Nadal chasing No. 1 ranking in Montreal
31-year-old Spaniard can overtake top spot by reaching Canadian Open semis
MONTREAL There’s a bonus awaiting top-seeded Rafael Nadal if he performs up to expectations in the Rogers Cup Canadian Open.
After dominating the clay-court portion of the ATP Tour and winning a record 10th French Open title, Nadal is poised to take the No. 1 ranking for the first time since June 23, 2014 if he reaches the semifinals.
The top spot is available because No. 1 Andy Murray failed to defend his Wimbledon title — he lost to American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals — and he’s not in a position to add any points because he’s hobbled by a hip injury.
Nadal has a 46-7 record this year, with four titles, and is 294 points behind Murray. The Scot has a 2510 record and his only title came early in the year in Dubai.
At this stage of their careers, the 31-year-old Nadal and the soon-tobe 36-year-old Roger Federer are more concerned with Grand Slam titles than rankings, but regaining the top spot represents icing on the cake.
Federer, who was last ranked No. 1 in 2011, is No. 3. He could be in play for the top spot by the end of the year because the majority of the remaining events are on fast hard courts.
The tournament has lost four of the top-10 players because of injuries. Novak Djokovic (elbow), Stan Wawrinka ( knee) and Marin Cilic (thigh) join Murray on the sidelines. Wawrinka announced Friday that he will be out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.
But Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was the players’ representative at Friday’s draw, said he was impressed with the depth of the field.
“There are a few guys missing, but most of the top players are here and the competition will be very good,” Tsonga said.
There are five Canadians in the 56-man main draw, but Milos Ra- onic, the No. 6 seed, is the only one who qualified for a direct entry based on his ranking.
He received a first-round bye and will meet the winner of a match between Daniil Medvedev and Adrian Mannarino.
If form holds, Raonic will meet Nadal in the quarter-finals. Raonic lost to American Jack Sock Friday in the quarter-finals of the Citi Open in Washington.
Vasek Pospisil, who has climbed back to No. 72 in the ATP rankings, will open against fellow Canadian Peter Polansky, the winner of the $100,000 Granby Challenger last week. Vancouver native Pospisil is familiar with the courts here. He trained at the National Training Centre and lost to Raonic in a third-set tiebreaker in the semifinals in 2013.
The winner of the PospisilPolansky match has the dubious privilege of meeting Federer in the second round.
Denis Shapovalov, the 18-yearold from Richmond Hill, Ont., will be looking to reach the second round for a second consecutive year when he faces one of the seven qualifiers. If he wins, he faces the winner of the match between John Isner and former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Torontonian Brayden Schnur faces a tough test against Richard Gasquet of France.
The opening sessions in the main draw will take place on Monday.