ATP ROGERS CUP BETTING DJOKOVIC VS. HANESCU

As Novak Djokovic gets set to bid for a spot in the Rogers Cup quarterfinal today, he is presented with what looks like a straightforward opponent, a no bolt from the blue Victor Hanescu. Bookies worldwide are unanimous in their casting call – Djokovic is the hot favourite, Hanescu is the cool puppy.
More specifically, Paddy Power has Djokovic cast as the 1/7 fave and Hanescu the 4/1 underdog. The tennis betting market thus carefully cast, Djokovic fans can understandably have a take-on-all-comers attitude.
Yet, the lasting impression that we have of Djokovic, and by “we”, I mean mostly me, is that of a Djokovic sizzling under the heat in Toronto (as in the picture).
Nole was puce for most of his match yesterday against Julien Benneteau that I was sure he would go into a dead faint with an ensuing “plop” as he hit the pavement. The only thing that did eventually hit the pavement was his offensive racquet; clearly, said appendage was entirely responsible for his poor play in the early goings. He even gave it an earful in his native Serbian.
Another beautiful day has dawned over Toronto. Temperatures are at 27°C and the humidity is at 60% right now, but steadily working its way down as we approach the evening hours.
That Djokovic is set to contest his match against Hanescu late in the afternoon is a very fortuitous happenstance for him. Any earlier in the day and I think he would have had to deal with his “little heat issues.”
I honestly don’t know if he is just a drama queen or a hypochondriac or if he really is so troubled. It just defies logic when an athlete seemingly so fit, young and at the top of his game, has such issues in extreme weather.
If Hanescu is to beat Djokovic his best chance is to do it quickly and efficiently, in straight sets and while the temperatures are still up there. Any later in the day and if it goes to three sets you have to fancy Djokovic for the win.
It will be interesting to see how Nole accounts today against Hanescu. Lifetime, he owns the convincing 4-0 edge over the Romanian so the “on paper” arrangement augurs well for him
Unlike Benneteau who had loads of opportunities to close out the first set against Djokovic, Hanescu I don’t think will waver so much if given half the chance.  
I do give Nole props for how sublime he was in his comeback (racquet-smashing incident aside). He showed what he was made of by hanging in there and not throwing in the towel when his back was against the wall.
More likely than not Djokovic will survive and advance into the quarterfinals. The Rogers Cup has been trending towards upsets with Soderling, Verdasco, Almagro, Davydenko and Melzer, and more, already out. Djokovic joining the dole queue wouldn’t be  so out-of-this-world.