko," he said. "So I wouldn't say it's the best one... it is definitely one of the best."

His pleasant but serious demeanour and contained presence on court doesn't exactly bring to mind his combustible hero, Ivanisevic. "I'm very opposite than him," Cilic grinned. "I mean, we all tried to do something [to imitate him when young] but you have to be born like that. For some players it takes away the focus and concentration so I try to be myself."

Being invited to hit with Ivanisevic as a 14-year-old was a "big thing" for Cilic, and ultimately led to his association with Brett's academy. Cilic spent one week there and promptly won a title in his age group at the European championships the following week. He now spends his training weeks there, and his vacation weeks with his family in his hometown of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Cilic suggested doing a Google search on the place because it was "quite famous," so I did. According to wikipedia, "the town is best known due to alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary which appeared to six Herzegovinian Croats since 24 June 1981, and is now visited by pilgrims from around the entire world as a shrine."

We have to make the usual caveats about injury and the inconsistency  inherent in his kind of playing style. But if Cilic can stay on the track he's on now, his hometown could soon have a second claim to fame.

Were those tears again?

One of the most poignant moments following the Wimbledon final was watching Roger Federer being interviewed by John McEnroe and having to turn hurriedly away as his disappointment liquefied.

Now his return to the court had just ended in a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Gilles Simon in Toronto, and again his face betrayed the tell-tale signs of eyes welling up.

Poor Roger. Who could have imagined thinking those words a year ago?

The result itself is minor compared to the context. First the "hardest loss" of a career, then an opening-round exit in the following tournament -- two events that reverberate against each other and create an exponentially bigger ripple about Federer's game and state of mind. Is his confidence shattered?

More immediately, is this a Wimbledon hangover?

Federer shrugged. "You wouldn't have asked me that if I would have won, right?"

True enough, but that only highlights what's changed for Federer this season. For so much of the past four years, he's pre-empted probing questions by somehow always managing to slip through the dangerous contests that crop up week in and week out. On his way to the Toronto title two years ago, Federer dropped the second set 7-5 twice -- to heavy hitters Dmitry Tursunov in the third round and Fernando Gonzalez in the semis -- but lifted his game and hit some spectacular winners to soar through in the third. This time, he slumped instead, losing his grip on his forehand and serve in what's becoming an increasingly common theme to his defeats this year.

The shift is small, but the difference is enormous. Federer used to win the matches he could have lost. Now, he's losing matches he could have won.

"I guess, first match on hardcourt, I couldnt' sneak through maybe the way I usually can," he said. "I think I get through the match and I get into the tournament and I start playing better. But I got caught cold, so it's kind of hard."

Defeat never actually seemed imminent until it actually arrived. Federer had cruised through the first set, looking like his usual free-flowing self while Simon blinked in the glare of the stadium lights and the glitter of Federer's game.

But Federer's forehand, which had been working so well in the early going, increasingly began to go astray during the late stages of the second set. The two exchanged breaks in the sixth and seventh games, but Federer played a loose game to drop his serve to love at 5-6  and suddenly found himself in a deciding third set.

The ship looked like it had been righted once again when Federer took a 3-1 lead in the third, but by now, an emboldened Simon was putting increasing pressure on Federer during rallies and taking advantage of the top seed's erratic serving. Despite the cool evening, Federer was pink and glowing with sweat, having testy conversations with umpire Norm Chryst. Another exchange of breaks followed, and then, serving in the dangerous territory of 4-5, Federer produced four straight unforced errors to hand victory to a stunned Simon.

"Missed opportunities," was how Federer summed up the match afterwards. "I think I had everything to put him away... having an easy volley at 3-1, game point -- that cost me dearly in the end.

"One of those matches maybe I think I should never have lost."

It will probably cost him the No. 1 ranking over the next few weeks.

He couldn't hide the hurt afterwards, clutching his face with his hands when an oblique question about Justine Henin's retirement was lobbed out during the post-match press conference. "Not today. Ask me another day. Please don't kill me with questions like this."

But why the inability to find an extra gear these days? The setback at the beginning of the year, combined with the tantalizing closeness of the Grand Slam record, may have created a little extra pressure and concern that destabilized the near-perfect calibration he had managed to achieve. Recently, the trigger has been squeezed too hard -- or sometimes, not enough. And as the losses pile up, the situation only feels more urgent. Roddick echoed this sentiment when talking about himself earlier in the week: "I felt like I was trying to play catch-up the whole time. I think that slowly kept at me and kind of culminated in what you saw in that match."

It's hard not to think back to Federer's classic comment at the Australian Open. "I've created a monster," he had said. "I always need to win every tournament."

The monster has not been fed often this year, and its roars are growing increasingly loud. If Federer has a task now, it's to stop this match he should have won from causing him to lose others down the road. He said he was rusty, having practiced for only three or four days after Wimbledon -- something he plans to rectify over the next few days. But a few more exits like this, and the season wil soon be unsalvagable.

And he's already got a plan for the rest of the week: "Try to win the doubles here. That's what I'm looking at."

A small victory to aim for, but the monster might settle for it at this point.

Toronto has lucked out twice over this year. Not only did Olympics scheduling not make a dent in the singles field, but it's created a dream doubles roster as players rush to get in some practice with their compatriots ahead of Beijing.

Check out the draw. Six of the top eight singles seeds are playing, and 12 of the top 16. The high-profile Olympic pairings include Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo, Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev, and Andy and Jamie Murray.

