You had to be disappointed if you went to last night’s evening session at the Rogers Cup.  On the one hand, Rafael Nadal was back after two months of rest and recovery playing singles against his buddy David Ferrer (a good thing), and on the other, it was Ferrer who had knee problems causing him to say “no mas” to Nadal at 4-3.

Nadal’s initial performance was a little shaky hitting nearly a dozen errors in only 7 games of play.  Not exactly the kind of practice you’d hope would get you back into the thick of things.

Perhaps a bit ironic that Ferrer’s knee was the cause of his retiring from the match, while Nadal was ready for more.

If you then felt the inclination to go to the adjacent court and watch Tommy Haas play Fernando Gonzalez, a tightly fought match that went to a tiebreak, you were also up for a disappointment.

Haas had a blister that partly ripped off leading some raw skin exposed.  Haas took a medical time out while the trainer used something resembling an Exacto knife to shave the blister down so it wouldn’t irritate him while playing.

However, irritate him it did.  Haas complained he was in too much pain and needed further medical attention.  He told the chair umpire to give him a point penalty or to have him down 5-0 in the second set.  He didn’t care.  He needed the attention.  The trainer came out and sprayed something possibly alcoholic, which had Haas shrieking, then wrapped a thin gauzy strip that covered his palm (the blister was just at the base of his index finger) where he’d grip the racquet.

After losing the tiebreak rather easily to Gonzalez, most felt Haas would retire right then and there, and so he reached out, gave a handshake, and left amid boos to fans that wanted to see more.  Haas was upset over how the medical situation was handled, then ignored the crowd as he walked off, knowing that he was unable to play anymore.

Today’s play feature countrymen.  This evening, Federer will play his Olympics doubles partner, Stanislas Wawrinka.  Wawrinka beat Federer the last time they met at Monte Carlo on clay, shortly after Federer got married.  This evening, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Gilles Simon.  Tsonga beat veteran Rainier Schuettler yesterday in three sets.  Simon has had a poor 2009, but seems partly rejuvenated playing on hard courts again where he performed so well last year.  This will be a key match for Simon to see if 2008 was a fluke.  It’s also important for Tsonga who sat out parts of 2008 due to injury before having a strong indoor season to wrap the end of the year.  Tsonga should be favored for that reason.

Two other matches of interest.  Juan Carlos Ferrero had not won a tournament in years, then won this year in Casablanca.  Ferrero’s ranking had slipped so much that he was almost ranked in triple digits.  He played well in the grass court tuneups as well as Wimbledon, but had to qualify for the Rogers Cup because his ranking wasn’t high enough 6 weeks ago when they made the decision who was eligible for the main draw (all tournaments do this).  Ferrero dispatched the relatively hot Lleyton Hewitt in the first round, and had a close win over talented, Gael Monfils in the second.  He now faces Andy Murray.  Although Murray beat Ferrero handily at Wimbledon, Murray hasn’t played since Wimbledon except for his second round match.  This could be a tough battle, but Murray should be favored to win.

Gonzalez-Davydenko should provide some intrigue.  Davydenko has played very well as of late, but has played on clay since Wimbledon.  He also has a 4-0 head-to-head over the Chilean, although the two have not played since 2007 when Davydenko’s ranking was higher.  Gonzalez has improved his backhand since then, but the edge should go to Davydenko.

Roddick-Verdasco looks to be a tough match too.  Roddick has been playing pretty well lately, including a finalist appearance at Washington DC.  Roddick dominates the rivalry with an 8-2 edge, but the two also haven’t played since 2007.  Verdasco’s resurgence occurred at this year’s Australian Open after training with former Agassi trainer, Gil Reyes, who serves as motivational mentor as well.  Edge should go to Roddick, but could be entertaining.  Both have seen their games improve in 2009.