When the forecast called for a few days of rain last week, it seemed as though what was left of the Rogers Cup was going to be washed away. Yet, while Thursday’s conditions canceled all matches that day, organizers at the event were valiant in restoring as much tennis as possible and, as a result, Sunday’s two finals went out without a hitch. It goes without saying that those who ran the Rexall Centre put on quite a show, making Toronto an ideal destination for some of the best tennis players in the world.

While both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event ahead of time, the Rogers Cup was still fortunate enough to welcome reigning Olympic gold-medalist Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and the #2 player in the world, Novak Djokovic. Most notably for the local fans, there was the top-ranked Canadian in the world, Milos Raonic, looking to avenge his early exit in London just a week earlier.

While it’s not a Grand Slam, the Rogers Cup is one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar — and one that no tennis fan took for granted. From start to finish, the tournament consistently had wonderful turnouts for their matches. Even on Thursday, Friday and Saturday when matches were interrupted by rain, fans were still out showing support for their favourite players.

While the doubles portion of the tournament wasn’t as celebrated as the men’s singles, there was no shortage of excitement as the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, of the United States finished on top, winning the Rogers Cup to along with their already-impressive history, including 11 Grand Slams and, most recently, Olympic gold in London.

In the men’s singles event, while it would be predictable to have the heavy favourite win the tournament, Novak Djokovic’s road to the title was an illustrious one. While he had little trouble with any of his opponents including a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet in the final on Sunday, it was mesmerizing to watch the Serbian quickly find himself in a groove and dismantle whoever stood in his way. For the hometown fans looking to fill the void left by Raonic’s quarter-final exit, Djokovic’s stellar play was the ideal remedy.

As the upsets of the aforementioned Tsonga and Juan del Petro made for ample suspense, the biggest disappointment may have been Andy Murray’s decision to withdraw from the event due to an injury, only hours before he was scheduled to take on Milos Raonic with a spot in the quarters on the line. For the Canadian fans, nothing would have been better than to see their homegrown talent take on the man who had just defeated Roger Federer to capture gold in London. Of course, in all fairness to Murray, no one can blame him for withdrawing given his intense schedule the few weeks prior.

Overall, the Rogers Cup was a huge success. It’s no wonder why this tournament is revered as one of the most important in the tennis season. While it’s unfortunate that the men won’t be back next season, we will have the opportunity to see what the women can do as it’ll be their turn to grace the city of Toronto while the men head to Montreal in 2013.

While most players now look forward to this week’s event in Cincinnati and ultimately next month’s US Open in New York, the city of Toronto will be back at the drawing board vying to make next year’s version of the Rogers Cup that much better, assuming it’s even possible. I certainly can’t wait. Can you?

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Ryan Cowley is a writer at Toronto Standard. Follow him on Twitter @RyanACowley.

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