Djokovic exits on day of shocks

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga handed world number one Novak Djokovic a 6-2, 6-2 third round defeat on Thursday as the Rogers Cup was rocked by upsets.

A day of high-drama began under a bright morning sun with South African Kevin Anderson startling third seeded Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 and ended in the late  evening chill with 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer out-lasting big hitting Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4.

Fourth seeded Czech Tomas Berdych also had his Canadian visit come to an end with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to veteran Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

French 12th seed Richard Gasquet was also a third round casualty, forced out of the tournament with abdominal pain, giving twice Canadian champion Andy Murray direct passage into the quarterfinals. Sixth seed Milos Raonic, the last Canadian standing, kept hopes of a home grown winner alive riding the support of a boisterous crowd to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

A three-time winner on the Canadian hard courts, Djokovic had reached the semifinals or better in all seven tournaments he had played since a quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open, winning titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Rome and Wimbledon where he reclaimed the top ranking.

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

Serena through

Serena Williams cruised into the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova, while sister Venus ousted Angelique Kerber as the tournament lost more high seeds on Thursday.

Petra Kvitova, ranked No. 2 and playing in her first event since winning her second Wimbledon title, fell 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to Russia's Ekaterina Makarova while fourth seed Maria Sharapova was beaten 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 by Spain's Carla  Navarro.

German sixth seed Kerber and seventh seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia were also sent packing, leaving just two of the top eight seeds – Serena Williams and third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarters.