Family Photo

Tidbit of news - Roger Federer has just released the first photo of his new family, Roger and Mirka plus babies. It's beautiful. And at the same time, he's confirmed his participation in the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

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I don't know whether Mirka and the girls are going to go with him, which will be a very different experience for him. It's very rare to see a Roger match without faithful Mirka in the box supporting him, and on top of that, I don't think he'd be too keen on leaving his beautiful baby daughters Myla and Charlene behind. So maybe they will go with him - which will be a different experience, trying to focus on tennis with two such lovely (and presumably loud) distractions. So either way, it will be an interesting experience for Roger at the Rogers Cup.

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But what is most intriguing about Montreal is that it's sort of the first tournament back after the summer holidays and everything has changed in the interim. It's the debut of the new world order - Federer at #1, Nadal at #2, with a pair of suspect knees and Myla and Charlene along for the ride. Both the great champions of our sport have undergone signifcant changes since we last saw them. Rafa has been dealing with incredible injury as well as some pretty nasty personal stuff. Roger has become a daddy. The world has changed.

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The family photo of the ATP is now significantly different from the last time it was snapped. And it's going to be very interesting to see how that plays out on the court. Will Roger be inspired by his daughters to ascend to another, even more sublime, level of tennis and float through the US Open series on a wave of joy and brilliance? Will Rafa be so determined to prove himself after injury that he steamrolls every obstacle in his path with that mental toughness we've come to know and love so well? Or will both boys be a bit distracted and will someone else triumph?

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I can't say. And neither can anyone. And the truth is, no one will know anything until we see those guys play. The proof is in the pudding, and we can theorise as much as we choose, but until we see them play, we don't know a goddamn thing.

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Except that Myla and Charlene Federer are adorable.

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Today's Results

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin Del Potro def. Robin Soderling, walkover

Fernando Gonzalez def. Tommy Haas, 7-5 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

John Isner def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 6-2

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LA Women's Tennis Championships (Los Angeles)

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Sorana Cirstea def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 7-5

Samantha Stosur def. Jie Zheng, 4-6 6-3 6-4