Top seeds Djokovic, Wawrinka fall in Toronto

TORONTO, (Reuters) – Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga handed world number one Novak Djokovic a shock 6-2 6-2 third round defeat yesterday as the Rogers Cup was rocked by upsets and surprises.

The Wimbledon champion was joined at the exit by another grand slam winner, Australian Open champion and third seed Stan Wawrinka, who was beaten 7-6 (8) 7-5 by South African Kevin Anderson.

French 12th seed Richard Gasquet was also a third round casualty, pulling out of the tournament with abdominal pain and handing twice Canadian champion Andy Murray direct passage into the quarter-finals.

A three-time winner on the Canadian hard courts, Djokovic never found his rhythm in Toronto needing a third set tiebreak to get past Frenchman Gael Monfils on Wednesday in his opening match.

Playing his first event as a married man, the Serb had reached the semi-finals or better in all seven tournaments he had played since a quarter-final loss at the Australian Open, winning titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Rome and Wimbledon where he reclaimed the top ranking.

“I haven’t played even close to what I intended before going to the court,” said Djokovic. “No baseline, no serve, no return.“Just generally very bad day, very poor performance. Couldn’t do much.”

While Djokovic will move onto Cincinnati to prepare for next week’s event and continue his buildup to the U.S. Open, Tsonga moves into the final eight and meeting with Murray.