The Rogers Cup’s loss could be Milos Raonic’s gain

Well, you can add another name to the list of players who have withdrawn from the Rogers Cup in Toronto. The standard ATP Tour schedule is a marathon in itself. Add the Summer Olympics to the mix and it's almost impossible for a player to be able to compete in all of the major tournaments.

As the Olympics began the withdrawals for next week's Toronto event (qualifying for the main draw begins Saturday at the Rexall Centre). First it was David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, and Gael Monfils who decided participating in Canada's premier tennis event just wasn't worth it. Then Rafael Nadal decided the injured knee that kept him out of the Olympics would also force him out of the Rogers Cup. Now Roger Federer is the latest to say thanks, but no thanks to Tennis Canada.

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Federer had barely completed his marathon semi-final match with Juan Martin del Potro on Friday when he announced his intention to rest following the Olympics rather than hop on the first flight to Toronto:

While the news of the world's top-ranked players dropping like flies from the Rogers Cup draw may be disappointing to Canadian tennis fans, there is one person who stands to benefit — Milos Raonic.

Raonic, who had his own extended Olympic match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier in the tournament, now leap-frogs into the 16^th seed. That guarantees Canada's next great tennis hope a first-round bye and an extra day of rest. Despite being ousted fairly early from the Olympic tournament, every day off counts. One can only imagine how long it takes to recuperate from a 66-game match.

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Raonic's first healthy summer on the tour started with a lot of promise, but a couple of early exits put a damper on those expectations. A weakened field and a prolonged run in his hometown tournament could be just what the 21-year old hotshot needs to get over the hump and become a premier player.

The main draw in the Rogers Cup begins Monday, about 24 hours after the gold-medal match at Wimbledon. All of the players remaining in the Olympic tournament are seeded high enough to receive a first-round bye in Toronto, but don't expect that to stop the influx of players dropping out of the Rogers Cup. With another Masters event in Cincinnati just around the corner and the US Open on the horizon, even more players could be looking past Toronto.

More London Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Canada Sports:
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