The hard court season revs up big time this week in Toronto, with what some fans are calling the return of Big Boy tennis. The “boys” in question of course being Federer and Nadal, both appearing in the draw this week in Canada. Neither guy has played since Wimbledon. Although we’ve enjoyed some enlightened men’s matches in their absence, it’s good to have the premier pairing in men’s tennis back in action and hopefully headed into yet another classic final.

I don’t know about you guys, but I managed to make a passable meal in the meantime of Haas vs. Tursunov in the L.A. final, and of course Arnaud Clement over Andy Murray Sunday in Washington. A Mutt and Jeff occasion if ever there was one. Even Philippoussis over Gimelstob in Newport’s final was rather entertaining. But let’s get back into Valhalla, and bring on the gods, baby.

Sigh. The bad news is I can’t pick either Nadal or Federer in this week’s Fantasy Tennis team. I’ve used Nadal four times already. He was just so much fun to bet on that I really didn’t notice the clock all that much. I get one more fling with Rafa, and it’s got to be the Open. I get two picks still with Roger, so you can bet I am hoarding him like he’s the last brick lying in Fort Knox. He goes right into the slot at Cincinnati next week and then the Open. Then I guess we put him out to stud. Or something.

Even if I could pick the pair this week, I would be hesitant. A month long lay-off without match play seems a good stretch. I would not want to presume that both guys will come flying out of the gate. I would hate to ever have to not pick them, but if I have to do that, this might be the best week. If they do great, great. But I am not expecting genius to flow really until next week’s event in Cincinnati, which both guys will be attending also.

Roddick was going to be a pick of mine this week, until I heard during the Legg-Mason event that his back was still problematic and he had pulled out of Toronto. I inserted James Blake in his place, then realized he needs to be saved for one last pick at the Open. So I went with Robby Ginepri.

Necessity makes it easy for you in the picks. More sighs. So I have chosen Ginepri, Berdych, Stepanek and Nalbandian on one side of the draw, Gonzalez, Baghdatis, Haas and Hewitt on the other.

Everyone is here who matters in the men’s game, except Mario Ancic out with injury, then Roddick’s withdrawal. So we can expect a tournament with great matches from the get-go. Safin faces Robredo in the opening round. I would have given Safin a shot here, but unfortunately I saw his semi-final match on Saturday against Arnaud Clement. It is not an edifying spectacle when a much bigger guy loses to, well, basically a midget. Not a pretty match, and it was painful to see Safin, yet again, doing battle with his Lower Self almost, rather than the man across the net. So the nod to Robredo here. (Note: It turned out to be a fairly close three setter, until Robredo came on strong in the third for the win).

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Other interesting first-rounders include Malisse vs. Davydenko, Ljubicic vs. Almagro, Moya vs. Gaudio and Murray vs. Ferrer.

Could Malisse get by Davydenko, who won the Sopot final last week but had quite a struggle doing it? Yes, he can, provided the “good” Malisse shows up. For some reason, the opaqueness of Davydenko keeps me from putting him on my Guys I Can Trust list. (Note: The good Malisse indeed showed up today, Tuesday, and ousted Davydenko in straight sets).

Almagro is a clay court guy, but like Gonzo I think he has higher ambitions for his game. He most certainly would like to make a statement in his opener against Ljubicic, whom I expect to be a bit rusty. This could be interesting. (Note: Almagro made it interesting only in the first set, losing in a close 5-7, but then tanking the second 1-6).

Moya and Gaudio can both play on the hard surface, and I am inclined to give the nod here to Carlos. Provided his big first serve can work well and he can dictate from that. (Gaudio was practically a no-show).

Murray and Ferrer face each other in their opener. Ferrer has proven to be one of the most consistent guys out there, while Murray proved to be something of a head case Sunday in the final against Clement. But the kid has Brad Gilbert, so let’s toss a coin on this one. (Close in the first set, but Murray handled him in two). This is a good win for the Scot in what I thought was a really tough opener for him. Ferrer is another man from clay country who wants to make his mark on other surfaces. He’ll be back.

