Toronto 2020

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

Magnificent In Montreal: Djokovic's First Win Against Federer

Spoiler:

Relive Djokovic's historic Canadian run, capped by his victory against Federer
During the third set of the 2007 Coupe Rogers final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, a fan in the Montreal crowd shouted that it was “Roger’s Cup", urging the Swiss star on.

“Nothing against the sponsor,” Djokovic said. “But obviously I'm going to have to arrange somebody to call [it the] Novak's Cup for next year.”

That’s because the Serbian beat Federer 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2) to complete a memorable run in Canada, lifting his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy.

“I can't describe the feeling I have right now. It's like a dream come true, especially against Federer in the finals, to win those tie-breaks was just incredible,” Djokovic said. “I managed to win these tie-breaks against a player who probably has the best score in tie-breaks, who is the strongest player mentally in the world right now.”

ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.

Djokovic was just one week removed from a surprising second-round defeat on Umag’s clay against good friend and World No. 176 Viktor Troicki. But the World No. 4 found his form, beating World No. 3 Andy Roddick and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, without losing a set.

With his upset of Federer, Djokovic became the first player to beat the world’s top three players in the same tournament since Boris Becker defeated No. 3 Michael Stich, No. 1 Pete Sampras and No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic at the 1994 Stockholm Open.

The 20-year-old saved six set points in the first set against the Swiss, showing no fear despite losing their first four ATP Head2Head meetings. Defending champion Federer battled back to force a decider, though, making the Serbian work hard for the victory.

Djokovic took the fight to the top seed in the third set, breaking in the first game with aggressive play, especially on the forehand side. While Federer used his greater experience to hang in the match and get back on serve, the Serbian was determined to seize his opportunity. Djokovic completed his victory with a volley lob, which Federer couldn’t track down in time, ending the championship match after two hours and 12 minutes.

My Point: Get The Players' Point Of View

"This first set was really crucial I can say," said Djokovic. "The first set was really important. I saved a couple of set points and I had 40/0 at 5-5 on my serve but I lost it and then after that I really fought for every point and I managed to win that first set.

“To win two tie-breaks against the World No. 1, probably the strongest player mentally on the Tour, it's another achievement. It’s another success so I'm really, really happy."

At the time, Federer was already well-established as the No. 1 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Djokovic, however, had only won his first ATP Tour title 13 months earlier.

“It’s still a long way to the first place of the world for me,” Djokovic said. “I can't exactly say that I'm thinking about becoming No. 1 next year, in two years. That's my lifetime goal, to be the No. 1 player of the world. But I have a lot of time.”

Djokovic has accomplished that goal, spending 282 weeks atop the FedEx ATP Rankings. Only Federer (310) and Pete Sampras (286) have held the top spot longer. The Serbian has also come a long way since that first victory against Federer, currently leading their ATP Head2Head series 27-23.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovi ... -flashback

[Damian]

Classy In Canada: Nadal's Fab Five

Spoiler:

Spanish star remains confident in Canada 15 years after his first title

The abiding memory is of a charismatic pair, at opposite ends of their career spectrum, coming together for an instant classic. Rafael Nadal, already a winner of eight trophies in 2005, full of power and creativity, and Andre Agassi, the three-time former champion, who stood firm on the baseline to strike half volleys and execute his own offensive assault. Nadal first hard-court triumph, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in the Montreal final, reaffirmed a changing of the guard and set the tone for future success on Canadian soil.

In slower conditions in Toronto, three years on, Nadal extended his winning streak to 29 matches, by overwhelming Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 in the 2008 final to become the third youngest player — behind Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors — to accumulate 30 tour-level titles. A second trophy in Montreal came in 2013, when he beat Milos Raonic, the first Canadian finalist since 1959, following on from a pulsating 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic — Nadal's first hard-court triumph over the Serbian in three years.

And over the past couple of years, Nadal has further extended his dominance with consecutive crowns to move to within one Canadian trophy of Ivan Lendl, a winner of six titles (1980-81, 1983, 1987-89) from nine finals.


