MR. HOT SHOT
Nadal humbles rising star Tsitsipas to win the Rogers Cup, his 80th tournament victory
Stefanos Tsitsipas was feeling good about himself, and for great reason.
The affable Athens native enjoyed an excellent run through the Rogers Cup at the Aviva Centre, knocking off four top-10 players through the week.
In front of a packed centre court in the final on Sunday, Tsitsipas was put firmly in his place by a living tennis legend.
Rafael Nadal was having none of Tsitsipas’ rise, spanking the youngster 6-2, 7-6 (4) to win for the 80th time in his stellar career.
Tsitsipas had several names in mind for Nadal afterward, and they all were complimentary.
“He will always grab you on like a bulldog and always have you — he will always make you suffer on the court,” said Tsitsipas, who was celebrating his 20th birthday.
“It is amazing what he has built as a player. He was normal like all of us, and he managed to become this beast, this monster that he is today. That’s how you feel when you play against him.”
Nadal joined Jimmy Connors (109 titles), Roger Federer (98) and Ivan Lendl (94) as the only men to win at least 80 tournaments.
It marked the fourth time the 32-year-old Nadal, ranked No. 1 in the world, won the Rogers Cup, and it extended his career-leading total of Masters 1000 championships to 33, three more than Federer and six more than Novak Djokovic.
“It’s not about the 80th title,” said Nadal, who won the Rogers Cup for the first time since 2013. “It’s about winning another Masters 1000.
“The 80th tournament is, of course, a great number, an important one. Very happy. But Masters 1000s are tournaments so difficult to win, sometimes are even more difficult to win than Grand Slams, because you can’t avoid tough opponents.
“I came here with the goal to win it. But I knew it was going to be a very tough one to make happen and it happened. So I’m very happy.”
In the doubles final, the second-seeded pair of Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-2, 6-7 (7), 10-6.
On a sunny afternoon, Spain’s Nadal was clinical at times on the way to picking up a $1,020,425 US paycheque. In the first set, Nadal was dominant with his forehand and won in 34 minutes as Tsitsipas couldn’t hide his frustration.
When Nadal went up 2-1,
Tsitsipas turned and whacked a ball clean out of the stadium, drawing a few hisses from the crowd. Nadal twice broke Tsitsipas in the opening set, forcing his lessexperienced opponent to move around the court more than Tsitsipas would have liked and taking the latter out of his comfort zone.
At one point, a fan was heard to yell “Have mercy!” as Nadal put his expertise on display.
In the second set, Nadal was up 5-3 and was on the verge of winning when Tsitsipas stormed back to take the next three games. Nadal tied the set 6-6, and then won the tiebreaker 7-4, capturing match point on a forehand winner.
Nadal fell to his knees in triumph as the crowd, which had been behind Tsitsipas as well, roared in approval.
Nadal wasn’t happy that Tsitsipas managed to battle back, nearly forcing a third set in a match that took one hour 42 minutes to complete.
“When it was 5-4, I got nervous,” Nadal said. “I’m human, I got nervous.
“After that, I accepted the situation. Just fight back and try to stay positive. That’s what I did. In the tie-break, I played a little bit better again.”
Tsitsipas earned $500,340 in advancing to the final and will be ranked No. 15 in the world after starting the tournament at No. 27. He impressed many on and off the court in beating Dominic Thiem, Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Kevin Anderson before meeting Nadal.
In losing to Nadal for the second time this season, though, Tsitsipas was given a stinging lesson.
“Of how much I have to work,” Tsitsipas said when asked what he learned during the match. “How much of a gap there is between him and me in our games, and how much more I need to — I don’t want to be rude, but bust my ass more on the court.
“And withstand pressures, physical pressures on the court that to him just seem like nothing special. That’s the big difference between my game and his game. The patience Rafa has is amazing. He never cracks.”
Said Nadal of Tsitsipas: “He has everything. He has a very complete game. Big serve, great shots from the baseline. If he is able to keep improving, he will be fighting for the most important titles in tennis.”
Nadal, who would not commit to playing in Cincinnati this week, proffered some advice not only to Tsitsipas, but to any up-and-coming player trying to make an impact on the ATP Tour.
They were the kinds of words that can come only from someone who is dedicated and one who is fully deserving of being considered among the best players in the history of the sport.
“I don’t, understand, go on the court to practise,” Nadal said. “I go on the court to improve something. That’s the way I understand my career, the way I understand the sport.
“And when I arrive on a day and that does not happen, that’s going to be the day that I take a boat and go fishing.”