Some players' Olympics teammates couldn't be here, like defending doubles gold medalist Fernando Gonzalez (Nicolas Mass's ranking is too low) and Mario Ancic (Ivan Ljubicic planned to skip Toronto and Cincinnati to rest for the Olympics, and also got hurt last week in Umag). They're playing with pick-up partners.

And even players who are skipping the Olympics have entered -- Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish are playing together to get in a little extra court time in their summer hardcourt opener, as is Richard Gasquet.

And just to keep everyone honest, this year's top five doubles teams are all in too -- the Bryans, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles, and Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett.

This is how many would like every doubles field to look, but rest assured it's a one-off. And because of that, its appeal lies mostly on the surface.

"I am focused on singles," said Nadal when he was asked how much he would be concentrating on his pairs effort. "Doubles, well -- I going to try my best for sure, but it's different, no? It's a little bit more practice to try to play well in Olympics."

Roddick echoed that sentiment. "I'd be lying if I said any of us probably look at the doubles and are concerned more about it than out singles," he said. "I think it's maybe good for popcorn sales.... I'm sure the tournament director didn't mind when he saw Roger, Rafa and myself and Murray and whoever else in the doubles draw."

The regular doubles guys are fairly nonchalant about it too, if Jonas Bjorkman is anything to go by. "As a player, I'm not more excited that the doubles draw looks great... For me it doesn't matter if they are there if I don't play them," he said. "For the tournament obviously it's the best news you can have, Rafa to play doubles, Roger to play doubles, so many others in the top 10 -- make sure you get full stands in Court 1, the grandstand.

"I think it's great to have the top guys playing, but if you look, most of the time it's only one or two matches. It's not often they have improved and developed enough to come far in the tournament. So obviously you have great crowds for those matches, but often it's just two or three."

Okay, so slogan or no slogan, this isn't the beginning of a doubles revolution. But it's still an opportunity to watch the likes of Federer and Nadal playing on the side courts from just a few feet away -- an opportunity that practically never comes along in singles anymore unless you somehow get box seats.

The mob scene on Monday to see Federer and Wawrinka play on Court 1 (capacity: 1,000 odd) was a story in itself, and Nadal and Robredo will tread the same path on Wednesday when they take on Davydenko and Andreev. On Tuesday, there was plenty of shotmaking on offer as the Murray brothers took on Gasquet and Nicholas Mahut.

In the second half of the week, Bjorkman's characterization will be tested -- what happens when two singles players take on one doubles team? We'll find out with these matchups: Nestor-Zimonjic vs. the Murrays, Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes vs. Federer-Wawrinka, Bhupathi-Knowles vs. Fish-Roddick, and Bjorkman-Ullyett vs. the winner of tomorow's Nadal-Robredo and Andreev-Davydenko encounter.

Janko Tipsarevic pumped his fist, Nicholas Mahut hung his head, and for a minute there it looked like Andy Roddick would get to begin his summer hardcourt campaign with a cathartic rematch. But only for a minute.

Tipsarevic had made a late surge to win the tense second-set tiebreak against Mahut in their first-round match in Toronto, but Mahut then regrouped and captured the third set with the same impressive form he showed in the first.

So no rematch of the Tipsarevic-Roddick second-round encounter at Wimbledon, where Tipsarevic upset Roddick in four sets.

"I was a little disappointed," said Roddick.

Us too.

The striking memory of that Wimbledon match are the sitter service returns Roddick missed when he had the opportunity to take the contest to five sets. A shoulder injury in Rome had kept him off the court until two weeks before Wimbledon.  He was unusually philosophical after that loss, and a little further reflection led to one resolution about the upcoming part of the season.

"Just trying to come back and rushing it, I felt like I was trying to play catch-up the whole time. I think that slowly kept at me and kind of culminated in what you saw in that match," he said, speaking now almost a month after the loss. "For me, after thinking a lot, it was just about going out there and having fun again and kind of enjoying yourself and the process.

"I think I'm going to try to enjoy myself a little bit more this summer."

Roddick reports that he's been practicing full-out for the past couple of weeks and feels physically fine for the first time since Davis Cup in April. "There are a lot less questions going into this run than there have been the last couple of months, so that bodes well."

He looked solid in his opening match against Mahut in three sets, dropping the second-set tiebreak to the Frenchman's unorthodox attack but cruising through the third after an early break. He'll be heavily favored in his next match against personal patsy Tommy Robredo (8-0) or talented youngster Marin Cilic. After that it could be... Roger Federer, and then we'd get to revisit all the searching questions about where Roddick is at and where he's going.

'So near yet so far' seems to be a constant theme in Roddick's career dynamic, and rehashing it gets a little wearying (for him and for us). In truth, it's partly a tribute to his ability to rebound quickly from bad patches and keep knocking at the door -- if he had simply fallen away for lengthy periods like Marat Safin or Lleyton Hewitt, the expectations and scrutiny would have eased.

After Roddick lost to Phillip Kohlschreiber at the Australian Open, his initial reaction was to simply insist that Kohlschreiber had played great. After letting a couple of weeks pass and watching the tape, Roddick concluded, "I let him play great."

That prompted the decision to go for his shots and dictate play a little more -- see this post from San Jose; I haven't anything new to add -- and it worked out pretty well over the next month or so: titles in San Jose and Dubai, and wins over Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Federer.

Now he's climbing back up the hill again. The focus is a little more intense because the summer swing culminates in the US Open, where his decision to miss the Olympics will up the perceived stakes a bit higher. Will the extra rest give him the edge he needs for a major run? Or will it show that even that's not enough?