The Spanish superstar wrestled his way past Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic in 2018, before straight sets wins over Karen Khachanov and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Twelve months later, and now aged 33, Nadal was forced to recover from a set down against Fabio Fognini in the quarter-finals, before producing a dominant final performance to defeat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0, helping him to a record 35th ATP Masters 1000 trophy. It was also the first time that Nadal had retained a non clay-court title.

“With the knowledge of tennis I have today and the chance to have the legs I had in 2005, I’d probably be a very, very good player,” said Nadal, in Montreal, last year. “I lost things along the road, so I just tried to add other things to keep being competitive during all these years. One of the most important things for me personally and one of the things that I’m most satisfied with is that I have always been able to find a solution to stay competitive at the highest level after a lot of problems, a lot of issues. My personality hasn’t changed that much. But, of course, I’m almost 15 years older.”

With a 38-8 record, including a perfect 5-0 mark in finals, across 13 appearances — eight visits to Montreal and five visits in Toronto — Nadal is clearly at home on Canadian soil.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-m ... 020-titles

[Damian]

Was That Roger Federer Or Wayne Gretzky In Toronto?

Spoiler:

ATPTour.com looks back at when Federer played hockey in Toronto

It turns out that even though Roger Federer is best with a tennis racquet, that’s not the only stick he is effective with.

The Swiss joined fellow ATP Tour players and NHL stars for a hockey exhibition in Toronto at the 2014 Rogers Cup. Some of the hockey stars in attendance were Phil Kessel and Jason Spezza. Federer was clutch under pressure, smacking the ball into the net as time expired.

“This is all about fun and it’s great fun doing this kind of stuff,” Federer said. “Getting hockey and tennis together on a centre court, which they built especially for this hockey promo, I think is great. I had a lot of fun meeting all the guys, they’re so relaxed. That I scored doesn’t matter one bit, but it was definitely a lot of fun.”

<a href='/en/players/roger-federer/f324/overview'>Roger Federer</a>

Federer has collected NHL jerseys since he was a kid, saying he has “a nice collection”. But did he have potential on the ice?

“I can’t skate at all, actually. A little bit, but I can’t stop, so I have to go in circles,” Federer said. “I used to play a little bit of ‘Unihockey’, we call it in Europe. It’s with a plastic stick, [using a] plastic ball with holes inside. It’s much lighter. That’s what I did for warm-ups for tennis back in the day.”


The hockey stars paid their respects to Federer by wearing hats with his ‘RF’ logo, which the Swiss felt honoured by.

“I’ve always been a big hockey fan,” Federer said. “So for them to put on the ‘RF’ hat, of course I appreciate it.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/federer ... y-activity

[Damian]

Medvedev In Montreal: Memories of A Pivotal Week

Spoiler:

Two Top 10 wins on hard courts help Medvedev to break through

Winning breeds confidence and 12 months ago, one star was burning brightest of all. Daniil Medvedev, who had swapped sweets and croissants for a better diet to match his dedication and professionalism on the court, went on a tear.

After Nick Kyrgios narrowly beat him 7-6(8), 7-6(4) in the 2019 Citi Open final, the Russian travelled to Montreal, for arguably the pivotal moment of his career, when years of training and repetition came together — and ultimately propelled him on a path for the Top 5 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

His 2019 Coupe Rogers performances were all the more remarkable when you consider that Medvedev had had to qualify the year before to play in Toronto, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in the 2018 third round of the main draw. In the build-up to Montreal, one year on, Medvedev had reached three ATP Tour finals in 2019 and earned a career total of four Top 10 scalps, including back-to-back victories, a few months earlier, over No. 8-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Now, returning to Canadian soil, the 23-year-old was the eighth seed. And, throughout the week, he was not just beating, but dominating great players, having found his rhythm and the right tactics, forged in partnership with his coach Gilles Cervara. Medvedev did not lose more than three games per set in his first three matches in Montreal. He beat No. 4 Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-1 in the quarter-finals and earned a 6-1, 7-6(6) semi-final victory over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, then ranked No. 8, took the player into unchartered territory.

