Nadal has payback on his mind ahead of Rogers Cup
Tennis star lost out on No. 1 ranking last year thanks to Shapovalov
Rafael Nadal may have won the Rogers Cup three times, but it’s a recent upset loss that sticks in his mind the most.
Nadal won in 2005, 2008 and 2013, when he beat Canada’s Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-2 in Montreal. However, his strongest memory of playing in Canada was last year’s third round where he was upset by Denis Shapovalov, a wild-card entry in Montreal.
“It was a great feeling playing Shapovalov. Not at the end,” said Nadal, who lost in three sets. “It was a tough loss for me in that moment because it was a chance to become a world No. 1 again. Losing that match, I missed out on that chance.”
Shapovalov, who enters this year’s tournament as the topranked Canadian in the draw at No. 26 in the world, went on to lose to Germany ’s Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. Zverev is the second seed this year.
Winning in 2008 is Nadal’s favourite Rogers Cup title because it put him atop the ATP Tour’s world rankings for the first time.
He’s the top men’s player in the world again and was on hand as the singles brackets for the Rogers Cup were filled out Friday.
Arguably the most interesting match in the first round is Stan Wawrinka versus Nick Kyrgios.
Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam winner who is coming back from two operations on his left knee, was originally given a wildcard into qualifying, but advanced to the main draw when former world No. 1 Andy Murray withdrew.
Kyrgios is no slouch either, ranked 17th in the world. The Aussie star is the 16th seed at the Rogers Cup.
The men’s tournament will be at Toronto’s Aviva Centre starting Monday. The women’s side runs in Montreal at the same time.
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., will face France’s Jeremy Chardy in the tournament’s first round. On the other side of the bracket, Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., will take on 10th seed David Goffin of Belgium.
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil is in the same bracket as Shapovalov and will face Croatia’s Borna Coric. Thornhill’s Peter Polansky will play Australia’s Matthew Ebden and promising Montreal teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on 19th seed Lucas Pouille of France.