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Fantasy players should take note that with the withdrawal of Roddick the draw has changed a bit in that corner. Ginepri would have had to face Nalbandian in his opener; now he faces the American qualifier Kevin Kim. I would think Ginepri likes that change. (Nalbandian went out yesterday in the first big shocker of the event, due to illness).

Now as of late Tuesday afternoon, Ginepri could not take advantage of the change in his portion of the draw against Kim, who beat him in three sets. One of my other picks, Radek Stepanek, had to retire with a back injury. And last night Marcos Baghdatis squeaked out the first set against France’s Julien Benneteau, but lost the following two sets rather handily. The ESPN2 coverage was scheduled for only about twenty minutes of that match, not even to the tiebreak. But it seemed to me both guys were alternately struggling, then making good shots and good efforts. It could almost have gone either way. But Marcos lost, so half of my team is dead and gone already.

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Rafael Nadal took on Nicolas Massu in the Tuesday morning match. Did anyone tell these guys this was a hard court event? Because they came out and played as if they were still on clay, which both would probably prefer anyway. Big loopy shots, lots of side to side and corner to corner. It was frankly a little annoying to watch, because we are done with clay. Let’s pick it up, guys. The first set alone was a good hour long.

Massu needed to attack Nadal and serve well, and he could do that only sporadically. Nadal had to wade through the rustiness that comes from a month away, but he had enough chances to do that in the long opening games of the first set when he finally got himself on track. Then the unforced errors went away and the winners came on board. Ginepri and Kim started their match at the same time and wrapped up their three-setter by the time Nadal and Massu were early into their second set. That’s why it felt like a clay court match.

As I sit here and watch the amazing body of Rafael Nadal flying through space once again, I can’t help thinking how true it is, that he is remarkably well developed for his age. Whereas someone like Andy Murray is so different physically. He could use some of that mass of Nadal’s. We could argue that because he doesn’t have that, he has evolved an entirely different style, more toward Federer-like than not, but without the swiftness and that kind of laser like power in some of the Fed’s shots. I have a feeling Brad is really going to try and rectify that as soon as possible.

If ever a body called out for some weight training, it is Murray’s. He’s like something out of a Bill Gregory film, one of those quaint Ichabod Crane-like characters. A walking clothesline almost. Gilbert would probably like to turn him into Terminator 2.

Tommy Haas, one of my picks, held sway yet again over Max Mirnyi. Eight of nine meetings he’s won so far. Now he gets to face Dmitry Tursunov in the next round, a reprise of their interesting final in Los Angeles a few weeks ago. I would expect Tursunov to make some adjustments this time, this could nearly be a toss-up. But Haas has the experience and he is feeding off the confidence that comes from winning matches on hard courts. Lately he has been a good boy about not imploding on court.

Another pick of mine, Fernando Gonzalez, needed three sets to outdo Sweden’s Robin Soderling. He faces, and should beat, Juan Carlos Ferrero next.

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Well, this is later Tuesday, and Roger Federer played his first match tonight against France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu. Lucky Mathieu. The Frenchman lost in straight sets, but you could see him working the experience, the way he did when he pressed Nadal at the French this year. Clearly his game has benefited and he should continue to improve. That’s what he can take away from this.

Roger was not perfect, but very capable. The first serve was off somewhat in the first part of the match, but then he seemed to gather strength as they moved along. Most of the guys out there would love to play this for an opener.

Am I just noticing this now or do some of Federer’s shots have a lot more junk on them? Particularly that second serve, with the big kick on it, yet he places the toss directly overhead, rather than slightly back, as you would for a kick serve. So, it is very well concealed, and the thing comes at you as if it were a fastball, then suddenly it’s kicking up and to the side. Clearly it gave the Frenchman trouble tonight.

Happy Birthday, Roger. Number 25. We won’t give you a cow, we’ll give you a cake.

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