While Rafael Nadal breezed past Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 in his first ATP Masters 1000 final, his education continued. And Medvedev has never looked back.

"It's one of two best tournaments I've played in my life," said Medvedev, of Montreal last year. "One was basically of course Tokyo, the only ATP 500 I won at this moment. Of course, to be in the final of a Masters 1000, I mean, it's an amazing achievement for me at this moment... Of course, I always say this: if you don't win the tournament, you are always disappointed. Even if you lose in a final of a Grand Slam, you will be disappointed."

With a booming serve, one of the flattest backhands and most unorthodox games on the ATP Tour, Medvedev was not downcast. The following week, he kept putting the ball back, continued to frustrate opponents and subsequently captured the Western & Southern Open crown, overcoming Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, for the second time, in the semi-finals, and David Goffin 7-6(3), 6-4 for the biggest trophy of his career.

Immediately touted as a favourite for the US Open, Medvedev, who’d been the World No. 16 on 14 January, fell, narrowly, one step short in the final. Hours after an outstanding campaign had ended with a five-set loss to Nadal, Medvedev rose to a career-high No. 4 on 9 September. He was the first player to accrue 50 match wins on the 2019 season.

“Of course, deep inside of me, I understand that what I've done these four weeks is amazing, even comparing to what I've done before,” said Medvedev. “I don't want to stop. I will always work to be better. I will try to do my best every day.”

Memories of Medvedev winning 20 out of 23 matches and reaching four straight finals on North American hard courts — only the third player to do so after Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi — remain vivid, ahead of the ATP Tour’s return this month.

While Medvedev would go onto lift two more trophies, the St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric) and the Rolex Shanghai Masters (d. Zverev), to extend his post-2019 Wimbledon streak to 29-3 and cement his place inside the Top 10, it was his week in Montreal that was pivotal in his rise to consistent, peak performance.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/medvede ... 9-memories

[Damian]

[Damian]

Peak Sampras, Agassi: Remembering 1995 Montreal

Spoiler:

ATPTour.com looks back on the final match at the old Montreal stadium

At the peak of their rivalry, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras shut down four blocks of downtown San Francisco for a day in 1995, for the Guerrilla Tennis television commercial — conceived by their mutual clothing sponsor and directed by Spike Jonze — that featured eight cameras and 400 extras.

The 30-second advert that saw Sampras direct traffic and Agassi hastily string up a net across a busy intersection, was perfectly timed and became not just synonymous with their dynamic, high-energy, must-see matches, but also their battle for No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. That year, the Americans met in five finals — at the Australian Open, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the Miami Open presented by Itau, the Coupe Rogers in Montreal and at the US Open.

Agassi, who’d usurped Sampras to claim the top spot for the first time on 10 April 1995, bounced back from a disappointing European summer to set a sizzling pace on his favourite surface: hard courts. Arriving at Jarry Stadium in Montreal, on the back of capturing the Citi Open crown in Washington, D.C., Agassi extended his run of form with straight-sets victories over Jeff Tarango, Daniel Vacek, MaliVai Washington and Mats Wilander to reach his eighth final of the year.

Sampras, who came into Montreal on the back of his third Wimbledon trophy, had beaten Jonathan Stark, Mauricio Hadad and Michael Stich in Montreal, prior to a deciding set tie-break victory over Thomas Enqvist in the semi-finals. He was 16 matches unbeaten.

ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.

In testing, windy conditions and searing heat, Sampras started brightly, breaking Agassi in the sixth game of the first set. But as the match wore on, Agassi retaliated, playing with greater aggression and hitting inside-out forehands to Sampras’ backhand, which inevitably cracked. Agassi targeted 70 per cent of his serves to Sampras’ weaker wing.

While Sampras saved two break point in the opening game of the decider, he double faulted twice in the third game and ended the match with an uncharacteristic 43 per cent first-serve percentage. He only serve-volleyed three times on his second serve, largely playing from the baseline. With that tactic, there was only going to be one winner.

Agassi reaffirmed his status as the world’s premier player in front of 10,000 fans with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory — the 400th match win of his career — to successfully retain the Canadian crown. It was Agassi’s third title on Canadian soil in four years and levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Sampras at 8-8.

It was a fitting finale to the old stadium, which was torn down and rebuilt in 1996. At the trophy presentation ceremony, Tournament Director John Beddington said, “Seventeen years ago, we had a dream. Today, we had a dream final. Next year, you will have a dream stadium.” Agassi knelt down and signed “Bye, bye” onto the court.

Agassi went on to compile a 26-match winning streak during the North American hard-court swing, adding the Western & Southern Open and New Haven titles. The streak ended in the US Open final to Sampras, who eventually returned to No. 1 on 5 November 1995, breaking Agassi’s 30-week stint at the summit. It was the year that their rivalry was at the forefront of superstar tennis.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/atp-her ... treal-1995

[Damian]

[Damian]

Murray Magic: Back-To-Back Wins Against Federer & Nadal In Toronto

Spoiler:

Brit delivers his best tennis in 2010 title defence
You wouldn’t know it from his muted reaction after championship point, but Andy Murray made history with his triumph at the 2010 Rogers Cup.

The Brit hung tough to score a 7-5, 7-5 victory against Roger Federer in a rain-interrupted final, making him the first player to earn back-to-back titles in Canada since Andre Agassi (1994-95). Murray’s first successful ATP Masters 1000 title defence also marked his first tour-level title since prevailing 12 months earlier in Montreal (d. Del Potro).

He powered through a challenging draw in Toronto, outlasting Gael Monfils and David Nalbandian before scoring a straight-sets victory against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. Murray’s magical week made him only the fifth player to defeat Federer and Nadal in the same tournament.


“Any time you win a tournament, you’re obviously incredibly happy. There’s a bit of relief there,” Murray said after the match. “It’s the first time I beat Roger and Rafa in the same tournament, which is probably the most pleasing thing, and I didn’t drop a set against either of them. It’s good for the confidence for the next few weeks.

“I’m just playing a bit freer. I was going for my shots more today… It was just expressing myself with the way I was playing. I played pretty free-flowing tennis and didn’t get too nervous today.”

Murray needed a confidence boost after a seven-month run that was disappointing by his lofty standards. After a painful straight-sets defeat to Federer in the Australian Open final, he failed to reach the semi-finals in his next eight events. The Brit finally reached the final four on home soil at Wimbledon, but endured a convincing loss to Nadal before squandering a championship point to Sam Querrey the following month in Los Angeles.

You May Also Like: Murray Highlights US Open Wild Cards
But after gaining revenge on Nadal in Toronto, Murray took to court against Federer with the energy of a player whose confidence had been restored. He weathered an opening set punctuated by multiple service breaks and a missed opportunity to serve out the set at 5-4, continuing to swing freely from the baseline. Murray’s fearlessness was rewarded as he broke Federer for the third time with a solid game at 5-5 before grabbing a commanding advantage.

Persistent drizzle took Federer and Murray off court four times early in the second set, leading to more shifts in momentum. Both players struggled to hold serve consistently due to the punishing returns they each faced. But in identical fashion to the first set, Murray raised his level at 5-5 to break once more and closed out the match on his first try.


The match marked Federer’s first loss to Murray in a tour-level final, but the Swiss made it clear that he never saw victory as a foregone conclusion.

“I don’t have the margins where you can just come out and dominate an opponent every single time,” Federer said. “That’s why you need to be really sharp and take the right decisions at the right time. That’s sometimes hard to do when the ball comes at you so fast and you only get a couple of chances… It’s just little things here and there.”

Although the Brit was unable to build on the momentum and suffered a third-round loss to Stan Wawrinka at the US Open, he quickly returned to top form by defeating Federer two months later en route to another Masters 1000 crown in Shanghai.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/flashba ... 10-toronto

[Damian]

[DUN I LOVE]

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[Razing]