Rogers Cup Toronto: Stars At Practice

The Rogers Cup Toronto begins on Monday, but the stars were out in full force on Saturday to get as much practice ahead of the tournament. Billed as the "Pizzaville Free Community Weekend," patrons were granted free entry to the Rexall Centre for a day filled with qualifying matches, and the world's top players scattered around the grounds honing their skills.

I expected to see quite a few practices, but was floored by the volume of players on display. It's as if the organizers, mindful of a weak qualifying draw, pushed the ATP players to get out and make the event memorable for the fans. Djokovic, Gulbis, and Dimitrov all played practice sets on Centre Court, with the fans being able to sit wherever they liked. The unique element of Saturday's play was that the players all hit with each other, and not with a coach or hired hitting partner. The pairings were as follows: 

Djokovic - Wawrinka
Gulbis - Kohlschreiber
Dimitrov - Monfils
Murray - Robredo
Fognini - Lopez
Youzhny - Cilic
Berdych - Stepanek

Check out some of my photos from the day's play below: